antipope - A list of significant antipopes

In the Roman Catholic Church, a claimant to the office of pope in opposition to one regularly and canonically appointed. Antipopes featured prominently in the period of Great Schism in the Western Church (1378–1417). They included Clement VII and Benedict XIII (in Avignon, France) and Alexander V and John XXIII (in Pisa, Italy).

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An antipope is a person who makes a widely accepted claim to be the lawful Pope, in opposition to the Pope recognized by the Catholic Church.

In its list of the Popes, the Holy See's annual directory, Annuario Pontificio, attaches to the name of Pope Leo VIII (963-965) the following note: "At this point, as again in the mid-eleventh century, we come across elections in which problems of harmonizing historical criteria and those of theology and canon law make it impossible to decide clearly which side possessed the legitimacy whose factual existence guarantees the unbroken lawful succession of the Successors of Saint Peter.

The Catholic Encyclopedia also mentions a Natalius, before Hippolytus, as first antipope, who, according to Eusebius's EH5.28.8-12, quoting the Little Labyrinth of Hippolytus, after being "scourged all night by the holy angels", covered in ash, dressed in sackcloth, and "after some difficulty", tearfully submitted to Pope Zephyrinus.

The period when antipopes were most numerous was during the struggles between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors of the 11th and 12th centuries. (The popes, likewise, sometimes sponsored rival imperial claimants in Germany in order to overcome a particular emperor.)

The Great Western Schism, which, on the grounds of the allegedly invalid election of Pope Urban VI, began in 1378 with the election of Clement VII, who took up residence in Avignon, France, led to two, and eventually three, rival lines of claimants to papacy: the Roman line, the Avignon line, and the Pisan line. To end the schism, the Council of Constance deposed, in May 1415, John XXIII of the Pisan line, whose claim to legitimacy was based on a council's choice, Pope Gregory XII of the Roman line resigned in July 1415, and the Council formally deposed Benedict XIII of the Avignon line, who refused to resign, in July 1417, after which Pope Martin V was elected and was accepted everywhere except in the small and rapidly diminishing area that remained faithful to Benedict XIII.

A list of significant antipopes

Natalius, around 200, later reconciled (see above) Hippolytus 217–235, later reconciled with Pope Pontian (see above) Novatian, 251–258 Felix II, 355–365 Ursicinus (Ursinus), 366–367 Eulalius, 418–419 Laurentius, 498–499, 501–506 Dioscorus, 530 Theodore (II), 687 Paschal (I), 687 Constantine II, 767–768 Philip, 768 John VIII, 844 Anastasius III Bibliothecarius, 855 Christopher, 903–904 Boniface VII, 974, 984–985 John XVI (John Filagatto), 997–998 Gregory VI, 1012 Benedict X (John Mincius), 1058–1059 Honorius II (Pietro Cadalus), 1061–1064 Clement III (Guibert of Ravenna), 1080, 1084–1100 Theodoric, 1100–1101 Adalbert or Albert, 1101 Sylvester IV (Maginulf), 1105–1111 Gregory VIII (Maurice Burdanus), 1118–1121 Celestine II (Thebaldus Buccapecus) 1124 Anacletus II (Pietro Pierleoni), 1130–1138 Victor IV (Gregorio Conti), 1138 Victor IV (Ottavio di Montecelio), 1159–1164 Paschal III (Guido di Crema), 1164–1168 Callixtus III (Giovanni of Struma), 1168–1178 Innocent III (Lanzo of Sezza), 1179–1180 Nicholas V (Pietro Rainalducci), 1328–1330 Clement VII (Robert of Geneva), 1378–1394 (Avignon obedience) Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna), 1394–1423 (Avignon obedience) Alexander V (Pietro Philarghi), 1409–1410 (Pisan obedience) John XXIII (Baldassare Cossa), 1410–1415 (Pisan obedience) Clement VIII (Gil Sánchez Muñoz), 1423–1429(Avignon obedience) Benedict XIV (Bernard Garnier), 1424–1429(Avignon obedience) Benedict XIV (Jean Carrier), 1430–1437(Avignon obedience) Felix V (Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy), 5 November 1439 – 7 April 1449 (elected by the Council of Basel)

The list of Popes and Antipopes in the Annuario Pontificio does not include Natalius (perhaps because of the uncertainty of the evidence) nor Antipope Clement VIII.

As for Silvester III, sometimes listed as an Antipope, the Holy See's Annuario Pontificio classifies him as a Pope, not an Antipope. The present encyclopedia also includes him in its List of Popes and in its Popes template.