Medieval Church History: Early Reformers

By Phil Newton

Of Popes and Councils

Much of the 14th and 15th centuries saw struggles with the papacy seeking to hold its power, church councils trying to limit the power or at least define it, and the populace confused on what a church and its leaders were to be. This period is often called "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church," since it was a time that the papacy left Rome for Avignon, France. A great council gathered in Pisa, Italy in 1409 in an attempt to settle the dispute between rival popes in Rome and Avignon. The council had the support of the Catholic College of Cardinals and most of the leaders of Europe. It decided that both of the popes were unworthy to serve, so it declared both popes illegitimate, elected Alexander V as pope (this was done by the cardinals), and took measures to alleviate the practice of simony and other ills that plagued the papacy.

But this did not go over with the other two popes, who both refused to step down. Now three popes "ruled" the church with each having supporters. Alexander V died within a year so that Pope John XXIII was elected to replace him and contend with the trio of popes. (In the last century there was another John XXIII, being so named because Rome only recognizes the popes who reigned from Rome and not the other locations. The first John 23rd was considered a "Pisan Pope" and not legitimate). Ironically, John XXIII fled to Germany from Pisa, taking refuge with the powerful emperor Sigismund. But John fell into the same lifestyle trap as the other popes, discrediting him so that he council demanded his resignation. He ended up fleeing, living as a fugitive, and was finally captured and condemned to prison the rest of his life so that he could no longer claim the papacy.

The Roman pope, Gregory XII, resigned and was replaced by Martin V. The last pope in the Avignon line was Benedict XIII who had little power, being unrecognized by most. To say that confusion marked the Roman church is an understatement!

All of this took place during an era known as The Hundred Years War (1337-1475), a period of ongoing hostility between the powers of Europe, especially between England and France. Much of it centered on one throne's claim to land in the other throne's territory. During this time the economy of Europe gradually shifted toward credit, trade, and manufacturing which increased the power of the bourgeoisie, an early version of the middle class. France tried to use the papacy to strengthen its interests, which led to the papacy moving to Avignon 

During this period Joan of Arc became a heroine of France as she claimed to have visions ordering her to take the crown prince's troops (the Dauphin as he was called after his father, Philip VI died) - later called Charles VII - and besiege Orleans in order to have the Dauphin crowned. The "Maid of Orleans" was successful in her military pursuit, and was able to accompany the new king in a triumphal march to the city of Reims where the French kings were crowned. Charles would not let Joan return home but insisted that she continued fighting for him. Eventually, she was captured and sold to the English, who sold her to the bishop of Beauvais for 10,000 francs. He tried her as a heretic and witch due to her claim of having visions of speaking to Saints Catherine and Margaret. She was burned in the Old Market Square of Rouen. Charles VII, for whom she had risked her life, did nothing to come to her aid. Twenty years later he called for an inquiry about her death and exonerated her. In 1920, Benedict XV made her a Roman saint, though she had been a French national heroine for many years before this.

Interestingly, since during the Hundred Years War the pope resided in Avignon under the support of the French, the English viewed the papacy as their enemy. This helped to set the stage of suspicion of the Roman church that later came to fruition in the English Reformation.

In the early years of the War, the bubonic plague broke out, transmitted by fleas with black rats being their hosts (1347). It devastated Europe with estimates of a third of the popular dying of the plague and related causes. This in turn affected the economy of Europe since there was less need for goods. Unemployment soared. One strange footnote of the plagues was that the Jewish community was violently persecuted during this time since few Jews fell to the plague. Out of jealousy and superstition, they were persecuted. But it seems that the reason they had less plague is that they had more cats and thus fewer rats to carry the disease. Christians had associated cats with witchcraft and so had not availed themselves of the rat-killers! Superstition increased during this time, as did veneration of relics associated with the church. It seemed that anything was permissible to stay the plague.

