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Description
St. Thomas Becket icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
December 22nd 2016
4.5 x 6 inches
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf

“The Lord crowned you with holiness;
He clothed you in glory.
God, the Holy One of Israel, dwells in you.
You have fought the good fight,
you have run the race to the finish,
now a crown of holiness awaits you.”
~ Responsory for the Feast of St. Thomas Becket

St. Thomas Becket is depicted wearing a bishop’s miter and the pallium of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He also wears a red chasuble, the color of which symbolizes martyrdom. In his right hand he holds the Archiepiscopal cross (a symbol of his title as Archbishop) and in his left hand he holds a palm branch (symbol of victorious martyrdom) and a sword (the instrument of his martyrdom). I based the chasuble and miter design after the ones worn by Thomas Becket that are currently in the Treasury of the Cathedral of Sens, France.

These pictures show some detailed images of the vestments , while this engraving of the vestments has some clearer details of the vestments .

:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Thomas Becket (December 21st 1119 – December 29th 1170 A.D.), was born in Cheapside in London to his parents Gilbert and Matilda Becket. He was born on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle (whose feast was then on December 21st) and was named for the saint. His father was a Norman from Thierville and his mother was a Norman from Caen. At the time of Thomas’ birth, they were living in London where Gilbert was a merchant and small landowner who made a reasonable income by renting out his properties. Gilbert also held the position of sheriff of London. As his family was fairly well-off and well-connected, the young Thomas was sent to Merton Priory near London at the age of ten. He received a classical medieval liberal arts education which included the study of grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music theory, and astronomy. As a child, he was invited by a family friend named Richer d L’Aigle to spend some time out in the country where he was taught to hawk and hunt, a pastime the boy very much enjoyed. Once while he was out hunting fowl with a valuable falcon, the bird left his hand to swoop down on a duck that had dived into the stream. The falcon plunged into the water after it, and Thomas himself leapt into the water to save the precious bird. He was caught in the stream and was almost killed by the wheel of the watermill.

One chronicler described him as being “ slim of growth, and pale of hue, with dark hair, a long nose, and a straightly featured face. Blithe of countenance was he, winning and lovable in conversation, frank of speech in his discourses but slightly stuttering in his talk, so keen of discernment that he could always make difficult questions plain after a wise manner." At the age of twenty he was sent to study at the University of Paris, but only stayed there for about a year when he was forced to go back home due to his family’s financial difficulties. Thomas had to earn his own living by working as a clerk, but his father was able to get him a job working for a relative named Osbert Huitdeniers. At the age of twenty-four, Becket found another post serving as a clerk in the household of Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas received minor orders and was sent to the University of Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law. On his return to London, he was made Archdeacon of Canterbury in 1154 and was entrusted with a number of offices, including the Provost of Beverley. He managed his responsibilities so well that the Archbishop also sent him on diplomatic missions to Rome. In these assignments he was also very successful, so when the post of Chancellor of England became vacant, Theobald recommended the thirty-five year old Archdeacon to the king.

Thomas Becket was duly made Lord Chancellor in January 1155. The King and Becket became fast friends and enjoyed hunting and hawking together. Thomas enjoyed the king’s confidence and advised the king on subjects of policy and royal reforms. He was a very efficient administrator and King Henry II was so pleased by his work that his son and heir, Prince Henry, was sent to live in Becket’s household. While there, the prince said that he received more love and fatherly kindness from Thomas Becket in one day than he’d ever received from his father during his whole life. Thomas loved to live the high life and put on lavish feasts and spectacles and enjoyed fine food and wine and entertainments. He had hundreds of knights in his own personal retinue, and whether going to war with Henry or going on an embassy to France, he always exuded an aura of magnificent worldly grandeur. He gave lavishly to the poor as well, and even helped to lead men into battle while Henry waged campaigns in the territory of Toulouse.

When Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, Henry struck on the idea of nominating Thomas to be Archbishop. When told of the king’s intention, Becket said, “Should God permit me to be the archbishop of Canterbury, I would soon lose your Majesty's favor, and the affection with which you honor me would be changed into hatred. For there are several things you do now in prejudice of the rights of the Church which make me fear you would require of me what I could not agree to; and envious persons would not fail to make it the occasion of endless strife between us.” Henry told the prelates of the Church that he wanted Becket to be the Archbishop, and sent to Rome to request the appointment. It wasn’t until the Papal Legate confirmed the nomination that Becket finally agreed, and he was ordained a priest on June 2nd 1162 and consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury the day afterwards.

