John Fisher: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|16th-century Bishop of Rochester}}

{{Infobox Saint

{{Other uses}}

|name=Saint John Fisher

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}

|birth_date=c.[[1469]]

{{Use British English|date=September 2024}}

|death_date=22 June [[1535]]

|feast_day=22 June

{{Infobox Christian leader

|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholicism]]

| type = Cardinal

|image=John Fisher by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg

| honorific-prefix = [[Saint]]

|imagesize=205px

|caption name = John Fisher, by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]

| honorific-suffix =

|birth_place=[[Beverley]], [[Yorkshire]], [[England]]

| title = [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]]<br>[[Bishop of Rochester]]

|death_place=[[Tower Hill]], [[Tyburn]], [[England]]

| image = San Juan Fisher Obispo de Rochester y Mártir.jpg

|titles=Cardinal and Martyr

| alt =

|beatified_date=29 December [[1886]]

| caption = Depicted by a follower of [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]

|beatified_place=

| church = [[Catholic Church in England and Wales]]

|beatified_by=[[Pope Leo XIII]]

| archdiocese =

|canonized_date=[[1935]]

| province =

|canonized_place=

| metropolis = [[diocese of Canterbury|Canterbury]]

|canonized_by=[[Pope Pius XI]]

| diocese = [[Diocese of Rochester|Rochester]]

|attributes=cardinal with and axe nearby; cardinal with his hat at his feet; worn and haggard-looking cardinal

|patronage see =dioscese of [[Rochester, New York]]

| elected =

|major_shrine=[[St. Peter's Cathedral]], [[London]], [[England]]

| appointed = 14 October 1504

|suppressed_date=

|issues term =

| term_start = 24 April 1505

|prayer=

| quashed =

|prayer_attrib=

| term_end = 2 January 1535

| predecessor = [[Richard FitzJames]]

| opposed =

| successor = [[Nicholas Heath]]

| other_post = [[San Vitale, Rome#Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di San Vitale|Cardinal-Priest of San Vitale]]

<!---------- Orders ---------->| ordination = 17 December 1491

| ordained_by = [[Thomas Rotherham]]

| consecration = 24 November 1504

| consecrated_by = [[William Warham]]

| cardinal = 21 May 1535

| rank = Bishop, [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Orders and their chief offices|Cardinal-Priest]]

<!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_name =

| birth_date = c. 19 October 1469<ref name="ReferenceA">Based upon his baptismal date as taken from "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by the Rev. Hugo Hoever OSB Cist, New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1951</ref>

| birth_place = [[Beverley]], [[Yorkshire]], [[Kingdom of England]]

| death_date = {{death date and age|1535|06|22|1469|10|19|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Tower Hill]], [[London]], Kingdom of England

| buried =

| nationality =

| religion =

| residence =

| parents =

| spouse =

| children =

| occupation =

| profession =

| previous_post =

| education =

| alma_mater =

| motto = faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum ("I shall make you fishers of men")

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Saint John Fisher.svg

| coat_of_arms_alt = <!---------- Sainthood ---------->

| feast_day = {{unbulleted list|22 June ([[Catholic Church]])|6 July ([[Church of England]])|9 July (Catholic pre-1969)}}

| venerated = [[Catholic Church]], [[Anglicanism]]

| saint_title = Bishop and martyr, Bishop of Rochester

| beatified_date = 29 December 1886

| beatified_place = [[Rome]], [[Kingdom of Italy]],

| beatified_by = [[Pope Leo XIII]]

| canonized_date = 19 May 1935

| canonized_place = [[Vatican City]],

| canonized_by = [[Pope Pius XI]]

| attributes =

| patronage = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester]]; [[Rochester, New York]]

| shrine =

| suppressed_date = <!---------- Other ---------->

| other =

| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Paul III]]

}}

{{Infobox cardinal styles

| image = Coat of arms of Saint John Fisher.svg

| image_size = 200px

| cardinal name = John Fisher

| dipstyle =

| offstyle =

| see =

}}

{{Catholic Counter-Reformation|expanded=people}}

''For '''John Arbuthnot Fisher''', British admiral, see [[Jackie Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher]].''

'''Saint John Fisher''' also(c. '''John19 CardinalOctober Fisher'''1469 (c.– 22 June [[1469]]&ndash;[[1535]]), was an [[English people|English]]Catholic [[RomanBishop Catholic(Catholicism)|Catholicbishop]] bishop, cardinaltheologian and martyr. He shares his [[feastChancellor day(education)|Chancellor]] withof Saintthe [[ThomasUniversity Moreof Cambridge]]. onHe [[Juneis 22]]honoured onas thea [[Roman Catholic calendar of saints|Catholic calendar of saintsmartyr]] and [[Julysaint 6]] onby the [[CalendarCatholic of saints (Church of England)|Anglican calendar of saints]].

Fisher was executed by order of [[Henry VIII]] during the [[English Reformation]] for refusing to accept him as the [[supreme head of the Church of England]] and for upholding the [[Catholic Church]]'s doctrine of [[papal supremacy]]. He was named a [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] shortly before his death.

==Early life==

He was born in [[Beverley]], [[Yorkshire]], [[England]] in about [[1469]], the eldest son of Robert Fisher, a modestly prosperous merchant of Beverley, and Agnes his wife. He was one of four children. His father died when John was eight. John's mother remarried and had five more children by her second husband, William White. John seems to have close contacts with his extended family all his life. Fisher's early education was probably received in the school attached to the collegiate church in his native town.

