He only called the council after pressure from German Emperor Sigismund. However, Cossa believed he could benefit from the council. He thought he had the strongest claim to the pontificate, as he was the consensus candidate from the Council of Pisa. But Cossa's family cautioned him that he could lose everything at the council.
They reportedly said , "You may go a pope and come back a private citizen. During the Council of Constance , the church finally addressed the problem of three rival popes.
But it wasn't easy. Cossa attended the council and, early in the process, it appeared he would become the consensus choice. Most council members agreed that as the choice of the Council of Pisa, Cossa had the strongest claim to the title. But the French, English, and Germans split from Cossa's corner, arguing that all three popes should abdicate. The Council of Constance wasn't going to let Cossa continue as pope.
Instead, they pressured him to resign. Cossa tried to negotiate, promising to resign if his two rival popes also resigned. When the council turned down Cossa's proposal, he ran. Cossa disguised himself as a private citizen and fled from Constance. His plan was to disband the council by denouncing its authority. Instead, the council declared itself the supreme authority in the church and ordered Cossa's capture. Cossa was deposed on May 29, After he was charged at the Council of Constance, Cossa was put under arrest.
According to 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon , "The most scandalous charges were suppressed; the Vicar of Christ was only accused of piracy [and other serious transgressions]. Cossa was held prisoner by Emperor Sigismund until , when he was released for ransom.
Cossa's successor, Pope Martin V, agreed to name Cossa cardinal-bishop of Tusculum, but after only a few months in the position, Cossa perished. After being captured, Cossa spent several years as the prisoner of German Emperor Sigismund. The council also eliminated the other two popes. Benedict demanded to name his successor, which the council denied. They tried him in absentia and deposed him on July 26, , finally ending the Western Schism. The council considered not naming a new pope and ruling as the supreme authority over the church.
In a group of cardinals from the contending Roman and Avignonese obediences, including Cossa, got together at Pisa to elect a Pope who would be universally accepted, and so end the crisis in the Church.
But all they managed to do was to create a third obedience and it was this one which Cossa led after his election. Other Catholics regarded him as an Antipope and when the Schism was finally brought to an end at the Council of Constance in , Popes elected during its course were regarded as uncanonical, hence the name and number could be reused. John left a terrible reputation, which was one reason why over half a millennium went by before the name was adopted again.
He owed his election to Medici gold. His court was astonishingly corrupt and the Pope was libidinous and brutal. Even today the list of charges directed against him at Constance holds the power to shock. Did anything good come out of his legacy? The Medici had supported Cossa in his campaign to become cardinal and pope. John had his officials sell indulgences, a controversial practice that was protested in various parts of Europe, for instance by the followers of Jan Hus in Prague.
An initial victory proved short-lived and Ladislaus retook Rome in , forcing John to flee to Florence. In Florence he met Sigismund, who had just been crowned King of Germany and who had ambitions to become emperor. Sigismund wanted to end the schism and urged John to call a general council. John did so with hesitation, afraid that he might be deposed at the council. The Council of Constance was convened on 30 October The council resolved that all three popes should abdicate and a new pope be elected.
Gregory agreed and John initially did as well, but then he fled the council, hoping that without him it would lose its authority. Instead, the council deposed him and tried him for heresy, simony, schism and immorality, finding him guilty on all counts.
Martin V was elected as new pope in
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