One of the people that brought about the return of the papacy to Rome was Catherine of Siena. She was part of an order that devoted themselves to penance and contemplation. Actually she was a mystic and a renowned teacher of mysticism. She claimed to have a vision that motivated her to campaign for the return of the pope to Rome. Many revered her, claiming that she was a miracle worker. She claimed, the papal stay in Avignon offended God. So in 1377, Pope Gregory entered Rome with great rejoicing. Catherine was later declared to be a saint and in 1970 give the title "doctor of the church," a title that only two woman have received. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church had ended, and Catherine of Siena had a major part in it, according to Roman tradition.

But the French would not take matters lying down! They wanted their own pope! The French had earlier stacked the College of Cardinals with Frenchmen. Pope Urban VI, who was now in Rome, recognized that he had to turn this around, so he denounced the luxurious lifestyles of the cardinals, calling them traitors to Christ. He decided to excommunicate them and establish his own college of cardinals, loyal to his ideas. But the French caught wind of this, and quickly elected a new pope, claiming that he was the legitimate successor to St. Peter. Now there were two popes elected by the same council! The new pope, Clement, lacked the humility and piety of Urban, but he was skilled in diplomacy. He decided to attack Urban in Rome to rest the throne of Peter from him. But being repulsed, he retreated to Avignon, with France and her ally, Scotland, supporting his papacy and most of Europe supporting Urban in Rome. Neither of the popes did anything substantial to curb the simony and avarice of the papacy and religious offices. It only increased them since the popes needed funds to compete with his rival - thus selling ecclesiastical offices became the norm to raise cash.

 

John Wycliffe

During this controversy with the papacy, John Wycliffe was born around 1320-24 near the village of Old Richmond in Yorkshire, England. He enrolled at Oxford as a 16 year old, proving to be a scholar of great ability, ably gifted in speaking, and undaunted in courage. He received degrees through the Doctor of Theology at Oxford. King Edward III noticed him in 1366 when a pamphlet Wycliffe wrote against the papacy having any claim to tribute from King Edward. Edward brought him into his own service, as he also refused to pay tribute to the pope. Wycliffe continued to gain the admiration of the king through his writings and teaching but was hated by the mendicant monks because he criticized them for their laziness and perversions of Christianity. He called foolish their worship of images and relics, denounced their sales of indulgences, "masses for the dead and processions and pilgrimages" [S.M. Houghton, Sketches of Church History, 66]. He even called the pope Anti-Christ "the proud, worldly priest of Rome, the most accursed of clippers and purse curvers" (robbers) [ibid.]. After being summoned to appear at St. Paul's in London for a church convocation looking into charges against him, Wycliffe was protected by the king's son, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. The pope issued five papal bulls against him, condemning him on 19 charges due to his writings.

Yet the bigger crisis facing Wycliffe came due to his attack upon the Roman dogma of transubstantiation. He pointed out that the idea of priests having power to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ elevated them, in the church's eyes, even higher than the princes of the land. Due to his rejection of transubstantiation and its popularity, the king withdrew support, as did his fellows at Oxford. Wycliffe's popularity with the common man, though, likely kept him from physical harm.

Wycliffe knew nothing of moderation and deliberation in his attacks on Rome. He was a serious minded person that sought "with one blow" to overthrow the false teachings of Rome, and to return to the purity of the gospel. For his efforts, he is often called, "The Morning Star of the Reformation," since he began to chip away at the false teaching of Rome that had captivated all of Europe.

Parliament instructed the Archbishop of Canterbury to assemble a church council to deal with the writings and teachings of Wycliffe. But during its session, an earthquake rumbled across England, dubbing now the council as "the Earthquake Council." Most looked at this as a divine sign of affirmation in favor of Wycliffe. Still, the council condemned Wycliffe's doctrine. He refused the summons to appear before the pope - either of them, calling them both Anti-Christ. His followers faced much greater persecution as Wycliffe died peacefully on December 31, 1384. The intensity of persecution against his followers, known as Lollards - a derisive term meaning "mumblers" - grew. The legacy that Wycliffe left, though, was not only his writings, but also his translation of the Bible from the Latin into the common English tongue. The Roman church disallowed any but the clergy to read Scripture, keeping it hidden from the common man lest they see that their doctrines were doctrines of men and not of God. Wycliffe did not know Greek or Hebrew but being well versed in Latin, he did the translation. It was inadequate as far as a translation goes, but it was a start in the right direction. His followers copied the translation (which he probably had some help in doing) by hand since this was before Guttenberg's invention of the printing press. Finally, men were able to read the Bible for themselves in their own tongue. The Lollards spent their time, clad in their long, reddish-brown gowns, going from village to village with Scripture portions to read and sell.