In answer to a popular petition of English Catholics, [[Pope Pius XI]] canonized John Fisher and [[Thomas More]] on 19 May 1935 as representatives of the many Catholic martyrs of England. The two martyrs share a common [[feast day]] on 22 June in the current [[General Roman Calendar of 1969 |General Roman Calendar]] of the Catholic Church. His name also appears in some [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[calendar of saints |calendars of saints]].

He studied at the [[University of Cambridge]] from 1483, where at [[Michaelhouse, Cambridge]], he came under the influence of [[William Melton]], a pastorally-minded theologian open to the new current of reform in studies arising from the Renaissance. Fisher took the degree of B.A. in [[1487]], M.A. in [[1491]] and in the same year he was elected a fellow of his college, and was made Vicar of [[Northallerton]], Yorkshire. In [[1494]] he resigned his benefice to become proctor of the university, and three years later was appointed Master of Michaelhouse, about which date he became chaplain and confessor to [[Margaret Beaufort|Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby]], mother of King [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]. On [[July 5]], [[1501]], he received his doctorate in theology and ten days later was elected Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Under Fisher's guidance, Lady Margaret founded [[St. John's College, Cambridge|St. John's]] and [[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's Colleges]], and also the two "Lady Margaret" professorships of divinity at Oxford and Cambridge respectively, Fisher himself being the first occupant of the Cambridge chair. He was also in the years ([[1505]]-[[1508|8]]) Head of [[Queens' College, Cambridge|Queens' College]]. At the end of July [[1516]] he was in Cambridge for the opening of St John's College and consecrated the Chapel.

==Biography==

==The Measure of the Man==

===Early life===

Fisher's strategy was to assemble funds and attract to Cambridge leading scholars from Europe, promoting the study not only of ancient non-Christian Latin and Greek authors, but also of Hebrew. He was heart and soul a priest, and placed great weight upon pastoral commitment, above all popular preaching by the endowed staff. Fisher's foundations were also dedicated to prayer for the dead, especially through chantry foundations. Fisher had a wide and deep vision to which he dedicated all his personal resources and energies. A scholar and a man of prayer, harsh with himself, humble and conscientious, he managed despite occasional opposition to carry with him and administer a whole university, one of only two in England. He conceived and saw through long-term projects, following them at first hand. His production of learned and spiritual publications in the midst of a busy life and his determination to persevere with learning Greek and Hebrew even in advancing middle age show the man's grit and energy.

John Fisher was born at [[Beverley]], [[Yorkshire]] in 1469,<ref name="huddleston">{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08462b.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. John Fisher|website=newadvent.org|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> the son of Robert Fisher, a prosperous [[Mercery|mercer]] of Beverley, and Agnes, his wife, with whom he had four children. Robert Fisher died in 1477, and was buried in St. Mary's, the parish church; in his will, he made bequests to his children and various poorhouses, churches, and priests, as well as providing Mass stipends.<ref>To "a number of churches and almshouses and to two priests. To a monastery at Hagnaby in Lincolnshire he left ten shillings for a trental of Masses for the repose of his soul, and to a church at Holtoft not far away in the same county, he left a small sum for the upkeep of the fabric. Robert senior may have been a native of that part of Lincolnshire. Four children are referred to in the will but not named. We know the names of two, John and his brother Robert who was later steward at Rochester. One of the other children was a daughter who married an Edward White. The fourth child may have been the Ralph Fisher whose name comes in a list of debts owing to John Fisher at his attainder. An early manuscript version of John Fisher's life says that he was the eldest son, but this, too, lacks confirmation."{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=E.E. |title=St. John Fisher |publisher=Mediatrix Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0692546772 |pages=9–10}}</ref>

John was then eight years old. His widowed mother subsequently married a man named White, to whom she bore four further children.<ref>Neither White's Christian name nor his occupation is known. Of his children by Agnes, John and Thomas became merchants; the third, Richard, became a priest and Elizabeth White entered the Dominican nunnery at Dartford, Kent.</ref>

==Bishop==

By [[Papal Bull]] dated [[October 14]], [[1504]], Fisher was appointed [[Bishop of Rochester]] at the personal insistence of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]. Rochester was the poorest diocese in England and usually seen as a first step on an ecclesistical career, but Fisher stayed there, presumably by his own choice, for the remaining 31 years of his life. He aimed at being a model bishop. At the same time, like any English bishop of his day he had certain state duties to absolve. In particular, Fisher maintained a passionate interest in the university of Cambridge. In [[1504]] he was elected Chancellor of Cambridge University, and was re-elected annually for ten years and then appointed for life. At this date also he is said to have acted as tutor to Prince Henry, afterwards [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. As a preacher his reputation was so great that in [[1509]], during which both King [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] and the Lady Margaret died, Fisher was appointed to preach the funeral oration on both occasions, the texts being still extant. It was not long before Fisher was in conflict with the crown, over the funds for the financing of the foundations at Cambridge left by the Lady Margaret, the King's grandmother. In 1512 Fisher was nominated as one of the English representatives at the [[Fifth Council of Lateran]], then sitting, but his journey to Rome was postponed, and finally abandoned. Besides his share in the Lady Margaret's foundations, Fisher gave further proof of his genuine zeal for learning by inducing [[Erasmus]] to visit Cambridge. The latter (''Epistulae'' 6:2) attributes it to Fisher's protection that the study of [[Greek language|Greek]] was allowed to proceed at Cambridge without the active molestation that it encountered at Oxford.

