02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor
02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor
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 />
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