Middle Ages
According to Barbara Tuchman, beginning in about 1470 a succession of Popes focused on the acquisition of money, their role in Italian politics as rulers of the papal states and power politics within the college of cardinals. The restorationist movement at the time was centered on movements that wanted to renew the church, 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 led, arguably, to the Protestant Reformation.
Read more about this topic: Restorationism
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