Fisher's early education was probably at the school attached to the collegiate church in his home town. He seems to have had close contacts with his extended family all his life.

Fisher has also been named, though without any real proof, as the true author of the royal treatise against Luther entitled ''Assertio septem sacramentorum'', published in 1521, which won the title Fidei Defensor for [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. Before this date Fisher had denounced various abuses in the Church, urging the need of disciplinary reforms. On about [[11 February]] [[1526]], at the King's command, he preached a famous sermon against Luther at St Paul's Cross, the open-air pulpit outside St Paul's Cathedral in London. This was in the wake of numerous other controversial writings and the battle against heterodox teachings was to occupy increasingly his later years.

==Defence= University of Catherine ofCambridge Aragon===

Acknowledging Fisher's aptitude for learning, and being financially comfortable, his mother assented to his admission to the University of Cambridge, in 1482, at the age of twelve or thirteen.

When the question of Henry's divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon arose, Fisher became the Queen's chief supporter and most trusted counsellor. In this capacity he appeared on the Queen's behalf in the legates' court, where he startled his hearers by the directness of his language and most of all by declaring that, like St. John the Baptist, he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage. This statement was reported to Henry VIII, who was so enraged by it that he himself composed a long Latin address to the legates in answer to the bishop's speech. Fisher's copy of this still exists, with his manuscript annotations in the margin which show how little he feared the royal anger. The removal of the cause to Rome brought Fisher's personal share therein to an end, but the king never forgave him for what he had done.

The University of Cambridge had regressed and stagnated academically. In an oration delivered before [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] in 1506, Fisher recalled:

==Henry's Attack on the Church==

In November, 1529, the "Long Parliament" of Henry's reign began its series of encroachments on the Church. Fisher, as a member of the upper house, at once warned Parliament that such acts could only end in the utter destruction of the Church in England. On this the Commons, through their speaker, complained to the king that the bishop had disparaged Parliament, presumably with Henry prompting them behind the scenes. The opportunity was not lost. Henry summoned Fisher before him, demanding an explanation. This being given, Henry declared himself satisfied, leaving it to the Commons to declare that the explanation was inadequate, so that he appeared as a magnanimous sovereign, instead of Fisher's enemy.

{{Blockquote|text="At the time when your majesty first showed your concern for us, learning had begun to decline among us—this may have been the result of constant litigation with the town, or of the frequent plagues that beset us so that we lost many of our leading scholars, or of the lack of patrons of learning.<ref>Some [[St Scholastica Day riot#Background|similar forces]] had also affected the University of Oxford.</ref> Whatever the cause, we should indeed have been reduced to despair had not your majesty shone down upon us like the rising sun itself."<ref>{{cite web |title=Martyr-in-Waiting – Martyrs of Henry VIII: Repression, Defiance, Sacrifice |url=https://erenow.org/biographies/martyrs-henry-viii-repression-defiance-dacrifice/3.php |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=erenow.org }}</ref>}}

A year later, in [[1530]], the continued encroachments on the Church moved Fisher, as Bishop of Rochester, along with the Bishops of Bath and Ely, to appeal to the Holy See. This gave the King his opportunity and an edict forbidding such appeals was immediately issued, and the three bishops were arrested. Their imprisonment, however, can have lasted a few months only, for in February, [[1531]], Convocation met, and Fisher was present. This was the occasion when the clergy were forced, at a cost of 1,000,000 pounds, to purchase the king's pardon for having recognized Cardinal Wolsey's authority as legate of the pope; and at the same time to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church in England, to which phrase, however, their addition of the clause "so far as God's law permits" was made, through Fisher's efforts.

Fisher studied at the [[University of Cambridge]] from 1484, where at [[Michaelhouse, Cambridge|Michaelhouse]] he came under the influence of [[William Melton (clergyman)|William Melton]], a pastorally-minded theologian open to the new current of reform in studies arising from the [[Renaissance]]. Fisher received the [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1487. In 1491 he proceeded to a [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|Master of Arts]] degree and was elected a [[fellow]] of his college.<ref>{{acad|id= FSR487J|name=Fisher, John}}</ref>

A few days later, several of the bishop's servants were taken ill after eating some porridge served to the household, and two actually died. Popular opinion at the time regarded this as an attempt on the bishop's life, although he himself chanced not to have taken any of the poisoned food. To disarm suspicion, the king not only expressed strong indignation at the crime, but caused a special Act of Parliament to be passed, whereby poisoning was to be accounted high treason, and the person guilty of it boiled to death. This sentence was actually carried out on the culprit, but it did not prevent what seems to have been a second attempt on Fisher's life soon afterwards.

