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BISHOP JOHN FISHER
Date of Birth: c. 1459
Date of Death: 6 / 22 / 1535
Crime: Refusing Oath of Supremacy
Biography
Bishop John Fisher was the Catholic bishop during the reign of King Henry VII and King Henry VIII. Bishop John was well liked by King Henry VII and he presided over his funeral. When King Henry VIII took power, Bishop John’s status did not change. When King Henry VIII wanted to divorce Queen Catherine to remarry, this is when Bishop John fell out of King Henry VIII’s grace.(1) Bishop John was close with Queen Catherine and being Catholic he did not agree with the divorce at all. He even stated in court once that he would die on behalf of the indissolubility of their marriage.
By creating a close relationship with Queen Catherine, King Henry VIII started to have an aversion to Bishop John and pulled away from his relationship with the bishop.
Bishop John started to preach against divorce in his sermons and this lead to the new pope, Paul III to make him Cardinal. King Henry VIII refused to let the Cardinal’s hat be sent to London, and stated that he would send the Bishops head to Rome instead. Since King Henry VIII was the head of the Church of England, and he had forbade Bishop John from becoming Cardinal.
Trial and Execution
Bishop John was arrested for treason and tried as a commoner. His jury trial found him guilty and his sentence was condemned to be hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. King Henry VIII changed the sentence to be beheading at the Tower of London.
Bishop John was beheaded on June 22, 1535 without incident.
Historic Significance
The king made it clear that no one would get in his way, common man and even a man of the cloth. Henry VIII’s threat to send Bishop John Fishers head to Rome for his ceremony was not only a threat against the bishops life but also it was a threat against the Catholic church.
1 G. R. Elton The New History of England Reform and Reformation England 1509-1558 Harvard University Press 1977
