Today the Church remembers Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury who died on this day in the year 1170 while on his way to Vespers in the Cloister of Canterbury. His murderers were four knights sent by King Henry II, who would later repent of his complicity in the death of his friend and confidant. Thomas had served as the king's Chancellor at a time when the Church of England was striving to gain clearer identity from the pope and Rome. As chancellor, which was largely a secular position (although modern notions of that term are anachronistic), Thomas had supported Henry's claim to authority over the Church in England and its clergy, even to the point of agreeing with the king that clergy should be tried by the king's judicial system rather than ecclesiastical courts. At stake was not only the stature of the clergy, but also the considerable financial wealth of the church. When the former Archbishop of Canterbury died, Thomas was nominated and eventually elected with the support and delight of the king, who believed that his friend would serve as an important ally.
Thomas, however, felt strongly that his ordinal vows to protect the Church and its clergy superseded his friendship and allegiance to the king, and much to Henry's chagrin, Thomas resigned his post as Chancellor and reversed his position on the matter of the jurisdiction of clergy conduct. Henry was furious, and he sent four knights to Canterbury to "encourage" Thomas to recant his position. He refused, and they bludgeoned him to death just outside the chapel where he was about to say prayers.
Thomas was soon canonized, and his body was enshrined at Canterbury, where pilgrims would travel en masse for several centuries to follow, paying tribute to his defiance of the king and for his faithful service. Indeed, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a depiction of such a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb.
O God, our strength and our salvation, who called your servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church: Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thomas, however, felt strongly that his ordinal vows to protect the Church and its clergy superseded his friendship and allegiance to the king, and much to Henry's chagrin, Thomas resigned his post as Chancellor and reversed his position on the matter of the jurisdiction of clergy conduct. Henry was furious, and he sent four knights to Canterbury to "encourage" Thomas to recant his position. He refused, and they bludgeoned him to death just outside the chapel where he was about to say prayers.
Thomas was soon canonized, and his body was enshrined at Canterbury, where pilgrims would travel en masse for several centuries to follow, paying tribute to his defiance of the king and for his faithful service. Indeed, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a depiction of such a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb.
O God, our strength and our salvation, who called your servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church: Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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