Council of Constance

The Council of Constance was an ecumenical council held from 1414 to 1418 to end the Western Schism, reform the Church, and address disputed teachings.

Western Schism: A division in the Western Church from 1378 to 1417, during which rival popes claimed legitimacy. Ending these competing papal claims was the council’s most urgent task.
Jan Hus: A Bohemian religious reformer and preacher executed for heresy in 1415. The council condemned him despite his safe-conduct from King Sigismund.
Avignon Papacy: The period from 1309 to 1376 when successive popes resided in Avignon rather than Rome. Its legacy of competing claims over papal legitimacy helped set the stage for the Western Schism.
Hussite Wars: A series of conflicts in Bohemia from 1419 to 1434 between Hussite reformers and their opponents. Hus’s execution at Constance helped trigger the Bohemian revolt.
Council of Pisa: A council held in 1409 that tried to end the Western Schism by deposing rival popes and electing a new one. Its failed attempt to resolve the schism left three papal claimants for Constance to address.
John Wycliffe: An English theologian whose critiques of Church authority and doctrines influenced later reform movements. The council condemned his teachings and ordered his remains exhumed and burned.
Pope Gregory XII: Pope from 1406 to 1415 who resigned during the Council of Constance to help end the Western Schism. His resignation cleared one obstacle to restoring a single papacy.
Bohemian Reformation: A religious reform movement in Bohemia that developed before the Protestant Reformation and included Hussite traditions. Hus’s condemnation strengthened the reform movement the council sought to suppress.
Pope Martin V: Pope from 1417 to 1431, elected at the Council of Constance after the Western Schism. His election at the council restored a single widely recognized papacy.
Jerome of Prague: A Bohemian scholar and preacher executed for heresy at Constance in 1416. His trial followed the council’s condemnation of Jan Hus.

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