section_path: Late Middle Ages/Controversy in the church
section_name: Controversy in the church
paragraph_text: Controversy in the church
  
  Since prolonged papal elections and conflicts with the Roman aristocracy had undermined papal authority in Italy, the seat of the papacy was moved to the city of Avignon in 1309. During the period of the Avignon Papacy, Frenchmen assumed leadership of the Catholic Church. When the French king Philip IV (r. 1285–1314) brought false charges against the wealthy Knights Templar, Pope Clement V (pope 1305–14) could not prevent their suppression in 1312. Although the papal seat was returned to Rome in 1377 due to popular pressure, disputes among the church leadership led to the Western Schism; two and, later, three rival lines of popes were each supported by several states. The schism was resolved at the Council of Constance with the resignation of one pope and the deposition of his two rivals, which paved the way for the election of an Italian cardinal as Pope Martin V (1417–31).
  
  Theological debates intensified. English theologian John Wycliffe (d. 1384) criticised popular acts of devotion such as pilgrimages, and challenged Catholic doctrine on the Eucharist. His teachings influenced two major movements condemned as heretical by Catholic authorities: Lollardy in England and Hussitism in Bohemia. The Bohemian movement began with teachings of Czech theologian Jan Hus (d. 1415), who was burned at the stake at Constance. Hussitism, the target of anti-heresy crusades, survived as an officially-recognised denomination in Bohemia. In the hope of western support against the Ottomans, Byzantine church leaders submitted themselves to the papacy at the 1438–39 Council of Florence; most Orthodox believers rejected papal supremacy, however, and those who supported the church union died in exile.
  
  Mysticism and devotional literature flourished. Meister Eckhart (d. 1327), a critic of Aquinas, urged the faithful to focus on perfecting their inner divine core. Although his works were censured for heresy, copies of his sermons survived which were read by Protestant reformer Martin Luther (d. 1546). The most characteristic late-medieval reform movement, the Devotio Moderna emphasised lay piety, community experience and personal faith. In the Orthodox world, the Athonite monks Gregory of Sinai (d. 1346) and Gregory Palamas (d. 1359) promoted a form of meditative prayers known as Hesychasm. A general fear of evil practices led to the first witch trials c. 1450 and a popular handbook, the Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of the Witches), laid the groundwork for early modern witch hunts.