Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy refers to a period in the history of the Christian Church from 1309 to 1378 when the seat of the Pope was moved from Rome to Avignon. The period has been called the "Babylonian Captivity" (or "Babylonish Captivity") of the Popes (or the Church). This nick-name is polemical, in that it refers to criticisms that the fabulous worldly success of this time was accompanied by deeply compromised integrity of the Papacy's spiritual purpose - and coincidentally, the "captivity" of the popes at Avignon lasted around the same duration as the exile of the Jews in Babylon.
Seven popes resided in Avignon:
- Pope Clement V - 1305-1314
- Pope John XXII - 1316-1334
- Pope Benedict XII - 1334-1342
- Pope Clement VI - 1342-1352
- Pope Innocent VI - 1352-1362
- Pope Urban V - 1362-1370
- Pope Gregory XI - 1370-1378
In 1378 the seat was moved back to Rome, leading to a time of difficulty which Catholic scholars refer to as the "Papal Schism" or, "the great controversy of the antipopes" (also called the Second Great Schism by some secular and Protestant historians), when parties within the Catholic church were divided in their allegiances, among the various claimants to the office of Pope.