Also in 1491 Fisher received a papal dispensation to be ordained to the priesthood despite being under the canonical age.<ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Ernest Edwin |title=Saint John Fisher|page=6|publisher=Anthony Clarke Books|year=1955}}</ref> On 17 December 1491 he was ordained into the priesthood, and appointed (nominal) Vicar of [[Northallerton]], Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Saywell |first1=Joseph Lemuel |title=The history and annals of Northallerton, Yorkshire |date=1885 |publisher=Simpkin and Marshall |___location=London |page=xliv (298) |chapter=Appendix|oclc=1045936128}}</ref>

==The King's Great Matter==

Matters now moved rapidly. In May, [[1532]], Sir [[Thomas More]] resigned the chancellorship, and in June, Fisher preached publicly against the divorce. In August, [[William Warham]], Archbishop of Canterbury, died, and [[Thomas Cranmer]] was at once proposed by Henry to the pope as his successor. In January, 1533, Henry secretly went through a form of marriage with [[Anne Boleyn]]. Cranmer's consecration as a Bishop took place in March of the same year, and, a week later, Fisher was arrested. It seems fairly clear that the purpose of this arrest was to prevent his opposing the sentence of divorce which Cranmer pronounced in May, or the coronation of Anne Boleyn which followed on [[June 1]], since Fisher was set at liberty again within a fortnight of the latter event, no charge being made against him. In the autumn of this year [[1533]], various arrests were made in connection with the so-called revelations of the Holy Maid of Kent, [[Elizabeth Barton]], but as Fisher was taken seriously ill in December, proceedings against him were postponed for a time. However, in March, [[1534]], a special [[Bill of Attainder]] against the Bishop of Rochester and others for complicity in the matter of the Maid of Kent was introduced and passed. By this Fisher was condemned to forfeit all his personal estate and to be imprisoned during the king's pleasure. Subsequently a pardon was granted him on payment of a fine of 300 pounds.

In 1494 he resigned this [[benefice]] to become [[proctor]] of the University and three years later was appointed master debater and about the same time he was also appointed chaplain and confessor to [[Lady Margaret Beaufort|Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby]], mother of [[Henry VII of England|King Henry VII]].

In the same session of Parliament was passed the [[Act of Succession]], by which all who should be called upon to do so were compelled to take an oath of succession, acknowledging the issue of Henry and Anne as legitimate heirs to the throne, under pain of being guilty of [[misprision of treason]]. Fisher refused the oath and was sent to the [[Tower of London]], [[April 26]], [[1534]]. Several efforts were made to induce him to submit, but without effect, and in November he was attained of misprision of treason a second time, his goods being forfeited as from [[March 1]] preceding, and the See of Rochester being declared vacant as from [[June 2]] following. He was to remain in the Tower for over a year, and while he was allowed food and drink sent by friends, and a servant, he was not allowed a priest, even to the very end. A long letter exists, written from the Tower by Fisher to [[Thomas Cromwell]], speaking of the severity of his conditions of imprisonment. Like [[Thomas More]], the Bishop took the line that since the statute condemned only those speaking maliciously against the King's new title, there was safety in silence. However, on [[May 7]] he fell into a trap laid for him by the odious [[Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich|Richard Rich]], who was to perjure himself to obtain Thomas More's conviction. Rich told Fisher that for his own conscience's sake the King wished to know, in strict secrecy, Fisher's real opinion. A priest, used to secrecy in matters of conscience, Fisher was taken in and said that he was convinced "that the King was not, nor could be, by the Law of God, Supreme Head in earth of the Church of England". By saying this, he had fallen foul of the law. On Thursday [[June 17]] he was put on trial in [[Westminster Hall]] before a court of seventeen, including [[Thomas Cromwell]], [[Anne Boleyn]]'s father, and ten justices. The only testimony was that of Rich. Fisher was condemned to death.

On 5 July 1501, he received the degree of [[doctor of sacred theology]] and 10 days later was elected [[List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge|Vice-Chancellor of the university]]. Under Fisher's guidance, his patroness Lady Margaret founded [[St John's College, Cambridge|St John's]] and [[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's Colleges]] at Cambridge, and a Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity at each of the two universities at [[Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity|Oxford]] and [[Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity|Cambridge]]. Fisher himself becoming the first occupant of the Cambridge chair. From 1505 to 1508 he was also the President of [[Queens' College, Cambridge|Queens' College]]. At the end of July 1516 he was at Cambridge for the opening of St John's College and consecrated the chapel.

==Cardinalate and Execution==

In May, [[1535]], the new pope, [[Paul III]], created Fisher [[Cardinal-Priest]] of ''[[San Vitale|S. Vitalis]]'', being apparently in the hope of inducing Henry to ease Fisher's treatment. The effect was precisely the reverse, Henry forbade the cardinal's hat to be brought into England, declaring that he would send the head to Rome instead. In June a special commission for Fisher's trial was issued, and on [[17 June]] he was arraigned in Westminster Hall on a charge of treason, in that he denied the king to be supreme head of the Church. Since he had been deprived of his position of Bishop of Rochester by the [[Act of Attainder]], he was treated as a commoner, and tried by jury. He was found guilty, and condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.

Fisher's strategy was to assemble funds and attract to Cambridge leading scholars from Europe, promoting the study not only of [[Classical Latin]] and [[Greek literature|Greek]] authors, but of [[Hebrew literature|Hebrew]]. He placed great weight upon pastoral commitment, above all popular preaching, on the part of the endowed fellows. Fisher had a vision to which he dedicated all his personal resources and energies. Despite occasional opposition, he managed to administer the entire university, one of only two in England, conceiving and seeing through long-term projects.

However, a public outcry was brewing among the London populace who saw a sinister irony in the parallels between the conviction of John Fisher and that of his patronal namesake, St. [[John the Baptist]], who was executed by King Herod for challenging the liceity of Herod's marriage to his brother's widow. For fear of Fisher's living through his patronal feast day, that of St. John the Baptist on June 24th, and attracting too much public sympathy, Henry commuted the sentence to beheading, to be accomplished before June 23rd, the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. The beheading which was done on [[Tower Hill]], on [[22 June]],[[1535]], had the opposite effect as his beheading created yet another ironic parallel with the execution of the Baptist whose form of execution was also beheading.

