Reader Question: Apostolic Succession and the Western Schism

In response to the Reader Question: How Do We Know Who the Popes Were?, a reader from Brazil writes:

I have a question regarding Apostolic Succession. It is said it was never interrupted since Jesus, St. Peter the first pope, until now. With the occasion of the Western schism between 1378 and 1417, when there were two popes in the Church, was the Succession also maintained?

This is a very interesting question, even though the answer is quite simple. For most of the 14th century, the papacy resided in Avignon, France, rather than in Rome. Before his death in 1378, Pope Gregory XI left Avignon and reestablished the papacy in Rome. His successor, Urban VI, was not well liked, even by the cardinals who chose him; and for a variety of reasons, some political, a second pope, who took the name of Clement VII, was chosen some five months later and took up residence at Avignon. Thus began the Western Schism (to distinguish it from the Eastern Schism, between the Eastern Orthodox and Rome).

By 1409, there were actually three men claiming to be pope: John XXIII (elected at Pisa in 1409), Benedict XIII (the successor at Avignon to Clement VII), and Gregory XII (the rightful pope at Rome). As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "the Council of Constance (1414) deposed the suspicious John XXIII, received the abdication of the gentle and timid Gregory XII, and finally dismissed the obstinate Benedict XIII." On November 11, 1417, the Western Schism ended with the election of Pope Martin V.

It's all a very complex and fascinating story, so how can the reader's question have an easy answer? Simple: Apostolic succession--the successive, unbroken consecration of bishops from the time of the Apostles down to today--refers to the episcopacy in general, not the papacy in particular. In fact, all of the men involved in the Western Schism--both the legitimate popes and the various "antipopes"--received valid ordinations, and therefore stood in the line of apostolic succession.

That's one of the reasons why the Western Schism was such a complicated matter, and why the solution of the Council of Constance--ending, through various means, the claims of all three men who held the title of pope and electing an undisputed pope--was likely the only way to end the schism.

If you have a question that you would like to have featured in our Friday "Reader Questions" series, send me an e-mail at catholicism.guide@about.com. Be sure to put "QUESTION" in the subject line, and please note whether you'd like me to address it privately or on the Catholicism blog.