The Pope, the Antipope and the Other Pope

Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII on 20th September, 1378. Inconveniently, there was already a pope: Urban VI. Cue three decades of confusion and division, as citizens and nations had to choose which pope to support - the one in Rome, or the one Avignon - the situation becoming more inflamed as both popes engaged in aggressive rhetoric against each other. Unbelievably, efforts to resolve the schism resulted in the election of a THIRD pope, John XXIII, in Pisa, further complicating matters. It took four years and the Council of Constance to finally bring an end to the crisis by demanding the abdication of all three popes, and a FOURTH pope, Martin V, was then elected. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the problems the schism caused for a generation of Catholics; marvel at the unGodlike behaviour of this era of popes; and consider whether Pope Francis is, himself, an antipope… #Medieval #Catholic #Religion #Strange Further Reading: ‘The Crazy Truth About The Time When There Were Three Popes’ (Grunge, 2023): https://www.grunge.com/249934/the-crazy-truth-about-the-time-when-there-were-three-popes/ ‘Pope Urban VI and the Anti-Pope Clement VII - Master of the Getty Froissart’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/pope-urban-vi-and-the-anti-pope-clement-vii/sQFL-DyiiICnLw ‘Why were there three popes at the same time? - Joëlle Rollo-Koster’ (TedEx, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i2bd5F1BXM #pope #popes ... Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices