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Crisis in the Late Medieval Church

Summary: The Effects of a Century of Crisis

Centralization

Through the efforts of popes like John XXIII, power within the Church was more centralized than it had ever been. More bishoprics were under papal authority, more sources of revenue flowed directly to the curia, and the College of Cardinals was firmly in control as the senate of Christendom, holding all the major curial offices. At the same time, however, the kings of Europe had demonstrated once and for all that they could defy the Church with relative impunity.

Anti-clericalism

Both the crisis and the innovations that resulted from it fueled the sentiments of anti-clericalism at every level of society. For the crisis involved more than just the central power, it involved bishops, abbots, and even common priests. The excesses of the papacy at Avignon, and even more the spectacle of the schism, caused many thoughtful Christians to lose faith not in their religion, but in the priesthood. The most significant development was that of lay piety, movements all over Europe (but especially strong in the cities) in which laymen sought God not through the agency of their priest and the sacraments, but through Bible study and common prayer.

Conciliarism

The conciliar movement did not lead to any permanent change in the Church--the popes triumphed over it. The writings of the conciliarists, however, had a lasting impact on political thought in Europe. In their criticisms of the papacy, and in their exaltation of royal power, they laid the foundations on which later thinkers drew. Some chose the royalist arguments and developed theories of absolutism; others chose the anti-papal emphasis and developed theories justifying the resistance of a free people against a tyrant.

Loss of leadership

The Renaissance popes were the most magnificent in the history of the Church. They held more territories, enjoyed more wealth, and claimed almost limitless powers. Ironically, these same popes had lost almost completely the spiritual leadership of the Church. Everywhere one looks in 15th century Europe, movements of reform and spirituality were taking place outside the confines of the Catholic Church; indeed, we find the popes condemning and even excommunicating some of these reformers. The last place an ardent Christian looked to for leadership in the 15th century was to Rome.