the corruption of his age that he was not in the least degree
fitted to fulfil the requirements of the supreme ecclesiastical
dignity. From him the welfare of the Church had nothing to
hope. All eyes were consequently turned to the energetic
German king, Sigismund, who was inspired by the best motives,Council of Constance.
and who succeeded in surmounting the formidable
Constance obstacles which barred the way to an ecumenical
council. It was mainly due to Sigismund’s indefatigable
and magnificent activity, that the council of Constance
met and was so numerously attended. It is remarkable how
fortune seemed to assist his efforts. The capture of Rome by
King Ladislaus of Naples had compelled John XXIII. to take
refuge in florence (June 1413), where that dangerous guest
received a not very friendly welcome. Since John’s most
immediate need was now protection and assistance against
his terrible opponent Ladislaus, he sent, towards the close of
August 1413, Cardinals Chalant and Francesco Zabarella,
together with the celebrated Greek Manuel Chrysoloras, to
King Sigismund, and commissioned them to determine the
time and place of the forthcoming council. The agreement
was soon concluded. On the 9th of December John XXIII.
signed the bull convening the council at Constance, and pledged
his word to appear there in person. He might have hoped
that his share in convening the synod would give him a certain
right to regulate its proceedings, and that, by the aid of his
numerous Italian prelates, he would be able to influence it
more or less according to his views. But in this he was greatly
deceived. So soon as he realized the true position of affairs
he attempted to break up the council by his flight to Schaffhausen
(March 20–21, 1415)—a project in which he would doubtless
have succeeded but for the sagacity and energy of Sigismund.
In spite of everything, the excitement in Constance was unbounded. In the midst of the confusion, which reigned supreme in the council, the upper hand was gained by that party which held that the only method by which the schism could be ended and a reformation of ecclesiastical discipline ensured was a drastic limitation of the papal privileges. The limitation was to be effected by the general council: consequently, the pope must be brought under the jurisdiction of that council, and—in the opinion of many—remain under its jurisdiction for all time. Thus, in the third, fourth and fifth general sessions it was enacted, with characteristic precipitation, that an ecumenical council could not be dissolved or set aside by the pope, without its consent: the corollary to which was, that the present council, notwithstanding the flight of John XXIII., continued to exist in the full possession of its powers, and that, in matters pertaining to belief and the eradication of schism, all men—even the pope—were bound to obey the general council, whose authority extended over all Christians, including the pope himself.
By these decrees—which created as the supreme authority within the Church a power which had not been appointed as such by Christ[1]—the members of the council of Constance sought to give their position a theoretical basis before proceeding to independent action against the pope. But these declarations as to the superiority of an ecumenical council never attained legal validity, in spite of their defence by Pierre d’Ailly and Gerson. Emanating from an assembly without a head, which could not possibly be an ecumenical council without the assent of one of the popes (of whom one was necessarily the legitimate pope)—enacted, in opposition to the cardinals, by a majority of persons for the most part unqualified, and in a fashion which Deposition of John XXIII. was thus distinctly different from that of the old councils—they can only be regarded as a coup de main, a last resort in the universal confusion. On the 29th of May the council deposed John XXIII.
The legitimate pope, Gregory XII., now consented to resign, but under, strict reservation of the legality of his pontificate. By consenting to this, the synod indirectly acknowledged that its previous sessions had not possessed an ecumenical character, and also that Gregory’s predecessors, up toResignation of Gregory XII. Urban VI., had been legitimate popes. In presence of the council, reconstituted by Gregory, Malatesta announced the resignation of the latter; and the grateful assembly appointed Gregory legatus a latere to the marches of Ancona—a dignity which he was not destined to enjoy for long, as he died on the 18th of October 1417. (See Constance, Council of.)
From the abdication of Gregory XII. to the election of Martin V., the Apostolic See was vacant; and the council, newly convened and authorized by the legitimate pope vacancy of before his resignation, conducted the government of the Church. After the condemnation and burning ofVacancy of the Holy See. John Huss (q.v.), the reformation of the Church, both in its head and members, claimed the main attention of the fathers of the council. Among the many difficulties which beset the question, not the least obvious was the length of time during which the Church must remain without a ruler, if—as Sigismund and the German nation demanded—the papal election were deferred till the completion of the internal reforms. The result was decided by the policy of the cardinals, who since May 1417 had openly devoted their whole energies to the acceleration of that election; and union was preserved by means of a compromise arranged by Bishop Henry of Winchester, the uncle of the English king. The terms of the agreement were that a synodal decree should give an absolute assurance that the work of reformation would be taken in hand immediately after the election; reforms, on which all the nations were already united, were to be published before the election; and the mode of the papal election itself was to be determined by deputies. When the last-named condition had been fulfilled on the 28th of October the conclave began, on the 8th of November 1417, in the Kaufhaus of Constance; and, no later than St Martin’s day, the cardinal-deacon Oddo Colonna was elected Pope Martin V.
With the accession of Martin V. unity was at last restored to the Church, and contemporary Christendom gave way to transports of joy. Any secular power—a bitter opponent of the papacy admits—would have succumbed in the schism: but so wonderful was the organizationMartin V., 1417–1431. of the spiritual empire, and so indestructible the conception of the papacy itself, that this (the deepest of all cleavages) served only to prove its indivisibility (Gregorovius, Geschichte Roms vi.). Martin V. appeared to possess every quality which could enable him to represent the universal Church with strength and dignity. In order to maintain his independence, he energetically repudiated all proposals that he should establish his residence in France or Germany, and once more took up his abode in Rome. On the 30th of September 1420 he made his entry into the almost completely ruinous town. To repair the ravages of neglect, and, more especially, to restore the decayed churches, Martin at once expended large sums; while, later, he engaged famous artists, like Gentile da Fabriano and Masaccio, and encouraged all forms of art by every means within his power. Numerous humanists were appointed to the Chancery, and the Romans were loud in their praise of the papal regime. But he was not content with laying the foundations for the renovation of the Eternal City: he was the architect who rebuilt the papal monarchy, which the schism had reduced to the verge of dissolution. To this difficult problem he brought remarkable skill and aptness, energy and ability. His temporal sovereignty he attempted to strengthen through his family connexions, and magnificent pro^dsion in general was made for the members of his house.
Nor was the activity of Martin V. less successful in political than in ecclesiastical reform, which latter included the combating of the Fraticelli, the amendment of the clergy, the encouragement of piety by the regulation of feast-days, the recommendation of increased devotion to the sacrament of the altar, and the strengthening of the conception of the Church
- ↑ Here of course the author speaks of the papal supremacy and not of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals—a doctrine which was formally declared a dogma of the Church only, at the Vatican council in 1870.—[Ed.]
