(1409–49) In Roman Catholicism, an effort to strengthen the authority of church councils over that of the papacy.
Originally aimed at ending the Western Schism , the Conciliar Movement had its roots in legal and intellectual circles in the 13th century but emerged as a force at the Council of Pisa (1409), which elected a third pope in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the parties of the existing pope and antipope . A second council, the Council of Constance (1414–18), ended the schism by voiding all papal offices and electing a new pope. Participants hoped to play an ongoing role in the church, but the popes continued to seek supremacy, and the Council of Basel (1431–49) ended fruitlessly.