Fisher's foundations were also dedicated to prayer for the dead, especially through [[chantry]] foundations. A stern and austere man, Fisher was known to place a human skull on the altar during Mass and on the table during meals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Seward |first=Desmond |title=The Wars of the Roses|page=437|publisher=Constable and Robinson|year=2007}}</ref>

His last moments were thoroughly in keeping with his previous life. He met death with a calm dignified courage which profoundly impressed all present. His body was treated with particular rancour, apparently on Henry's orders, being stripped and left on the scaffold till evening, when it was taken on pikes and thrown naked into a rough grave in the churchyard of [[Allhallows]], Barking. There was no funeral prayer. A fortnight later it was laid beside that of Sir [[Thomas More]] in the chapel of [[San Pietro in Vincoli|St. Peter ad Vincula]]. The bishop's head was stuck upon a pole on [[London Bridge]], but its ruddy and lifelike appearance excited so much attention that, after a fortnight, it was thrown into the [[Thames]], its place being taken by that of Sir Thomas More, whose martyrdom occurred on [[July 6]].

[[File:Bishop John Fisher MET DP242652.jpg|thumb|John Fisher as a young man by Pietro Torrigiano.]]

Erasmus said of John Fisher: "He is the one man at this time who is incomparable for uprightness of life, for learning and for greatness of soul."<ref name=foley/>

===Bishop===

John Fisher was a figure universally esteemed throughout Europe and notwithstanding the subsequent efforts of the English government, was to remain so. In the Decree of [[29 December]] [[1886]], when fifty-four of the English martyrs were beatified by Leo XIII, the best place of all is given to John Fisher. He was canonized in [[1935]] by Pope [[Pius XI]] along with [[Thomas More]], after the presentation of a petition by the English Catholics.

By [[papal bull]] dated 14 October 1504, Fisher was appointed [[bishop of Rochester]], at the personal insistence of Henry VII.<ref name=CatholicCulture>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7604|title=Catholic Culture Library: Bishop John Fisher |access-date=3 July 2016}}</ref> Rochester was then the poorest diocese in England and usually seen as a first step on an episcopal career. Nonetheless, Fisher stayed there, presumably by his own choice, for the remaining 31 years of his life.

At the same time, like any English bishop of his day, Fisher had certain state duties. These included in particular, his role regarding the University of Cambridge, in which he maintained a passionate interest. In 1504 he was elected the university's chancellor. Re-elected annually for 10 years, Fisher ultimately received a lifetime appointment. At this date he is also said to have acted as tutor to the future king, [[Henry VIII]]. As a preacher, his reputation was so great that he was appointed to preach the funeral oration for King Henry VII and the Lady Margaret, both of whom died in 1509, the texts being extant. Besides the part he played in the Lady Margaret's foundations, Fisher gave further proof of his zeal for learning by inducing [[Erasmus]] to visit Cambridge. The latter attributes it (''"Epistulae"'' 6:2) to Fisher's protection that the study of Greek was allowed to proceed at Cambridge without the active molestation that it encountered at Oxford.<ref name=huddleston/>

==Portraits==

Several portraits of Fisher exist, the best being by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]] in the Royal Collection; and a few secondary relics are extant.

Despite his fame and eloquence, it was not long before Fisher came into conflict with the new King, his former pupil. The dispute arose over funds left by the Lady Margaret, the King's grandmother, for financing foundations at Cambridge.

In 1512 Fisher was nominated as one of the English representatives at the [[Fifth Council of the Lateran]], then sitting, but his journey to Rome was postponed, and finally abandoned.<ref name=huddleston/>

===Opposition to Lutheranism===

John Fisher was "the first theologian to diagnose justification through faith alone as the founding dogma of the Protestant Reformation."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of Eramus' Defence of his De libero arbitrio

|first=Germain

|last=Marc’hadour

|journal=Moreana

|date=December 2010

|volume=47

|issue=181–182

|page=299

|doi=10.3366/more.2010.47.3-4.17

|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdf/10.3366/more.2010.47.3-4.17}}</ref>

Fisher has also been named, though without any convincing proof, as the true author of the royal treatise against [[Martin Luther]] entitled ''"Assertio septem sacramentorum"'' (''[[Defence of the Seven Sacraments]]''), published in 1521, which won for King Henry VIII the title ''"Fidei Defensor"'' (''[[Fidei defensor|Defender of the Faith]]''). Prior to this date Fisher had denounced various [[Counter-Reformation|abuses in the Church]], urging the need for disciplinary reforms.

In 1523, Fisher published a 200,000 word response to Martin Luther's {{langx|la|Assertio Omnium Articulor}} (Assertions): {{langx|la|Assertionis Lutheranae Confutatio}} (Confutation of the Lutheran Assertions). Luther omitted some of the more provocative material from his German version, allowing the view that Fisher (and, the next year, [[Erasmus#Dispute on free will|Erasmus]]) had misunderstood Luther.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scheck |first1=Thomas P. |title=Bishop John Fisher's Response To Martin Luther |journal=Franciscan Studies |date=2013 |volume=71 |pages=463–509 |jstor=43855981 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43855981 |issn=0080-5459}}</ref> Luther did not respond to Fisher.

