St John Fisher

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Two great martyrs of the English Reformation are honoured on July 9th - Saint Thomas More and Saint John Fisher. The latter is today less familiar, but Saint John’s life is as worthy of note as that of his friend, the better-known Thomas More. Both men were highly intelligent and possessed remarkable talent. Both opposed Henry VIII when he tried unlawfully to divorce Catherine of Aragon and make himself the head of the English Church; as a result, both lost their lives within a few days of each other.

Born in the little Yorkshire town of Beverley in 1469, John Fisher may have been named after St John of Beverley, who founded the town sometime in the 600s and drew many pilgrims to the town on account of his reputed miracles. The later John, however, left his home town at the age of fourteen, to take up studies at the University of Cambridge at a time when a university education generally resulted in ordination to the priesthood. From then on his life seems to have been spent entirely in southern England, in the cities of Cambridge, Rochester and London, and appears to have been largely forgotten in the town where he was born.

John Fisher was a scholarly sort of saint. Ordained at the young age of twenty-two, he retained his connections with the university throughout his life, rising through the hierarchy until he was appointed Chancellor in 1504 at the age of thirty-five. He rejuvenated the rather lax academic side of the university, bringing back the study of Greek and Hebrew, building up a splendid library (Butler records that, “Books were his one earthly pleasure” (46)), and even managing to persuade the classical scholar Erasmus to join the teaching staff. He himself continued studying throughout his life, taking up Greek and Latin in middle age, and wrote several works of his own, which brought him considerable renown.

Also in 1504, John Fisher was appointed bishop of Rochester and his workload, already heavy, increased dramatically. As well as his university duties he now had to perform all his episcopal ones. However, he carried out these with remarkable “zeal and thoroughness” (Butler 46), his kindness and generosity especially noteworthy. He also somehow found the time to preach against Lutheranism, which was just beginning to stir in England.

In 1529, when Henry VIII tried to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, St John defended the Queen and the validity of the marriage. The King was incensed. Nevertheless, St John, though by now in his sixties and in poor health, continued to defy any of the King’s actions that were against the laws of the Catholic Church. Henry, desperate to marry Anne Boleyn so that she could bear him a male heir, decided to bypass the clergy and the Pope; he declared himself Head of the Church of England in 1534. In the same year the Bill of Succession (favouring any children of Anne Boleyn over Henry and Catherine’s daughter Mary) and the Treason Act (making it illegal to oppose the King’s status as “Head of the Church in England”) were also passed.

In 1535 St John was required, along with all the other bishops of England, to sign an oath agreeing to the Bill of Succession. He refused, as it was worded in a way that to comply would have meant agreeing to Henry’s claim of supremacy over the English Church. All his fellow bishops signed; St John was accused of treason and promptly imprisoned in the infamous Tower of London. St Thomas More was also imprisoned here at this time, as he too had refused to sign the oath.

Both underwent so-called ‘trials’, but the anger of the King ensured that both were summarily condemned to death. Perhaps they were fortunate, in that they escaped the barbarous “hanging, drawing and quartering” that became the favoured method of execution under Elizabeth I. Both were beheaded, St John on 22nd June and St Thomas on 6th July.

  

St John’s severed head was stuck on a spike on London Bridge. It later ended up in the River Thames, and St Thomas’ took its place. After his execution, St John’s body was unceremoniously deposited in All Hallows graveyard. Later it was moved to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, built within the walls of the Tower where so many English martyrs were to suffer imprisonment and death in the stormy years of the Reformation.  St Thomas More’s body also lies here, and both were canonized on 19th May, 1935, by Pope Pius XI.

  

Prayer of St John Fisher
Good Lord, set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labours, who also shall not fear persecution, or death, but always suffer with a good will slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and praise of Thy Holy Name. By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Thy Gospel shall be preached throughout the world. Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon Thy Church. Amen.

WORKS CITED/CONSULTED

Butler, Alban, Fr. Lives of the Saints Volume III. Revised edition Herbert J. Thurston, S.J. and     Donald Attwater. Texas: Christian Classics, 1996. Print.