140 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
was gone through three times, on three successive days, and the offenders were given till April 15 to appear.
By a series of declarations the synod then justified its existence, and at the eighth session declared itself to be " a general council representing the whole universal Catholic Church and lawfully and reasonably called toge^ier." ^ It thought along the lines marked out by D'Ailly and Gerson and the other writers who had prDuounced the unity of the Church to consist in oneness with her divine Head and declared that the Church, by virtue of the power residing in herself, has the right, in response to a divine call, to summon a council. The primitive Church had called synods, and James, not Peter, had presided at Jerusalem.
D'Ailly, in making definite announcement of his views at a synod, meeting at Aix, Jan. 1, 1409, had said that the Church's unity depends upon the unity of her head, Christ. Christ's mystical body gets its authority from its divine head to meet in a general council through representatives, for it is written, " where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The words are not " in Peter's name," or " in Paul's name," but "in my name." And when the faithful assemble to secure the welfare of the Church, there Christ is in their midst.
Gerson wrote his most famous tract bearing on tlie schism and the Church's right to remove a pope — ■ De auferihilitate papce ah ecclesia — while the council of Pisa was in session.^ In this elaborate treatment he said that, in the strict sense, Christ is the Church's only bridegroom. The marriage between the pope and the Church may be dissolved, for such a spiritual marriage is not a sacrament. The pope may choose to separate himself from the Church and resign. The_ChurchJias a similar right to separate itself from the pope by removing hjoj^. All Church officers are appointed for the Church's welfare and, when the pope impedes its welfare, it may remove him. It is bound to defend itself. This it may do through a general council, meeting by general consent and without papal ap,pointment. Such a council depends immediately upon Christ
1 Mansi, XX VII. .3(50. 2 See Schwab, p. 250 sqq.
§ 15. THE COUNCIL OF PISA. 141
for its authority. The pope may be deposed for heresy or schism. He might be deposed even where he had no personal guilt, as in case he should be taken prisoner by the Saracens, and witnesses should testify he was dead. Another pope would then be chosen and, if the reports of the death of the former pope were proved false, and he be released from captivity, he or the other pope would have to be removed, for the Church cannot have more than one pontiff.
Immediately after Easter, Charles Malatesta appeared in ^he council to advocate Gregory's cau^e. A commission, aj)pointed by the cardinals, presented forty reasons to show that an agreement between the synod and the Roman pontiff wag out of the questioii. Gregory must either appear at Pisa in person and abdicate, or present his resignation to a commission which the synod would appoint and send to Rimini.
Gregory's case was also represented by the rival king of the Romans, Ruprecht,^ through a special embassy made up of the archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Worms and Verden, and other commissioners. It presented twenty-four reasons for denying the council's jurisdiction. The paper was read by the bishop of Verden at the close of a sermon preached to the assembled councillors on the admirable text, " Peace be unto you." The most catching of the reasons was that, if the cardinals questioned the legitimacy of Gregory's pontiHcate, what ground had they for not questioning the validity of their own authority, appointed as they had been by Gregory or Benedict.
Jn a document of thirty-eight articles, read April 24, the council presented detailed specifications against the tAvo popes, charging them both with having made and broken solemn promises to resigQ.
The argument was conducted by Peter de Anchorano, professor of both laws in Bologna, and by others. Peter argued that, by fostering the schism, Gregory and his rival had forfeited jurisdiction, and the duty of calling a representative council of Christendom devolved on the college of cardinals.
1 The electors deposed Weuzil in 1400 for incompetency, and elected Ruprecht of the Palatinate.