What was the Avignon Papacy / Babylonian Captivity of the Church?

Answer

The Avignon Papacy refers to the period during which the Roman Catholic pope resided in Avignon, France, instead of in Rome, from around 1309 to 1377. It is sometimes known as the Babylonian Captivity of the Church because it lasted almost 70 years, mirroring the length of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews in the Bible “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”, (Jeremiah 29:10).

Significant conflict arose between King Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII. Following the short reign of Boniface VIII’s successor, Benedict XI, a highly disputed papal conclave ultimately selected Clement V, a Frenchman, as the next pope. Clement chose to stay in France and set up a new papal residence in Avignon in 1309. The subsequent six popes, all French, continued the papal presence in Avignon.

In 1376, Pope Gregory XI opted to relocate the papacy back to Rome due to the increasing influence the French monarchy had gained over the papacy during its time in Avignon. However, upon Gregory XI’s death, his successor Urban VI faced rejection by a large part of Christendom. This led to a rival line of popes in Avignon opposing the Roman pontiffs. This division, known as the Western Schism, saw some clergy supporting the Avignon popes while others backed the Roman pontiffs.

The Western Schism gave impetus to the conciliar movement (conciliarism), where ecumenical church councils asserted authority over the papacy. The Council of Pisa in 1410 elected a new pope, Alexander V, who reigned for ten months before being succeeded by John XXIII. Thus, there were three claimants to the papacy for a period of time.

nts to the papacy: one in Rome, one in Avignon, and one in Pisa. At the Council of Constance in 1417, John XXIII was deposed, Gregory XII of Rome was forced to resign, the Avignon popes were declared to be “antipopes,” and Pope Martin V was elected as the new pope in Rome. These decisions were accepted by the vast majority of Christendom, and so the Western Schism was ended, although there were various men claiming to be the pope in France until 1437.

Biblically speaking, there is no office of pope. Jesus is the head of the church, and the Holy Spirit is the “vicar of Christ.” The entire mess of the Avignon Papacy / Babylonian Captivity of the Church could have been avoided if the church simply followed what the Bible says about church government. One man being the supreme authority over the church is definitely not what the Bible teaches.