Forty years after Wycliffe's death, the Council of Constance (1415) declared that his bones were to be dug up and burned as a heretic. It was finally carried out in 1428 by the Bishop of Lincoln, who upon taking up "the remains, scattered the ashes upon the waters of the River Swift which runs through Lutterworth." Houghton comments, "It has been well said that, as the ashes were carried by the Swift to the Avon, by the Avon to the Severn, by the Severn to the 'narrow seas', and by the 'narrow seas' to the ocean, so the reformer's teachings and message reached out into all England, and from England into far-distant lands. Indeed, Wycliffe was 'The Morning Star of the Reformation' which commenced in the 16th century" [68].

 

John Huss

While Wycliffe's primary ministry was in England, his work spread to the continent where John Huss of Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) lived. Two cartoons in Wycliffe's writings penetrated this scholar's mind. The first depicted Jesus wearing the crown of thorns and the pope wearing a crown of gold, along with rich purple and silk clothing. The second depicted Jesus declaring to the woman, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," and the pope on the reverse side selling indulgences. "The truth which these cartoons so eloquently proclaimed opened the eyes of Huss to see clearly the sad condition of the Church," wrote Houghton [69]. Though born of peasant parents, by the generosity of a rich nobleman, Huss was educated well, and with his gifts became the Rector of Prague University when only 34 years old. Huss sought to understand the Scriptures. Wycliffe's writings had found their way to Bohemia due to King Richard II of England having married a Bohemian, Anne, who love the Word of God, and labored to get Wycliffe's writings back to her homeland. Thus John Huss, in God's providence, was prepared to further reformation in Europe by the nobleman's gift of education, and the Queen of England's gift of returning the truth of Scripture to her homeland of Bohemia.

Huss began to preach in a chapel called Bethlehem Chapel, a place where Bohemians might hear the teaching of Scripture in their own language. Huss exposed the superstitions of Catholicism and the clergy's sins. He taught the Word of God, feeding these hungry souls. Soon the Archbishop of Prague denounced him and even burned Huss' books along with those of Wycliffe. Being interviewed, Huss was asked if he was prepared to obey the pope's commands. "'Yes', he replied, 'so far as they agree with the doctrine of Christ, but when I see the contrary I will not obey them, even though you burn my body'" [Houghton 69]. The term, "contrary," came from Wycliffe's teaching that if the pope or a priest's teachings were contrary to Christ, they were not to be obeyed. The pope excommunicated Huss.

He was called upon to appear before the General Council of Constance in 1414, having been promised safe conduct by the German Emperor Sigismund. But after a month of his arrival, Huss was arrested and imprisoned. At his trial he complained of the Emperor's promise not being carried out. The Emperor hung his head in shame while acquiescing to the power of Rome. Condemned to be burned as a heretic, Huss prayed for God's mercy and pardon to be shown to all his enemies. When the Archbishop of Milan and his accomplices carried out the work of stripping him from his office of priest, they called out, "We commit thy soul to the devil." Huss replied, "And I commit it to the Lord Jesus Christ." He demonstrated marvelous strength as the wood and straw were piled about him, commending himself to the Lord and declaring his willingness to suffer shame and death for the sake of the gospel and the preaching of the Word.

