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02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor

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SAINTS<br />

Protestant theologians attacked what they saw as the idolatrous<br />

worship of saints within Catholicism and called for an<br />

end to the superstition and hysteria that they believed had<br />

come to dominate their cults. Protestants argued that<br />

Christians should not make the mistake of treating saints as<br />

false idols to worship but should see them simply as admirable<br />

examples to follow.The most defining feature of this period is<br />

the conflict created between the Catholic Church and those<br />

who wanted to reform Christian practices. In this volatile and<br />

frequently violent period, faith and allegiances would be severely<br />

tested and the result was often the creation of new<br />

martyrs and saints.<br />

St Thomas More<br />

Today Thomas More ranks amongst a relatively small number<br />

of English saints who are widely acknowledged throughout<br />

the Roman Catholic Church and is amongst the most famous<br />

martyrs of the Reformation. He was born in London in 1478<br />

and was the son of a barrister called Sir John More. As a boy<br />

of thirteen he was sent to the household of John Morton, the<br />

Archbishop of Canterbury. Morton placed him at Canterbury<br />

College in Oxford but his father recalled him to London. He<br />

was instead directed to a career in law and was called to the<br />

bar in 1501. He expressed interest in a religious vocation<br />

early on and considered joining the priesthood or the Friars<br />

Minor but, in the event, More did embark on a career as a<br />

lawyer.<br />

He married his first wife Jane Colt in 1505 and had four<br />

children (three daughters called Margaret, Elizabeth and<br />

Cicely and a son named John) with her before her death in<br />

1511.The couple also adopted a girl who had been orphaned<br />

•90•

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