The Avignon Papacy began in 1309 during a time of political turmoil within the Church and Europe. Disputes between papacy and temporal authorities had increased in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, particularly between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France. Boniface's renowned papal bull Unam Sanctam (1302) proclaimed papal authority over temporal rulers, which provoked Philip's ire, and Boniface was brutally arrested and killed shortly thereafter. Following Boniface's replacement, Pope Benedict XI, sudden death (allegedly poisoned), the College of Cardinals dominated by the French elected Clement V, who had close links with Philip IV. Rather than moving to Rome, Clement would rather stay in Avignon, a city outside French territory but effectively under French domination.
The French Domination and Centralization of the Church
Seven successive popes, all French, resided between the years 1309 and 1377 in Avignon, further centralizing the Church's administration and subjecting it to French interests. The papacy was drawn into temporal politics, especially in support of French dynastic claims. Avignon itself had become a rich, bureaucratized court with the reputation of being wealthy and wasteful. The papal court further encouraged indulgences and taxation, and more of them were criticized. The popes even tightened their control over European bishops' appointments, which generated resentment from clergy and kings as well. It was during this period that there was a transformation of the pope from being a spiritual shepherd of the universal Church to a monarch type ruler entangled in political games and luxury.
Decline of Papal Power and Reforms
The tableau of a papacy subservient to the French crown did much injury to the spiritual influence of the Church. The majority saw the papacy as having abandoned its role as moral beacon and defender of faith and succumbed to corruption and nationalism. Its critics, like Petrarch, referred to this era as the "Babylonian Captivity of the Church," evoking the biblical exile of the Jews, meaning the pope, like Israel, had been taken away from his own homeland. While administrative reforms did take place—such as the creation of a more organized papal chancery—the spiritual and symbolic damage was considerable. The longer the papacy remained at Avignon, the more so its legitimacy was undermined by the broader Christian world, and notably in Italy and the German Empire.
Return to Rome and the Great Western Schism
After nearly seven decades, Pope Gregory XI yielded to the calls of reformers like St. Catherine of Siena and moved the papal court to Rome in 1377. However, he died just a year later. An enraged and stormy conclave in 1378 chose Urban VI, an Italian who was known for being strict and reform-oriented. The French cardinals, arguing that the election had been made under mob pressure in Rome, annulled it and elected their own pope—Clement VII, back to Avignon. Thus began the Western Schism (1378–1417), with rival popes (later antipopes) in Rome and Avignon, each claiming to be Peter's rightful successor. Both camps were favored by various European kingdoms, which led to an enormous crisis of leadership and unity in the Church.
The Solution at the Council of Constance
To stop the schism, a few cardinals attempted to rectify the issue at the Council of Pisa (1409) by electing a new pope, Alexander V, but this created a third claimant. The crisis finally ended with the Council of Constance (1414–1418), which asserted conciliar superiority over the pope, deposed or accepted the resignation of all current claimants, and elected Martin V in 1417, reunifying the Church. However, the schism had severely undermined the legitimacy of the Church. It uncovered the failure of the papacy office as a guarantor of doctrine and unity and led to conciliarism, which held that there was more authority in Church councils than in the pope. Although later Rome condemned conciliarism, what transpired during the Avignon Papacy and Western Schism would cast a very long shadow on papal power and would be one of the causes of the following Reformation.
During the Avignon Papacy and especially during the Western Schism, multiple rival popes excommunicated each other, along with their respective followers.
Pope Urban VI (Rome) vs. Antipope Clement VII (Avignon)
After Urban VI was elected in 1378, French cardinals declared the election invalid and elected Clement VII.
Urban VI excommunicated Clement VII and his cardinals, accusing them of schism and heresy.
In response, Clement VII excommunicated Urban VI, claiming he was not the true pope and that his election was forced by Roman mobs.
Pope Boniface IX / Innocent VII / Gregory XII (Rome) vs. Antipope Benedict XIII (Avignon)
The successors of Urban VI continued to excommunicate the Avignon popes, particularly Benedict XIII.
Gregory XII (Rome) and Benedict XIII (Avignon) excommunicated one another repeatedly between 1406–1409.
These excommunications included entire groups of clergy and states, such as cardinals, monarchs, and their supporting nations.
Council of Pisa (1409) and the Third Pope
In an attempt to end the schism, a council declared both Gregory XII and Benedict XIII deposed, and elected a third pope, Alexander V, creating three claimants.
This led to a situation where all three popes excommunicated each other and denounced their rivals as illegitimate usurpers.
This creates a huge issue for Roman Catholicism as it rejects conciliarity
In conclusion:
In the Eastern Orthodox worldview, councils can depose popes and make decisions independent of the pope's authority. At the Council of Constance this is what exactly happened they deposed the popes rivaling against one another and whom were all holding a claim to the papacy and the council decided to elect a new pope in all of their places. This ultimately refutes the Roman Catholic claim that you cannot have councils independent of the popes authority because at this council it was questionable who as even the pope at this time.
This shows that general councils that depose and elect bishops can be and have been outside of the popes authority which is in direct contradiction with Vatican 1.
(Picture of the Council of Constance)