Thomas Becket took his role as Archbishop seriously. He gave away his clothes and finery to the poor, and started to wear a penitential hairshirt. He wore plain clothes, ate plain food, and took to ascetical practices. He was scrupulously just when deciding matters in ecclesiastical courts, and spent much time in readings and praying with the Scriptures.

Becket resigned as Chancellor, which displeased Henry, and soon the two men were in open conflict with each other. The king insisted on having clergy tried in his own royal courts instead of in ecclesiastical courts. A canon named Philip de Brois, was accused of murdering a soldier but was later acquitted and only force to pay a fine by the bishop of Lincoln, but Henry wanted the man tried in a civil court. Under law, he couldn’t be tried for the same crime, and he insulted the king’s men in saying so, so Henry wanted him dragged to court on both the murder charge and for insulting the king’s ministers. Henry and Becket quarreled over whose jurisdiction this fell under, and finally the king allowed the canon to be tried by Thomas Becket himself. The man was once again acquitted for the murder but stood guilty for the misdemeanor. Henry’s displeasure over the affair led him and Becket into further conflicts over the interests of Church and State which culminated in the Constitutions of Clarendon.

In October of 1163, King Henry summoned the higher prelates to an assembly of lords and clergy at Westminster where he demanded that the bishops accept sixteen constitutions that would strip away power from the clergy and the Church and make England more independent of the Pope. It said that the clergy couldn’t leave the country without the king’s permission, there were to be no appeals to Rome, the clergy were to be tried in the king’s courts, and banned the excommunication of the king’s tenants. It also gave over control of Church lands and vacant sees to the Crown. Becket persuaded the bishops to stand up to the king and resist his pressures to have them cave in. The king eventually resorted to bullying the clergy with political and temporal threats to make them give in. Henry had his son removed from Becket's household and also revoked all of the honors and benefits he had conferred on him before. Several months later, in January of 1164, the king again summoned the bishops to a council at Clarendon palace. There the king demanded and bullied the bishops into agreeing to the Constitutions. Eventually, Becket very reluctantly agreed to the substance of the Constitutions with the reservation “saving my order.”

Becket immediately felt remorse for weakening his resolve and for setting such a bad example for the other bishops. The other prelates felt that he’d betrayed them, and Thomas tried to leave England to consult the Pope on the matter. He was caught and brought to trial on trumped up charges at Northampton Castle in October of 1164. He was convicted of failing to uphold the Constitutions, but the Archbishop refused to accept the sentence and instead left Northampton and fled to France in November, and eventually reached Sens, where he presented his case to the Pope. When Becket chose exile in Pontigny to returning to England, Henry wrathfully seized all of the benefices belonging to the Archbishop and his retainers and even forcibly exiled all of Becket’s relatives and servants.

While in exile, Thomas tried to resolve the controversy but Henry remained stubborn. Becket fought back by threatening the king with excommunication and interdict. In 1166, Becket was named Papal Legate and promptly exiled a number of the King’s supporters. The King and Becket both wrote appeals to the Pope asking for his mediation. Pope Alexander III responded by sending papal legates to hear the various sides and decide the issue conclusively. He also asked Henry to restore Becket to Canterbury and counseled Becket to refrain from additional hostilities against the king, as the Pope desired a peaceful resolution to the controversy. King Louis VII of France in the meantime continued to shelter and support the exiled Archbishop. Eventually, when Henry II had his son Prince Henry crowned as junior king of England on June 14th 1170 by the Archbishop of York (an act that was a slap in the face to Becket, as the Archbishop of Canterbury had the right to crown the English kings), Becket was given permission to lay an interdict on England. This threat of interdict drove Henry to the negotiation table. In July Becket and Henry finally came to an agreement and the Archbishop was finally allowed to return to his see.

