![[Prev Page]](/courses/westciv/images/previous.gif)
![[Contents]](/courses/westciv/images/toc.gif)
![[Next Page]](/courses/westciv/images/next.gif)
Crisis in the Late Medieval Church
The Council of Constance
The election of Martin V was just the beginning of the Council's work, for by this time many people believed that reform of the Church was necessary to prevent another catastrophe like the Schism. The prelates now began to consider the thorny issue of reform.
Suppression of heresy
The most pressing issue after the ending of the Schism was that of heresy; specifically, John Hus of Bohemia. Hus had ignited a controversy over the Eucharist, claiming the right for the laity to receive both the bread and the wine at Mass.
Hus had already been condemned, but he was invited to Constance to defend his views and to answer charges. Sigismund gave him an imperial safe conduct, but Hus was arrested almost immediately upon arriving. He languished for months in prison before even being allowed to speak. He was condemned by the Council as a heretic and burned at the stake in 1416.
Conciliar Reform
The Council did attempt to reform the Church, but most of its actions were little more than calls for the new pope to do something. Its most significant reform concerned councils in general.
The Council of Constance affirmed the supremacy of a General Council within Christendom. It went on to require the calling of a new council every five years. The Council was clearly trying to create a kind of parliament for Christendom, an assembly to act as a counterweight to papal authority.
In fact this did not happen, as the popes quickly regained control of the Church. Martin V used a variety of tactics to avoid calling another council, and was so successful that in fact no council met during his pontificate. He also ignored most of the reforms of Constance, largely because they tended to circumscribe papal power.