Back in Bohemia, a revolt began due to the injustice of murdering Huss by the Roman authorities. Led by a one-eyed man named Ziska, the Bohemians demanded religious toleration and release of their friends that had been imprisoned. When the authorities refused, the Bohemians threw 13 council members out of the windows of the council room. War ensued, lasting 15 years, with Ziska leading the Bohemians, now known as Hussites, in repelling even Emperor Sigismund's 80,000 soldiers. Their headquarters was on a mountain known as Tabor, thus they were often called Taborites. They later were called Bohemian Brethren, and then Moravian Brethren. They became some of the first missionaries for the Christian gospel into the world, and later had great influence on the conversion of John Wesley.

 

Girolamo Savonarola

Florence, Italy, the center of the Renaissance under the leadership of Lorenzo "the Magnificent" de Medici, revived the learning and art of the Greek era. From a positive side, it spurred scholarship and classical learning to new heights, opening the way for future scholars to question the superstitions of the medieval period. But it also brought with it a new type of artistry, featuring veneration of Mary and saints, proliferation of nude statues and artwork, and a revival of attention to the pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses. In this setting, Lorenzo de Medici invited Savonarola to Florence.

After joining the monastery of St Mark as a Dominican friar, Savonarola started a series of expositions of Scripture to the friars. This soon grew in popularity until it was transferred to the church at St. Mark's. On Lent, 1492, the main church in the city, the Duomo, invited Savonarola to preach. He took up his customary theme, denouncing the evils and vices of the city, contrasting Christianity with the luxury enjoyed by many Florentines of power. Lorenzo and the powerful did not like what they heard. He sought to denounce Savonarola through another preacher but the monk's popularity with the masses proved too much to overcome.

When Lorenzo lay dying, he called for Savonarola to come to his bedside. The powerful leader lay helpless, thinking seriously of his sins and the eternity before him. Reportedly, Savonarola had no words of comfort to him, though it seems that the reason was due to Lorenzo's refusal to repent of his sins.

After Lorenzo's death, his son, Pietro became the ruler but lacked the will and power to stand in his father's stead. After failing to deal with the threat of a French invasion, Pietro fled. Savonarola successfully negotiated with the French, and promised to be their ally in the future. The people called for him to be their new leader. He jumped at the chance to do this, thinking that he could better bring about reforms as the leader of government. But it seemed to backfire on him. Savonarola's reforms centered on moral issues and not doctrinal issues. Though he is counted among the reformers, it is due primarily to the influence that he provided in chipping away at the vices of Rome, exposing the avarice of the priests and their immoral practices.

Savonarola sought to establish a "Christian commonwealth" in Florence, outlawing various vices, gambling, lewdness in dress, and even licentious artwork. Huge "bonfire of vanities" was held to burn art, clothing, jewelry, and other things associated with Florence's sinful practices. But once he touched on these areas, the opposition began to stir. Foolishly, Savonarola claimed to have a gift of prophecy, predicting some things that happened, but also failing in some of his prophecies. This undermined his influence. He also angered Pope Alexander Borgia, a Spaniard who was one of the wickedest men to occupy the papal throne. He had five illegitimate children before securing the papacy, and made it no secret that he sought to secure their futures through advancing his children in marriages and political ties in Europe. Houghton comments, "He held no moral principles that would have obstructed his aims. He was completely unscrupulous, and was quite willing to engage in murder and the use of poison if his schemes could thereby be helped forward" [73]. He tried to bribe Savonarola with a cardinal's hat but he responded, "I do not desire any other crown than the crown of a martyr" [Houghton 74]. So the pope used his power to influence others to belittle Savonarola in order to undermine his authority. Finally, the pope excommunicated him and had him imprisoned. The very citizens that once lauded him turned against him in condemnation. After much torture in attempts to force a confession from him, he was ready to die.

In May 1498, in the Piazza de Navonna, a crowd gathered as Savonarola was first hanged and then burned along with two friends. His ashes were gathered and thrown into the Arno River that runs through the city, while citizens tried to find a relic of the martyr to feed their superstitious practices. Though not involved in doctrinal reformation, Savonarola holds his place as one that chipped away at Rome's foundation through moral reformation.

 

Sources: S. M. Houghton, Sketches from Church History; Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity

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