Religion 8-2

8th Grade Religion Chapter 11 

Define: antipope, Great Schism of the West, Renaissance, humanism 

The late Middle Ages was a time of disease, disorder, and great change for the Church and the world. 

A highly contagious disease, Black Death, spread throughout Europe. Scientists today believe that most of those who died from the Black Death died from what we know today as the bubonic plague. 

People's views on life and faith had changed: they acted unjustly toward others and some took their anger out on God and blamed him for all that was happening. 

Europe was in a time of crisis: England and France were at war with each other, Germany was suffering under ineffective rulers and Muslim Turks had taken over the great Christian capital of Constantinople and eventually had conquered all of southeastern Europe. 

The devotion to the Christian faith was falling away. A major problem in the Church was that there was a lack of understanding of the real meaning of the Eucharist, which should be the center of every Christian's spiritual life. Mass was in Latin and few lay people spoke or understood the language causing them to sit through Mass in silence. 

The Pope is also the Bishop of Rome. As the Bishop of Rome, the Pope had always lived in Rome. This was true until Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon, a city in southeastern France. 

This made it look like the French government was running the Church and not the Pope himself. 

* Pope Gregory XI  moved the papacy back to Rome in 1377. After his death, an Italian pope, Pope Urban VI, was elected. 
Pope Urban VI would not step down. 

Now two men were claiming to be Pope, causing a schism in the Church. Upon the deaths of Clement VII and Urban VI, two new popes were elected, each one claiming to be the real pope.

This was known as the Great Schism of the West. Both Popes were dethroned and Pope Alexander V was elected and set up his papacy in Pisa, Italy.

Now all three men were claiming to be the true pope.

A general council of the Church met in the city of Constance, Switzerland, and decided to set aside the three rival popes and elect a new pope, Pope Martin V.

The Great Schism of the West ended after 40 years. 

Christian humanism helped the Church REDISCOVER the humanism that lies at the heart of the Gospel message.*  Notes on this were discussed in class on Friday and written on the whiteboard.  You have them in your notebook