On about 11 February 1526, at the King's command, he preached a famous sermon against Luther at [[St Paul's Cross]], the open-air pulpit outside [[St Paul's Cathedral]] in London, as part of a spectacle where some Lutherans would publicly abjure and confiscated Lutheran books would be burnt. In the preface to the printed English version of the sermon, Fisher offered to meet secretly with any Lutheran to "to hear the bottom of his mind, and he shall hear mine again, if it so please him: and I trust

in our lord, that finally we shall so agree, that either he shall make me a Lutheran, or else I shall induce him to be a Catholic, and to follow the doctrine of Christ's

church."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=D'Alton |first1=Craig W. |title=The Suppression of Lutheran Heretics in England, 1526–1529 |journal=The Journal of Ecclesiastical History |date=April 2003 |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=228–253 |doi=10.1017/S0022046902005675}}</ref> The battle against heterodox teachings increasingly occupied Fisher's later years.

In 1529 Fisher was called to confirm with [[Thomas Hitton]], a follower of [[William Tyndale]] arrested for suspected heresy, that the records of his interviews and forthright admissions to Archbishop [[William Warham]] were correct and to convince Hitton to abjure.<ref name=foxe>{{cite book |last1=Foxe |first1=John |title=Fox's Book of Martyrs: The Acts and Monuments of the Church |date=1851 |publisher=G. Virtue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1idOAAAAYAAJ&dq=Thomas+hitton&pg=PA1150 }}</ref>{{rp|1149–1151}} Failing this, Hitton was handed to the secular authorities and executed at the stake for heresy. [[William Tyndale]], then living overseas, claimed that Hitton had been [[Inquisition#Methods of torture used|tortured]] by the archbishops,<ref>Brian Moynahan, God's Messenger</ref> however Protestant historian [[John Foxe]] who was diligent in passing on this kind of claim, does not claim this.<ref name=foxe />

===Defence of Catherine of Aragon===

When Henry tried to annul his marriage to [[Catherine of Aragon]], Fisher became the Queen's chief supporter.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog|title=Life of Blessed John Fisher: Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Martyr Under Henry VIII|last=Bridgett|first=Thomas Edward|date=1890|publisher=Burns & Oates|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog/page/n186 165]}}</ref> As such, he appeared on the Queen's behalf in the legates' court, where he startled the audience by the directness of his language and by declaring that, like St [[John the Baptist]], he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog|title=Life of Blessed John Fisher: Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Martyr Under Henry VIII|last=Bridgett|first=Thomas Edward|date=1890|publisher=Burns & Oates|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog/page/n191 170]}}</ref> Henry VIII, upon hearing this, grew so enraged by it that he composed a long Latin address to the legates in answer to the bishop's speech. Fisher's copy of this still exists, with his manuscript annotations in the margin which show how little he feared the royal anger.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog|title=Life of Blessed John Fisher: Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Martyr Under Henry VIII|last=Bridgett|first=Thomas Edward|date=1890|publisher=Burns & Oates|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeblessedjohn00bridgoog/page/n193 172]}}</ref> The removal of the cause to Rome brought Fisher's personal involvement to an end, but the King never forgave him for what he had done.

===Henry's attack on church prerogatives===

{{More citations needed section|date=October 2023}}

In November 1529, the "Long Parliament" of Henry's reign began encroaching on the Catholic Church's prerogatives. Fisher, as a member of the upper house, the [[House of Lords]], at once warned [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] that such acts could only end in the utter destruction of the Catholic Church in England. The [[House of Commons of England|Commons]], through their speaker, complained to the King that Fisher had disparaged [[Parliament of England|Parliament]], presumably with Henry prompting them behind the scenes.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 2, Ch 13 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cambridge_Modern_History/Volume_II/Chapter_XIII |chapter=Chapter XIII: Henry VIII.}}</ref>{{rp|433}} Henry summoned Fisher before him, demanding an explanation. This being given, Henry declared himself satisfied, leaving it to the Commons to declare that the explanation was inadequate, so that he appeared as a magnanimous sovereign, instead of Fisher's enemy.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

A year later, in 1530, the continued encroachments on the Church moved Fisher, as bishop of Rochester, along with the [[John Clerk (bishop)|bishops of Bath]] and [[Nicholas West|Ely]], to appeal to the Holy See. This gave the King his opportunity and an edict forbidding such appeals was immediately issued, and the three bishops were arrested. Their imprisonment, however, must have lasted only a few months for in February 1531, [[Convocations of Canterbury and York|Convocation]] met, and Fisher was present. This was the occasion when the clergy were forced, at a cost of 100,000 pounds, to purchase the King's pardon for having recognized [[Cardinal Wolsey]]'s authority as legate of the pope; and at the same time to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, to which phrase the addition of the clause "so far as God's law permits" was made through Fisher's efforts.

{{Quote box|align=right|width=50%|This yere was a coke boylyd in a cauderne in [[Smithfield, London|Smythfeld]] for he wolde a powsyned the bishop of Rochester Fycher with dyvers of hys servanttes, and he was lockyd in a chayne and pullyd up and downe with a [[gibbet|gybbyt]] at dyvers tymes tyll he was dede.|source={{citation |title=Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London|url=https://archive.org/stream/chronicleofgreyf00londrich#page/34/mode/2up|year=1531}}}}

====Poisoned porridge and cannonball====

A few days later, several of Fisher's household were taken ill after eating some porridge served to the household and two died: however Fisher was fasting that day. [[Henry VIII]] had parliament enact a retroactive bill that allowed the cook, [[Richard Roose]], without a public trial, to be executed by the state by [[Death by boiling|being boiled alive]] for the crime of poisoning.

