Of the popes and the days three ... - Study tour to the anniversary of the Council of Constance

Constance, on Sunday, the 14.09.2014, at 00:36 o'clock in the wrong bus back to the hostel.

Mr. Müller-Zähringer: "By the way, does anyone still like to write a report on the excursion for the homepage?"

(Dismayed silence of those present.)

A participant: "It's quite simple, you can start like this:  "One, two, three, that's great magic. For there were three popes, the church was divided...or just entdrei."

(Loud laughter from the study group.)

The other passengers turn to us in irritation. Probably they just don't know what great event happened 600 years earlier in their city...

The Occident in the 15th Century

We are in the year 1413 after Christ. The world is under a pope. Only one pope? No! Three indomitable popes insist on their position and do not stop resisting the unification efforts of the cardinals. King Sigismund and Pope John XXIII convene a council to restore the unity of the Church. All of Constance (...no, all of Konschtanz!) prepares for the great happening of 1414. Visitors to the Council flock from all parts of Europe. All the trades of the city flourish. Fortunately, Ulrich Richental documents the events for later generations in a chronicle of the council.

Constance, on Friday/Saturday, September 12/13, 2014.

After a content input about the Council, its prehistory and the aftermath, Andreas Widmann shows us the city. Besides many umbrellas, we get to see especially the places connected with the event of 1414. The almost too well-attended national exhibition finally tempted us to follow the first public tour with a second unofficial tour led by Mr. Hauber, Mr. Müller-Zähringer and Mr. Widmann, which in the end was followed attentively not only by our study group but also by one or the other visitor to the exhibition, since it was not only about the Council itself but also about the great theological trappings, which were presented with a lot of passion, a detailed knowledge that was almost sobering for us and - to our delight - also a little dash of infotainment.

Constance in the years 1417/18

At least one main problem of the Council, the causa unionis, is more or less solved. The new Pope Martin V unifies the Church from now on. The Western Schism has an end.

...our journey, too, unfortunately.

Constance, on Sunday, 14.09.2014, shortly before departure of the train to Kassel.

There is a mixture of relaxation with tiredness, headache with the contents of the last days and all together finally with the pain of parting - not only from Constance, but especially from our Michael Hauber, who was granted to us as a substitute professor for only half a year, but in this short time he made it all the more, that we miss him already very much! So we wish him from our hearts all the best and love in Munich and thank you all for this great study trip!

Franziska Luksch