Before Becket landed in England in early December, he excommunicated the Archbishop of York Roger de Pont L'Évêque, Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, who had all been a part of the coronation of the young Henry, but who also had clerks in their service whom they wished to reward with certain benefices that had belonged to Becket’s exiled clerks. Becket said he’d absolve the Bishop of London and Salisbury, but that only the Pope could absolve the Archbishop of York. This infuriated the latter, who went with the two others to the king to complain. It was upon hearing this news that the King exclaimed in a drunken rage: “What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?!” Another version has it that he said: “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!” Four of Henry’s knights, mortified by this remark, left the king and rode to Canterbury to challenge Becket.

When Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton arrived at Canterbury on December 29th 1170, they hid their swords by a tree and entered the church where they demanded that Thomas come with them to Winchester to explain himself. Thomas refused to be arrested by them, and went to vespers in the Cathedral. The four knights, enraged, retrieved their swords and charged into Canterbury cathedral, crying, “Where is Thomas the traitor?! Where is the archbishop?!” Thomas replied, "Here I am, no traitor, but archbishop and priest of God!" Edward Grim, a visiting clerk from Cambridge tried to protect Becket and received a serious wound on his arm in doing so. He later gave an eyewitness account of how Thomas Becket was murdered: “ The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more.”

He was murdered at the age of fifty-one and was greatly mourned by the clergy and commoners of England as a defender of the Church’s rights. The news of the murder of an Archbishop in his own cathedral horrified all of Christendom, and Becket was immediately hailed as a martyr and a saint. Henry weakly protested his innocence in the matter and refused to defend the four knights who assassinated Becket, but instead advised them to flee to Scotland. The four murderers were excommunicated, and were ordered to go on crusade and stay in the Holy Land for fourteen years and fight alongside the Templars. Henry was forced to negotiate with the Pope and agreed to the compromise of Avranches which stated that the royal courts had no jurisdiction over the clergy, allowed appeals to Rome and gave more freedoms to the Church. Henry also was forced to undergo penance for his role in the murder and later agreed to go on crusade (something which never ended up happening).

Thomas Becket was canonized by Pope Alexander III as a martyr on February 21st 1173, only three years after his death. On July 7th 1220, 50 years after his martyrdom, his relics were transferred from his tomb to a shrine in the Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral. Devotion to Thomas Becket quickly spread throughout Christendom, and a mosaic icon of him was made honoring him at Monreale Cathedral in Sicily alongside other famous saints and martyrs. Many images, songs, and artworks were made commemorating his life and death, including paintings, illuminations, and reliquaries (one of which is the Becket Casket, now located in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London). The Scottish king William the Lion—who had personally known Thomas Becket while living in England—built Arbroath Abbey in his honor in 1197.

After King Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, St. Thomas Becket’s relics were destroyed and statues and artworks of him were defaced and destroyed. All mention of his name in documents or in songs and in art were to be destroyed. St. Thomas Becket was an especial target of the king’s hatred because he had stood up to another king named Henry over the dispute whether temporal lords had power over and control of Christ’s Church. His shrine in Canterbury was likewise destroyed, and is today marked only by a candle where his shrine had been.

“If we who are called bishops desire to understand the meaning of our calling and to be worthy of it, we must strive to keep our eyes on him whom God appointed high priest for ever, and to follow in his footsteps. For our sake he offered himself to the Father upon the altar of the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve.

As successors of the apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ's representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.

There are a great many bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being. The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone knows that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so great. Even in ancient times when the people of God had only one altar, many teachers were needed; how much more now for an assembly of nations which Lebanon itself could not provide with fuel for sacrifice, and which neither Lebanon nor the whole of Judea could supply with beasts for burnt offerings! Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter's teaching. All important questions that arise among God's people are referred to the judgment of Peter in the person of the Roman Pontiff. Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility.

Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.
~ from a letter by St. Thomas Becket

Saint Thomas honor we,
Through whose blood Holy Church is made free.
All Holy Church was but a thrall
Through king and temporal lords all,
Until he was slain in Christ's hall
And set all things in unity:
His death has such authority.
- from a medieval English carol Seynt Thomas honour we

The Feast of St. Thomas Becket is celebrated on December 29th.

St. Thomas Becket is a patron saint of England and the city of Canterbury.