On another occasion in 1530, a cannonball fired from across the Thames hit Fisher's house, narrowly missing his study.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Hartley |title=Lady Anne Clifford. Roger Ascham. John Fisher. The Rev. William Mason. Sir Richard Arkwright |date=1852 |publisher=E. Moxon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QflsP25NPXcC&dq=John+fisher+canon+ball&pg=PA218 }}</ref>{{rp|218}} This was rumoured to be a warning or assassination attempt from the [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|Boleyn family]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=James |title=The Tudor Murder Files |date=31 October 2016 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-5704-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiVDDQAAQBAJ&dq=James+Moore%E2%80%99s+The+Tudor+Murder+Files++%22fisher%22&pg=PT68 }}</ref>

===Intrigues with the Holy Roman Emperor===

Fisher also engaged in secret activities to overthrow Henry. As early as 1531 he began secretly communicating with foreign diplomats. In September 1533 communicating secretly through the imperial ambassador [[Eustace Chapuys]] he encouraged [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] to invade England and depose Henry in combination with a domestic uprising.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oOk8AAAAIAAJ&q=chapuys+%22john+fisher%22+treason&pg=PA157|title=Humanism, Reform and the Reformation: The Career of Bishop John Fisher|first=Brendan |last=Bradshaw|date=26 January 1989|pages=156–7|publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=9780521340342}}</ref>

==="The King's Great Matter"===

{{Main|The King's Great Matter}}

[[File:John Fisher by Gerard Valck, after Adriaen van der Werff.jpg|thumb|upright|John Fisher by [[Gerard Valck]], after [[Adriaen van der Werff]], 1697.]]

Matters now moved rapidly. In May 1532, Sir [[Thomas More]] resigned the chancellorship and, in June, Fisher preached publicly against the annulment. In August, [[William Warham]], Archbishop of Canterbury, died and [[Thomas Cranmer]] was at once proposed by Henry to the Pope as his successor. In January of the next year, Henry secretly went through a form of marriage with [[Anne Boleyn]]. Cranmer's consecration as a bishop took place in March 1533, and, a week later, Fisher was arrested. It seems that the purpose of this arrest was to prevent him from opposing the annulment which Cranmer pronounced in May, or the coronation of Anne Boleyn which followed on 1 June, for Fisher was set at liberty again within a fortnight of the latter event, no charge being made against him.

In the autumn of 1533, various arrests were made in connection with the so-called revelations of the Holy Maid of Kent, [[Elizabeth Barton]], but as Fisher was taken seriously ill in December, proceedings against him were postponed for a time. However, in March 1534, a special [[Bill of Attainder]] against Fisher and others for complicity in the matter of the Maid of Kent was introduced in [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] and passed. By this, Fisher was condemned to forfeit all his personal estate and to be imprisoned during the King's pleasure. Subsequently, a pardon was granted him on payment of a fine of 300 pounds.

===Succession and supremacy===

The same session of Parliament passed the [[First Succession Act]], by which all who should be called upon to do so were compelled to take an oath of succession, acknowledging the issue of Henry and Anne as legitimate heirs to the throne, under pain of being guilty of [[misprision of treason]]. Fisher refused the oath and was imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] on 26 April 1534.<ref name=CatholicCulture /> Several efforts were made to induce him to submit, but without effect, and in November he was attained of misprision of treason a second time, his goods being forfeited as from the previous 1 March, and the See of Rochester being declared vacant as of 2 June following. He was to remain in the Tower for over a year, and while he was allowed food and drink sent by friends, and a servant, he was not allowed a priest, even to the very end. A long letter exists, written from the Tower by Fisher to [[Thomas Cromwell]], speaking of the severity of his conditions of imprisonment.

Like Thomas More, Bishop Fisher believed that, because the statute condemned only those speaking maliciously against the King's new title, there was safety in silence. However, on 7 May he fell into a trap laid for him by [[Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich|Richard Rich]], who was to perjure himself to obtain Thomas More's conviction. Rich told Fisher that for his own conscience's sake the King wished to know, in strict secrecy, Fisher's real opinion. Fisher, once again, declared that the King was not Supreme Head of the Church of England.<ref name=foley>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_qzIPgAACAAJ Foley OFM, Leonard, "St. John Fisher", ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey OFM), Franciscan Media] {{ISBN|978-0-86716-887-7}}</ref>

===Cardinalate and martyrdom===

[[File:London 01 2013 Tower Hill scaffold 5211.JPG|thumb|right|Memorial space at the [[Tower Hill]] public execution site]]

In May 1535, the newly elected [[Pope Paul III]] created Fisher [[Cardinal Priest]] of ''[[Basilica of San Vitale (Rome)|San Vitale]]'', apparently in the hope of inducing Henry to ease Fisher's treatment. The effect was precisely the reverse:<ref name=foley/> Henry forbade the cardinal's hat to be brought into England, declaring that he would send the head to Rome instead.

