Council of Constance

• 1. Origins of the Western Schism

  ›

  The year 1378 marked a fracture in the Catholic Church that would last thirty years. Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome from Avignon in 1377, but his death shortly after triggered a chaotic election for his successor. Urban VI won the papacy, yet many cardinals defected and elected a rival pope based at Avignon instead. This split created two competing lines of authority within Christendom. The Council of Pisa attempted to resolve the crisis by deposing both claimants and electing Alexander V as a new pontiff. That move only added a third line of succession, leaving three men claiming the title of pope simultaneously. Gregory XII held Rome while Benedict XIII maintained Avignon, and John XXIII led the Pisan faction. Thirty years of confusion had turned a single office into a three-way struggle for legitimacy.

• 2. Imperial Politics and National Blocs

  ›

  Sigismund arrived on Christmas Eve 1414 to exercise influence over the council proceedings. He served as imperial protector of the church and shaped how voting occurred among the attendees. Instead of bishops casting individual votes, they organized themselves into national blocs. English, German, and French members initiated this innovation to mirror university structures. By February 1415, the system gained acceptance despite lacking formal authorization from any decree. Four nations formed initially: England, France, Italy, and Germany. Polish, Hungarian, Danish, and Scandinavian representatives counted with the Germans. Italian delegates comprised half the total attendance but held equal influence to the twenty deputies sent by England. Spanish deputies joined later at the twenty-first session, creating a fifth nation from Portugal, Castile, Navarre, and Aragon.

• 3. Resolution of Papal Claims

  ›

  King Sigismund supported the recommendation that all three papal claimants abdicate or be deposed. On the 2nd of March 1415, Antipope John XXIII promised to resign following an anonymous attack on his character. Just days later, he fled secretly to Schaffhausen in territory controlled by Frederick, Duke of Austria-Tyrol. Gregory XII sent legates to Constance who carried full powers to summon and preside over the council. Cardinal Giovanni Dominici of Ragusa and Prince Carlo Malatesta received these documents. The Bishops voted to accept the summons and receive the resignation immediately. Malatesta read the commission authorizing him to resign the Papacy on behalf of Gregory XII. He pronounced the resignation before the assembly and handed a written copy to the gathered bishops. Martin V was elected in November 1417 after two years had passed since Gregory XII's initial abdication.

• 4. Condemnation of Jan Hus

  ›

  Jan Hus arrived in Constance under a letter guaranteeing safe conduct for his journey. The council found him guilty of heresy during its fifteenth session held on the 6th of July 1415. A decree stated that the synod relinquished Hus to the judgment of secular authority. The secular court sentenced him to be burned at the stake. Jerome of Prague came to offer assistance but faced arrest and similar condemnation. Poggio Bracciolini attended the proceedings and described the unfairness of the process against Jerome. Paweł Włodkowic and other Polish representatives publicly defended Hus throughout the trial. The Council condemned John Wycliffe in the eighth session on the 4th of May 1415, extending reforms begun at Pisa toward their followers.

• 5. Theological Debates on Authority

  ›

  Haec sancta synodus appeared as a decree promulgated during the fifth session on the 6th of April 1415. This document asserted the superiority of ecumenical councils over popes in certain situations. Frequens followed as another significant decree issued in 1417 requiring councils to convene automatically every ten years. Haec sancta became known as the high-water mark of the Conciliar movement of reform. Pope Martin V elected November 1417 soon asserted absolute authority of the papal office after his election. His successor Eugene IV repudiated attempts by the Council of Basel to declare these provisions binding faith matters. Lateran V pronounced that Frequens lost its force while some readings suggest it abrogated Haec sancta. French theologians upheld validity through Gallican Articles of 1682 despite Roman rejection.

• 6. Polish-Lithuanian Territorial Disputes

  ›

  Tensions erupted into the Hunger War during summer 1414 regarding demarcation of Samogitian borders. The council mediated conflicts between Poland, Lithuania, and the Teutonic Knights following the First Peace of Thorn. Paulus Vladimiri defended the Polish-Lithuanian position as rector of Jagiellonian University. He argued forced conversion violated free will essential for genuine religious change. John of Falkenberg opposed this view in Liber de doctrina claiming emperors could slay peaceful infidels simply because they were pagans. Falkenberg called King Jogaila a mad dog unworthy to be king before being condemned and imprisoned. The council established the Diocese of Samogitia with its seat in Medininkai under Lithuanian dioceses. Matthias of Trakai became the first bishop appointed to lead this new jurisdiction.

• 7. Post-Council Legacy and Reinterpretation

  ›

  The acts of the council remained unpublished until 1442 when requested by the Council of Basel. They appeared in print only after 1500. Haec sancta continued binding acceptance among much of the church up to the nineteenth century. Hans Küng defended the dogmatic character of Haec sancta during the 1960s Second Vatican Council context. Cardinal Franz König supported Küng's argument while Hubert Jedin viewed it as an emergency measure without wider validity. Joseph Gill rejected the session that passed the decree altogether. Augustin Vérot attempted to read Haec sancta into deliberations during the First Vatican Council of 1869, 70. The debate subsided in the 1970s without resolution despite renewed interest from reformist theologians.