O God, who gave the Martyr Saint Thomas Becket
the courage to give up his life for the sake of justice,
grant, through his intercession,
that, renouncing our life
for the sake of Christ in this world,
we may find it in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Description
St. Thomas Becket icon
© Cecilia Lawrence
December 22nd 2016
4.5 x 6 inches
Ink, watercolor, gold leaf

“The Lord crowned you with holiness;
He clothed you in glory.
God, the Holy One of Israel, dwells in you.
You have fought the good fight,
you have run the race to the finish,
now a crown of holiness awaits you.”
~ Responsory for the Feast of St. Thomas Becket

St. Thomas Becket is depicted wearing a bishop’s miter and the pallium of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He also wears a red chasuble, the color of which symbolizes martyrdom. In his right hand he holds the Archiepiscopal cross (a symbol of his title as Archbishop) and in his left hand he holds a palm branch (symbol of victorious martyrdom) and a sword (the instrument of his martyrdom). I based the chasuble and miter design after the ones worn by Thomas Becket that are currently in the Treasury of the Cathedral of Sens, France.

These pictures show some detailed images of the vestments , while this engraving of the vestments has some clearer details of the vestments .

:+: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE SAINT :+:

Saint Thomas Becket (December 21st 1119 – December 29th 1170 A.D.), was born in Cheapside in London to his parents Gilbert and Matilda Becket. He was born on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle (whose feast was then on December 21st) and was named for the saint. His father was a Norman from Thierville and his mother was a Norman from Caen. At the time of Thomas’ birth, they were living in London where Gilbert was a merchant and small landowner who made a reasonable income by renting out his properties. Gilbert also held the position of sheriff of London. As his family was fairly well-off and well-connected, the young Thomas was sent to Merton Priory near London at the age of ten. He received a classical medieval liberal arts education which included the study of grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music theory, and astronomy. As a child, he was invited by a family friend named Richer d L’Aigle to spend some time out in the country where he was taught to hawk and hunt, a pastime the boy very much enjoyed. Once while he was out hunting fowl with a valuable falcon, the bird left his hand to swoop down on a duck that had dived into the stream. The falcon plunged into the water after it, and Thomas himself leapt into the water to save the precious bird. He was caught in the stream and was almost killed by the wheel of the watermill.

One chronicler described him as being “ slim of growth, and pale of hue, with dark hair, a long nose, and a straightly featured face. Blithe of countenance was he, winning and lovable in conversation, frank of speech in his discourses but slightly stuttering in his talk, so keen of discernment that he could always make difficult questions plain after a wise manner." At the age of twenty he was sent to study at the University of Paris, but only stayed there for about a year when he was forced to go back home due to his family’s financial difficulties. Thomas had to earn his own living by working as a clerk, but his father was able to get him a job working for a relative named Osbert Huitdeniers. At the age of twenty-four, Becket found another post serving as a clerk in the household of Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas received minor orders and was sent to the University of Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law. On his return to London, he was made Archdeacon of Canterbury in 1154 and was entrusted with a number of offices, including the Provost of Beverley. He managed his responsibilities so well that the Archbishop also sent him on diplomatic missions to Rome. In these assignments he was also very successful, so when the post of Chancellor of England became vacant, Theobald recommended the thirty-five year old Archdeacon to the king.

Thomas Becket was duly made Lord Chancellor in January 1155. The King and Becket became fast friends and enjoyed hunting and hawking together. Thomas enjoyed the king’s confidence and advised the king on subjects of policy and royal reforms. He was a very efficient administrator and King Henry II was so pleased by his work that his son and heir, Prince Henry, was sent to live in Becket’s household. While there, the prince said that he received more love and fatherly kindness from Thomas Becket in one day than he’d ever received from his father during his whole life. Thomas loved to live the high life and put on lavish feasts and spectacles and enjoyed fine food and wine and entertainments. He had hundreds of knights in his own personal retinue, and whether going to war with Henry or going on an embassy to France, he always exuded an aura of magnificent worldly grandeur. He gave lavishly to the poor as well, and even helped to lead men into battle while Henry waged campaigns in the territory of Toulouse.

When Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, Henry struck on the idea of nominating Thomas to be Archbishop. When told of the king’s intention, Becket said, “Should God permit me to be the archbishop of Canterbury, I would soon lose your Majesty's favor, and the affection with which you honor me would be changed into hatred. For there are several things you do now in prejudice of the rights of the Church which make me fear you would require of me what I could not agree to; and envious persons would not fail to make it the occasion of endless strife between us.” Henry told the prelates of the Church that he wanted Becket to be the Archbishop, and sent to Rome to request the appointment. It wasn’t until the Papal Legate confirmed the nomination that Becket finally agreed, and he was ordained a priest on June 2nd 1162 and consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury the day afterwards.

