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Crisis in the Late Medieval Church
Introduction
The Catholic Church endured a prolonged period of crisis that lasted from 1305 until 1416; some would extend the date even later. During these years, the Church found its authority undermined, openly challenged, and divided among rivals. Although it emerged at the end of the period with its authority seemingly intact, the struggle brought significant changes to the structure of the Church and sowed seeds that would later be harvested in the Reformation.
The century of crisis divides into two periods of unequal length. In the first phase, the popes were resident not in Rome but in Avignon, in southern France. Because a bishop is supposed to reside in his see, this circumstance, which lasted from 1305 to 1378, undermined the authority and prestige of the papacy.
No sooner did the popes finally return to Rome than there was a disputed election. For the next 38 years there were two popes in Christendom, each with his own college of cardinals and curia. This state of affairs scandalized pious Christians and further diminished the prestige of the papacy.
Oddly enough, in response to these events, individual popes extended themselves to bolster papal authority and draw to themselves more tightly the reins of power. Consequently, we see a concurrent development in which papal government was rationalized, centralized, and made more efficient. This lead to an increase in revenues and in claims to authority. Once the crisis was over, the popes that followed were among the most magnificent and splendid the Church has ever seen.
The long crisis of the Church began with a confrontation between two powerful and determined figures: King Philip IV of France, and Pope Boniface VIII.