Encyclopedia > Antipope John XXIII

  Article Content

Antipope John XXIII

Antipope John XXIII, antipope of the Pisan party (1400-15), (about 1370 - November 22, 1419), born Baldassare Cossa.

Cardinal Baldassare Cossa was one of the seven cardinals who, in May of 1408, deserted Pope Gregory XII, and, with those belonging to the obedience of Pope Benedict XIII, convened the Council of Pisa[?], of which Cossa became the leader.

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 needs to 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 should not be confused with Pope John XXIII, who in the 20th century convened the Second Vatican Council.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
242

... century Decades: 190s 200s 210s 220s 230s - 240s - 250s 260s 270s 280s 290s Years: 237 238 239 240 241 - 242 - 243 244 245 246 247 Events Patriarch Titus[?] ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 28.7 ms