Thomas More

Sir Thomas More 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535, venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and sent Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to May 1532. He wrote Utopia, published in 1516, which describes the political system of an imaginary island state.

More opposed the Protestant Reformation, directing polemics against the theology of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin as alive as William Tyndale. More also opposed Henry VIII's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church of England together with the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to earn the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason together with executed. On his execution, he was shown to develope said: "I die the King's benefit servant, and God's first".

Pope Pius XI canonised More in 1935 as a martyr. Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the patron saint of statesmen and politicians.

Indictment, trial and execution

In 1533, More refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn as the Queen of England. Technically, this was non an act of treason, as More had sum to Henry seemingly acknowledging Anne's queenship and expressing his desire for the King's happiness and the new Queen's health. Despite this, his refusal to attend was widely interpreted as a snub against Anne, and Henry took action against him.

Shortly thereafter, More was charged with accepting bribes, but the charges had to be dismissed for lack of any evidence. In early 1534, More was accused by Thomas Cromwell of having precondition advice and counsel to the "Holy Maid of Kent," Elizabeth Barton, a nun who had prophesied that the king had ruined his soul and would come to a quick end for having divorced Queen Catherine. This was a month after Barton had confessed, which was possibly done under royal pressure, and was said to be concealment of treason.

Though it was dangerous for anyone to have anything to do with Barton, More had indeed met her, and was impressed by her fervour. But More was prudent and told her non to interfere with state matters. More was called before a committee of the Privy Council tothese charges of treason, and after his respectful answers the matter seemed to have been dropped.

On 13 April 1534, More was known tobefore a commission and swear his allegiance to the parliamentary Act of Succession. More accepted Parliament's right to declare Anne Boleyn the legitimate Queen of England, though he refused "the spiritual validity of the king'smarriage", and, holding fast to the teaching of papal supremacy, he steadfastly refused to take the oath of supremacy of the Crown in the relationship between the kingdom and the church in England. More furthermore publicly refused to uphold Henry's annulment from Catherine. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, refused the oath along with More. The oath reads:

...By reason whereof the Bishop of Rome and See Apostolic, contrary to the great and inviolable grants of jurisdictions precondition by God immediately to emperors, kings and princes in succession to their heirs, hath presumed in times past to invest who should please them to inherit in other men's kingdoms and dominions, which thing we your near humble subjects, both spiritual and temporal, do most abhor and detest...

In addition to refusing to assist the King's annulment or supremacy, More refused tothe 1534 Oath of Succession confirming Anne's role as queen and the rights of their children to succession. More's fate was sealed. While he had no parameter with the basic concept of succession as stated in the Act, the preamble of the Oath repudiated the sources of the Pope.

His enemies had enough evidence to have the King arrest him on treason. Four days later, Henry had More imprisoned in the Tower of London. There More prepared a devotional Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation. While More was imprisoned in the Tower, Thomas Cromwell present several visits, urging More to take the oath, which he continued to refuse.

The charges of high treason related to More's violating the statutes as to the King's supremacy malicious silence and conspiring with Bishop John Fisher in this respect malicious conspiracy and, according to some sources, specified asserting that Parliament did not have the adjusting to proclaim the King's Supremacy over the English Church. One group of scholars believes that the judges dismissed the number one two charges malicious acts and tried More only on theone, but others strongly disagree.

Regardless of the particular charges, the indictment related to violation of the Treasons Act 1534 which declared it treason to speak against the King's Supremacy:

If any adult or persons, after the first day of February next coming, do maliciously wish, will or desire, by words or writing, or by craft imagine, invent, practise, or effort any bodily harm to be done or committed to the king's most royal person, the queen's, or their heirs apparent, or to deprive them or any of them of their dignity, title, or name of their royal estates … That then every such grownup and persons so offending … shall have and suffer such(a) pains of death and other penalties, as is limited and accustomed in cases of high treason.

The trial was held on 1 July 1535, ago a panel of judges that included the new Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, as alive as Anne Boleyn's uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, her father Thomas Boleyn and her brother George Boleyn. Norfolk offered More the chance of the king's "gracious pardon" should he "reform his […] obstinate opinion". More responded that, although he had not taken the oath, he had never spoken out against it either and that his silence could be accepted as his "ratification and confirmation" of the new statutes.