The Canonical Legislation of the Selection of Bishops in the period from the Century XI to the first half of the Century XVI

Abstract

In the beginning of the second millennium, various attempts were made to reform the Designatio Episcoporum, which had become a matter of deep concern on the part of successive Roman pontiffs. The scenario was certainly quite similar to the one of the first millennium, in which the ecclesiastical authority had to also fight off the lay investitures put into effect by temporal powers of the time. One of the most prominent examples was the reform conducted by Pope Gregorius VII, who strongly repelled interference from sovereigns in the selection of candidates to the episcopacy. There were sovereigns highly interested in selecting the bishops for a number of reasons, such as, status, prestige, source of income for the dioceses, etc. In face of this situation, the Concordat of Worms (1122 AD) represented an effort on the part of the ecclesiastical authority in regain the freedom to select the bishops. A novelty within such context was the competence of cathedral chapters to function as electing bodies for the episcopal designation. Furthermore, the popes were not the only ones in the Church dedicated to the theme of bishop selection, as the subject was discussed by several councils and ecclesiastical writers. A landmark event of the fourteenth century was the transfer of the Papal See to Avignon (France), which significantly affected the procedures for the selection of bishops.