Thomas Becket took his role as Archbishop seriously. He gave away his clothes and finery to the poor, and started to wear a penitential hairshirt. He wore plain clothes, ate plain food, and took to ascetical practices. He was scrupulously just when deciding matters in ecclesiastical courts, and spent much time in readings and praying with the Scriptures.

Becket resigned as Chancellor, which displeased Henry, and soon the two men were in open conflict with each other. The king insisted on having clergy tried in his own royal courts instead of in ecclesiastical courts. A canon named Philip de Brois, was accused of murdering a soldier but was later acquitted and only force to pay a fine by the bishop of Lincoln, but Henry wanted the man tried in a civil court. Under law, he couldn’t be tried for the same crime, and he insulted the king’s men in saying so, so Henry wanted him dragged to court on both the murder charge and for insulting the king’s ministers. Henry and Becket quarreled over whose jurisdiction this fell under, and finally the king allowed the canon to be tried by Thomas Becket himself. The man was once again acquitted for the murder but stood guilty for the misdemeanor. Henry’s displeasure over the affair led him and Becket into further conflicts over the interests of Church and State which culminated in the Constitutions of Clarendon.

In October of 1163, King Henry summoned the higher prelates to an assembly of lords and clergy at Westminster where he demanded that the bishops accept sixteen constitutions that would strip away power from the clergy and the Church and make England more independent of the Pope. It said that the clergy couldn’t leave the country without the king’s permission, there were to be no appeals to Rome, the clergy were to be tried in the king’s courts, and banned the excommunication of the king’s tenants. It also gave over control of Church lands and vacant sees to the Crown. Becket persuaded the bishops to stand up to the king and resist his pressures to have them cave in. The king eventually resorted to bullying the clergy with political and temporal threats to make them give in. Henry had his son removed from Becket's household and also revoked all of the honors and benefits he had conferred on him before. Several months later, in January of 1164, the king again summoned the bishops to a council at Clarendon palace. There the king demanded and bullied the bishops into agreeing to the Constitutions. Eventually, Becket very reluctantly agreed to the substance of the Constitutions with the reservation “saving my order.”

Becket immediately felt remorse for weakening his resolve and for setting such a bad example for the other bishops. The other prelates felt that he’d betrayed them, and Thomas tried to leave England to consult the Pope on the matter. He was caught and brought to trial on trumped up charges at Northampton Castle in October of 1164. He was convicted of failing to uphold the Constitutions, but the Archbishop refused to accept the sentence and instead left Northampton and fled to France in November, and eventually reached Sens, where he presented his case to the Pope. When Becket chose exile in Pontigny to returning to England, Henry wrathfully seized all of the benefices belonging to the Archbishop and his retainers and even forcibly exiled all of Becket’s relatives and servants.

While in exile, Thomas tried to resolve the controversy but Henry remained stubborn. Becket fought back by threatening the king with excommunication and interdict. In 1166, Becket was named Papal Legate and promptly exiled a number of the King’s supporters. The King and Becket both wrote appeals to the Pope asking for his mediation. Pope Alexander III responded by sending papal legates to hear the various sides and decide the issue conclusively. He also asked Henry to restore Becket to Canterbury and counseled Becket to refrain from additional hostilities against the king, as the Pope desired a peaceful resolution to the controversy. King Louis VII of France in the meantime continued to shelter and support the exiled Archbishop. Eventually, when Henry II had his son Prince Henry crowned as junior king of England on June 14th 1170 by the Archbishop of York (an act that was a slap in the face to Becket, as the Archbishop of Canterbury had the right to crown the English kings), Becket was given permission to lay an interdict on England. This threat of interdict drove Henry to the negotiation table. In July Becket and Henry finally came to an agreement and the Archbishop was finally allowed to return to his see.

