Con stance

(Council of.) (Eccl. Hist.) A celebrated council held at Con stance between 1414 and1418. Itwas summoned at the request of the emperor Sigismund to put an end to the great schism in the Church arising from the contest bet. John XXIII., Gregory XII., and Benedict XIII., for the papal chair; and also to prevent the spread of the doctrines of John Hu . There were a embled, besides the emperor and Pope John XXIII., 26 princes, 120 counts, 20 cardinals, 7 patriarchs, 20 archbishops, 91 bishops, 600 prelates and doctors, and about 4,000 priests. This council deposed the three rival popes, and elected Martin V. as head of the Church, and tried and condemned to the stake both John Hu and Jerome of Prague. [s. 221]