Thomas More

Thomas More (1478–1535) was an English lawyer, statesman, and humanist who served Henry VIII and was executed after refusing to accept the king’s supremacy over the Church.

Henry VIII: King of England from 1509 to 1547, whose break with Rome established royal supremacy over the English Church. More served Henry as lord chancellor but opposed the king’s ecclesiastical supremacy.
Act of Supremacy 1534: An English statute declaring Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England. The statute formalized the authority More refused to recognize.
English Reformation: The political and religious transformation that separated the English Church from papal authority in the sixteenth century. More’s opposition unfolded during the break with Rome and the formation of a national church.
Martyrdom: Death or suffering endured for steadfast commitment to a religious belief or cause. Catholic tradition came to understand More’s execution as witness to papal authority.
Erasmus: A Dutch humanist scholar and theologian whose biblical scholarship and satire shaped Renaissance learning. Erasmus was More’s close friend and fellow humanist, and dedicated works to him.
Treason Act 1534: An English statute that expanded treason to include certain spoken denials of the king’s titles and authority. It made silence and denial legally perilous during More’s imprisonment.
Papal supremacy: The doctrine that the pope holds supreme jurisdiction over the Catholic Church. More upheld papal authority against Henry VIII’s claim to govern the English Church.
Canonization: The formal declaration by the Catholic Church that a deceased person is a saint. The Catholic Church canonized More in 1935, four centuries after his execution.
John Fisher: An English bishop and theologian executed in 1535 for rejecting Henry VIII’s ecclesiastical supremacy. Fisher shared More’s resistance and was executed shortly before him.
Oath of Supremacy: An oath affirming the English monarch’s supremacy over the Church of England. More’s refusal to take the oath became central evidence against him.

Linked from 28 pages