Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy refers to a period in the history of the Roman Catholic Church from 1305 to 1375 when the seat of
the Pope was moved from Rome to Avignon. The period has been
called the "Babylonian Captivity" (or "Babylonish Captivity") of the Popes (or the Church), particularly by Martin Luther but also by many Catholic writers. This nick-name is polemical, in that it refers to the claim by critics that the fabulous prosperity of the church at this time was accompanied by a profound compromise of the Papacy's spiritual integrity, especially in the alleged subordination of the powers of the Church to the ambitions of the Frankish emperor. Coincidentally, the "captivity" of the popes at Avignon lasted around the same duration as the exile of the Jews in Babylon, making the analogy all the more convenient and rhetorically potent.
Seven popes resided in Avignon:
In 1378 the seat was moved back to Rome, while a disputing party continued to honor the bishop in Avignon as the head of the church. There was a time of difficulty from 1378 to 1414 which Catholic scholars refer to as the "Papal Schism" or, "the great controversy of the antipopes" (also called the Second Great Schism by some secular and Protestant historians), when parties within the Catholic Church were divided in their allegiances among the various claimants to the office of Pope. The Council of Constance in 1414 finally resolved the controversy, dismantling the last vestiges of the Avignon Papacy.
The wine Châteauneuf du Pape, which means "Pope's new castle", was named after the antipope's residence in Avignon.
External links
Books
- Avignon Papacy by Yves Renohard ISBN 1566196205
Referenced By
1378 | Avignon | Avignon, France | Babylonian Captivity | Babylonian Captivity of the Church | Babylonian Exile | Council of Constance | Declaration of Arbroath | Firenza | Firenze | Florence | Florence, Italy | Florentine | Florentine Republic | Great Schism | John XXII | Kingdom of Cyprus | Patriarch of Rome | Pope | Pope Clement V | Pope Clement VI | Pope Gregory XI | Pope Innocent VI | Pope Innocent VII | Pope John XXII | Popes | Protestant | Protestant Christianity | Protestant Reformation | Protestantism | Protestants | Reformation | Republic of Florence | The Great Schism | The Holy Father | The Pope | Western Church
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