Before Becket landed in England in early December, he excommunicated the Archbishop of York Roger de Pont L'Évêque, Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, who had all been a part of the coronation of the young Henry, but who also had clerks in their service whom they wished to reward with certain benefices that had belonged to Becket’s exiled clerks. Becket said he’d absolve the Bishop of London and Salisbury, but that only the Pope could absolve the Archbishop of York. This infuriated the latter, who went with the two others to the king to complain. It was upon hearing this news that the King exclaimed in a drunken rage: “What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?!” Another version has it that he said: “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!” Four of Henry’s knights, mortified by this remark, left the king and rode to Canterbury to challenge Becket.

When Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton arrived at Canterbury on December 29th 1170, they hid their swords by a tree and entered the church where they demanded that Thomas come with them to Winchester to explain himself. Thomas refused to be arrested by them, and went to vespers in the Cathedral. The four knights, enraged, retrieved their swords and charged into Canterbury cathedral, crying, “Where is Thomas the traitor?! Where is the archbishop?!” Thomas replied, "Here I am, no traitor, but archbishop and priest of God!" Edward Grim, a visiting clerk from Cambridge tried to protect Becket and received a serious wound on his arm in doing so. He later gave an eyewitness account of how Thomas Becket was murdered: “ The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more.”

He was murdered at the age of fifty-one and was greatly mourned by the clergy and commoners of England as a defender of the Church’s rights. The news of the murder of an Archbishop in his own cathedral horrified all of Christendom, and Becket was immediately hailed as a martyr and a saint. Henry weakly protested his innocence in the matter and refused to defend the four knights who assassinated Becket, but instead advised them to flee to Scotland. The four murderers were excommunicated, and were ordered to go on crusade and stay in the Holy Land for fourteen years and fight alongside the Templars. Henry was forced to negotiate with the Pope and agreed to the compromise of Avranches which stated that the royal courts had no jurisdiction over the clergy, allowed appeals to Rome and gave more freedoms to the Church. Henry also was forced to undergo penance for his role in the murder and later agreed to go on crusade (something which never ended up happening).

Thomas Becket was canonized by Pope Alexander III as a martyr on February 21st 1173, only three years after his death. On July 7th 1220, 50 years after his martyrdom, his relics were transferred from his tomb to a shrine in the Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral. Devotion to Thomas Becket quickly spread throughout Christendom, and a mosaic icon of him was made honoring him at Monreale Cathedral in Sicily alongside other famous saints and martyrs. Many images, songs, and artworks were made commemorating his life and death, including paintings, illuminations, and reliquaries (one of which is the Becket Casket, now located in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London). The Scottish king William the Lion—who had personally known Thomas Becket while living in England—built Arbroath Abbey in his honor in 1197.

After King Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, St. Thomas Becket’s relics were destroyed and statues and artworks of him were defaced and destroyed. All mention of his name in documents or in songs and in art were to be destroyed. St. Thomas Becket was an especial target of the king’s hatred because he had stood up to another king named Henry over the dispute whether temporal lords had power over and control of Christ’s Church. His shrine in Canterbury was likewise destroyed, and is today marked only by a candle where his shrine had been.

“If we who are called bishops desire to understand the meaning of our calling and to be worthy of it, we must strive to keep our eyes on him whom God appointed high priest for ever, and to follow in his footsteps. For our sake he offered himself to the Father upon the altar of the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve.

As successors of the apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ's representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.

There are a great many bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being. The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone knows that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so great. Even in ancient times when the people of God had only one altar, many teachers were needed; how much more now for an assembly of nations which Lebanon itself could not provide with fuel for sacrifice, and which neither Lebanon nor the whole of Judea could supply with beasts for burnt offerings! Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter's teaching. All important questions that arise among God's people are referred to the judgment of Peter in the person of the Roman Pontiff. Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility.

Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.
~ from a letter by St. Thomas Becket

Saint Thomas honor we,
Through whose blood Holy Church is made free.
All Holy Church was but a thrall
Through king and temporal lords all,
Until he was slain in Christ's hall
And set all things in unity:
His death has such authority.
- from a medieval English carol Seynt Thomas honour we

The Feast of St. Thomas Becket is celebrated on December 29th.

St. Thomas Becket is a patron saint of England and the city of Canterbury.

O God, who gave the Martyr Saint Thomas Becket
the courage to give up his life for the sake of justice,
grant, through his intercession,
that, renouncing our life
for the sake of Christ in this world,
we may find it in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.