Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges
Encyclopedia
The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued by King Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

, on July 7, 1438, required a General Church Council, with authority superior to that of the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, to be held every ten years, required election rather than appointment to ecclesiastical offices, prohibited the pope from bestowing, and profiting from, benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...

s, and limited appeals to Rome. The king accepted many of the decrees of the Council of Basel without endorsing its efforts to coerce Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...

.

The Gallican church - in the eyes of some - declared administrative independence from the church in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, suppressed the payment of annates
Annates
Annates were the whole of the first year's profits of a benefice which were generally given to the papal treasury. They were also known as the "First Fruits" , a concept which dates back to earlier Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions.-History:This custom was only of gradual growth...

 to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, and forbade papal intervention in the appointment of French prelates. While this did result in a loss of papal power in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the movement of conciliarists itself was divided. In 1449, the Council of Basel was dissolved and the Concilliar Movement
Conciliarism
Conciliarism, or the conciliar movement, was a reform movement in the 14th, 15th and 16th century Roman Catholic Church which held that final authority in spiritual matters resided with the Roman Church as a corporation of Christians, embodied by a general church council, not with the pope...

 suffered a nearly fatal blow.

The popes, especially Pius II lobbied for the repeal of the Pragmatic Sanction; and the French crown used promises of repeal as an inducement to the papacy to embrace policies favoring its interests. The Pragmatic Sanction eventually was superseded by agreements made between the French crown and Rome, especially the 1516 Concordat of Bologna
Concordat of Bologna
The Concordat of Bologna , marking a stage in the evolution of the Gallican Church, was an agreement between King Francis I of France and Pope Leo X that Francis negotiated in the wake of his victory at Marignano in September 1515...

.
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