Medieval Restorationism - Medieval Restorationism

Medieval Restorationism

The restorationist movement at the time was centered on movements that wanted to renew the church (at that time within Christendom, there was only Roman Catholicism in the west and Orthodox Catholicism in the east), such as the Lollards, Hussites, and Brethren of the Common Life. While these pre-reformation movements did presage and sometimes discussed a break with Rome and papal authority, they also provoked restorationist movements within the church, such as the councils of Constance and Basle, which were held in the first half of the 15th century. Preachers at the time regularly harangued delegates to these conferences regarding simony, venality, lack of chastity and celibacy, and the holding of multiple benefices. The lack of success of the restorationist movements after this time led inexorably to the Protestant Reformation.