The History of the Church through 100 Masterpieces

The Triumph of the Papacy

The History of the Church 136 The Triumph of the Papacy By deposing two popes in one single stroke in order to appoint a new pontiff (without counting its obtaining the abdication of the third), the Council of Constance would seem to have confirmed the supremacy of an assembly of bishops over the pope. However, this conflict of authority reemerged during the neverending Council of Basel, held from 1431 to 1443. Exasperated with conciliar intrigues and lengthy debates, the pope transferred the council to Ferrara, a town in closer reach. At this, the majority of the council fathers deposed him and elected the gentle Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, under the name of Felix V. A grand nobleman who had become a saintly man, Felix, despite himself, donned the vestments of the antipope, which he bore for nine years while his rival, Eugene IV, continued occupying the See of Rome. Once again, there were two papal lines. Nicholas V succeeded Eugene IV. The elderly Felix, sincerely afflicte by the situation, brought it to an end in 1449 by solemnly abdicating and acknowledging his rival as the true pope . . . who forthwith named him a cardinal! The fathers of the council now understood: the supreme authority of the Catholic Church lay in Rome. Therewas a second reversal at the Council of Basel (become Council of Ferrara and then of Florence). The reunification of the churches of the East and West was formally proclaimed at the council, with the agreement of the emperor of Byzantium. However, the Orthodox world, though under Turkish pressure, could not subscribe to an alliance imposed by their ruler and arrived at for political reasons. Bernardino Pinturicchio (1454–1513) Eneas Piccolomini (future Pius II) arrives at the Council of Basel Piccolomini Library, Siena ...