Everything about Antipope John Xxiii totally explained
Baldassare Cossa (c. 1370 –
November 22,
1419), also known as
John XXIII, was
pope or
antipope during the
Western Schism (1410–1415) and is now officially regarded by the Catholic Church as an antipope.
Biography
Baldassare Cardinal Cossa was born in
Procida (according to other sources,
Ischia).
He was one of the seven
cardinals who, in May of 1408, deserted
Pope Gregory XII, and, with those belonging to the obedience of
Antipope Benedict XIII, convened the
Council of Pisa, of which Cossa became the leader. They elected
Pope Alexander V in 1409. Cossa succeeded him a year later.
Edward Gibbon asserts in
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that John XXIII was charged with
piracy,
murder,
rape,
sodomy, and
incest, with the more serious charges being suppressed. Of course, this must be viewed in the light of the political situation of the time, as the charges were likely trumped up; note the similarity to the charges against the
Knights Templar.
He shouldn't be confused with
Pope John XXIII of the
twentieth century. The fact that there were a number of Popes named John during the first 1400 years of the Church and then no more for over 500 years is probably due to the controversial figure this Antipope represented. When
Angelo Cardinal Roncalli was elected and became Pope John, there was some confusion as to whether he'd be
John XXIII or
John XXIV; he then declared that he was John XXIII to put this question to rest. The decision of the twentieth century Pope John XXIII not to be named John XXIV as might be expected serves as a confirmation of the antipope status of this first John XXIII. It should be noted, however, that the numbering of the Popes called John is debatable (as there was no
John XX); for example, Gibbon refers to the Antipope John as John XXII.
With the aid of the
Emperor Sigismund, Pope John convened the
Council of Constance in 1415. During the third session rival
Pope Gregory XII authorized the council as well, and soon both Popes abdicated in favor of
Pope Martin V. Cossa, as he was again, was briefly imprisoned in Germany before being freed by Martin V in 1418.
He died in Florence, as
cardinal bishop of
Tusculum, in 1419. He is buried in
a tomb in the
Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence.
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