← Explore on the interactive map

Conciliar Movement (Church Reform)

Type Object Region Europe Time 1414–1449

The conciliar movement was a fifteenth-century current within the Catholic Church holding that the authority of a general council surpassed that of t…

Timeline

  1. 1414–1418Constance · GermanyThe Council of Constance deposed antipopes and elected Martin V, ending the Western Schism, and through decrees such as Haec sancta asserted that general councils should be held regularly and derive their authority from the whole Church.
  2. 1431–1439Basel · SwitzerlandThe Council of Basel passed documents such as the Basel Decrees, declaring that a general council represents the whole Church and that the pope must obey it, and pushing for reform of papal finances, episcopal appointments, and religious orders.
  3. 1441–1450Basel · SwitzerlandIn the 1440s the Council of Basel clashed fiercely with Pope Eugene IV; the council condemned the pope and pursued union negotiations with the Eastern Orthodox Church, while some delegates moved to Florence. Conciliarism reached its high point but met resistance from Rome.
  4. 1449–1500Rome · ItalyAfter the Council of Basel split, its strength dissipated; the pope reaffirmed papal supremacy, and the Fifth Lateran Council (1512–1517) marked the effective end of the conciliar movement, consolidating the centralized papal system.

Sources