1431-1449 · Basel, Switzerland

Council of Basel

A church council tried to strip the pope of his authority and govern the Church by committee, creating a constitutional crisis that dragged on for nearly two decades before papal power won out.

The Council of Basel opened in 1431 and quickly became a power struggle between the assembled bishops and Pope Eugene IV. The conciliarist movement — the idea that a general council held authority over the pope — was at its peak. The Western Schism had badly damaged papal prestige, and many churchmen genuinely believed that governing the Church through regular councils was the only way to prevent another disaster. The bishops at Basel passed sweeping reforms, tried to negotiate reunion with the Eastern Orthodox, and attempted to control papal finances. When Eugene IV tried to move the council to Ferrara (and later Florence) to pursue reunification with the Greek Church on his own terms, the Basel fathers refused to leave. The situation descended into farce. Basel declared Eugene deposed and elected an antipope, Felix V. Eugene's rival council at Florence actually achieved a brief reunion with the Eastern churches in 1439. By the late 1440s, Basel had lost most of its support. Felix V resigned in 1449, the last antipope in Catholic history. The conciliarist movement was dead. Papal authority emerged stronger than ever, which meant the reforms the Church desperately needed would have to wait another century, until the situation had gotten bad enough to produce the Protestant Reformation.

Why it matters

Represented the final major challenge of conciliarism to papal supremacy and, by its failure, ensured that needed Church reforms were delayed until the crisis of the Reformation forced them.