CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: C - The Western Schism began when a rival papacy in Avignon was established in 1378. Urban VI became the pope (in Rome) in 1378 but quickly alarmed the cardinals with irrational behavior. A group of cardinals adjourned and appointed a new pope, Clement VII, even though Urban VI was still in power. The rival papacy relocated to Avignon and prompted a split in Catholic Christendom as heads of state were forced to choose which pope they recognized as the official head of the Church. In 1414 the Council of Constance was convoked to address the issue, though it took several years to resolve. In 1418 the Avignon papacy, which had been rife with corruption, was deemed illegitimate. The event was damaging to the Church in terms of how people viewed its authority and contributed to the eventual Reformation movement. (Note: The Western Schism is sometimes called the “Great Schism,” which is also applied to the East-West Schism of 1054, when the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches split.)