Becket s murder in the Cathedral
The martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170 is a landmark in English history. During the Middle Ages, until it was destroyed by agents of Henry VIII, his tomb was one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Europe. In an eerie foreshadowing of today’s cancel culture, in 1538 the Tudor king ordered that Becket’s “pictures throughout the realm are to be plucked down and his festivals shall no longer be kept”. His relics were lost or destroyed.
In the 20th Century, the conflict of king and prelate has been celebrated in T.S. Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and Jean Anouilh’s play Becket or The Honour of God (1959), and the 1964 film Becket, starring Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole.
President Trump s Proclamation on 850th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket catholiccitizens.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholiccitizens.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The following is President Donald Trump's full proclamation, issued on December 28, 2020, the Feast Day of St. Thomas Becket. God bless our Presid.
By CNSNews.com Staff Writer | December 29, 2020 | 3:31pm EST
(Getty Images)
(CNS News) In honor of the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, who was murdered because he defended the Christian faith against intrusions by the state, President Trump issued a proclamation for today, Dec. 29, declaring St. Thomas a lion of religious liberty whose martyrdom changed the course of history.
St. Thomas, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by several knights loyal to King Henry II on Dec. 29, 1170. Before the Magna Carta was drafted, before the right to free exercise of religion was enshrined as America’s first freedom in our glorious Constitution, Thomas gave his life so that, as he said, the Church will attain liberty and peace, President Trump said in his proclamation.
Today is the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket on December 29, 1170. Thomas Becket was a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a.