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Permanent Western Schism?

MAC161

Well-known member
Published by SLP
Location
WI, USA
Re-read up on the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) a little bit ago, and an interesting scenario came to mind: What if the Schism had been made permanent, resulting in two Western papacies at Avignon and Rome perhaps lasting into the modern era? What events would have had to change for this to happen?

Some of the secondary questions arising from this include:

*What specific doctrinal/theological differences might have arisen as a result, thus effectively creating two separate Western churches as with the Catholic-Orthodox split in 1054?

*How would a permanent Schism have divided Europe, beyond the blocs of OTL (France, Castile, Navarre, Scotland, etc with Avignon vs England, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, etc with Rome)?

*Would a permanent Schism have led to something like the Protestant Reformation, ~100 years early (given Avignon's reputation for corruption, much like that of the 15th-century Roman papacy), and with different (or similar?) grievances?

*Might Rome have declined as a center of Christendom to the point of co-equal status with Avignon and Constantinople (perhaps even to Pentarchy-era status, if Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria are included)?
 
I'm not sure you'd get protestantism. The papacies are weak enough counciliarism may work out?

On the other hand, the Avignon block is going to be fed up of France having direct access I imagine.
 
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