In June a special commission for Fisher's trial was issued, and on Thursday, 17 June, he was arraigned in [[Westminster Hall]] before a court of seventeen, including [[Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex|Thomas Cromwell]], [[Anne Boleyn]]'s [[Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire|father]], and ten justices. The charge was [[treason]], in that he denied that the King was the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Since he had been deprived of his position of [[Bishop of Rochester]] by the [[Act of Attainder]], he was treated as a commoner, and tried by jury. The only testimony was that of Richard Rich. John Fisher was found guilty and condemned to be [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] at [[Tyburn]].

[[File:London bell tower 08.03.2013 12-32-17.JPG|thumb|left|The Bell Tower, where John Fisher was held during his prison time together with [[Thomas More]], though imprisoned separately therein.]]

However, a public outcry was brewing among the London populace who saw a sinister irony in the parallels between the conviction of Fisher and that of his patronal namesake, [[John the Baptist|Saint John the Baptist]], who was executed by King [[Herod Antipas]] for challenging the validity of Herod's marriage to his brother's divorcée [[Herodias]]. For fear of John Fisher's living through his patronal [[feast day]], that of the [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist]] on 24 June, and of attracting too much public sympathy, the king commuted the sentence to that of [[decapitation|beheading]], to be accomplished before 23 June, the Vigil of the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

He was executed on [[Tower Hill]] on 22 June 1535.<ref name=FULLER>Fuller, Thomas. The Church History of Britain, Vol 2. London: Thomas Tegg, 1842. pp.&nbsp;61-63.</ref> The execution had the opposite effect from that which Henry VIII intended, as it created yet another parallel with that of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, who was also beheaded; his death also happened on the feast day of [[Saint Alban]], the first martyr of Britain.<ref name=FULLER />

Fisher met death with a calm dignified courage which profoundly impressed those present. His body was treated with particular rancour, apparently on Henry's orders, being stripped and left on the scaffold until the evening,<ref name=foley/> when it was taken on pikes and thrown naked into a rough grave in the churchyard of All Hallows' Barking, also known as [[All Hallows-by-the-Tower]]. There was no funeral prayer. A fortnight later, his body was laid beside that of Sir [[Thomas More]] in the chapel of [[Church of St Peter ad Vincula|St Peter ad Vincula]] within the [[Tower of London]]. Fisher's head was [[head on a spike|stuck upon a pole]] on [[London Bridge]] but its ruddy and lifelike appearance excited so much attention that, after a fortnight, it was thrown into the [[Thames]], its place being taken by that of Sir Thomas More, whose execution, also at Tower Hill, occurred on 6 July.<ref name="huddleston"/>

{{Blockquote|text="Catholic piety conventionally explains the scarlet robes that Cardinals wear as a sign of their readiness to shed their blood for the sake of the Christian gospel. This is an edifying thought: but as a matter of fact, in the whole millenium-long history of the cardinalate, only one member of the Sacred College has actually ever suffered martyrdom. That man was John Fisher. (...) |source=Eamon Duffy<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duffy |first1=Eamon |title=Saints, sacrilege and sedition: religion and conflict in the Tudor reformations |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury |___location=London |isbn=978-1441181176}}</ref>{{rp|150}}}}

==Writings==

A list of John Fisher's writings will beis found in [[Joseph Gillow]],'s ''Bibliographical Dictionary of the English Catholics'' (London, s.d.), II, 262-270262–270. There are twenty-six works in all, printed and manuscript, mostly ascetical or controversial treatises, several of which have been reprinted many times. The original editions are very rare and valuable. The principal are:

*'' {{lang|enm|Treatise concernynge ... the seven penytencyall Psalms''}} (London, 1508);

*'' {{lang|enm|Sermon ... agayn ye pernicyous doctrin of Martin Luther''}} (London, 1521);

* {{lang|la|Assertionis Lutheranae Confutatio}} (Confutation of the Lutheran Assertions) (1523)

*''Defensio Henrici VIII'' (Cologne, 1525);

*'' {{lang|la|Defensio Henrici VIII}} (Cologne, 1525)
* {{lang|la|De Veritate Corporis et Sanguinis Christi in Eucharistia, adversus Johannem Oecolampadium''}} (Cologne, 1527);

*'' {{lang|la|De Causa Matrimonii ... Henrici VIII cum Catharina Aragonensi''}} (Alcalá de Henares, 1530);

*'' {{lang|enm|The Wayes to Perfect Religion''}} (London, 1535);

*'' {{lang|enm|A Spirituall Consolation written ... to hys sister Elizabeth''}} (London, 1735).

==PatronLegacy==

[[Saint John Fisher College]] in [[Rochester, Monroe County, New York]] and [[St. John Fisher College (University of Tasmania)|St John Fisher College]] at the [[University of Tasmania]] in [[Hobart]] and St. John Fisher Catholic High schools in [[Harrogate]], [[Wigan]], [[Dewsbury]] and [[Stoke-on-Trent]] are named after him, as is [[Fisher Athletic F.C.]] of [[Rotherhithe]]. He is the patron saint of the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy. There is only one school in the UK that is called '[[The John Fisher School]]', as it was named before Fisher was cannonized. It is situated in Purley, Surrey. There is also a St John Fisher Roman Catholic School in [[Peterborough]], [[Cambridgeshire]]. There was a Saint John Fisher Roman Catholic Junior High School in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire|East Yorkshire]], that operated between c. 1966 - c. 1988, when the school system in the city was restructured.

==See also=Canonisation===

{{Infobox saint

|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]

|name = John Fisher

|honorific_suffix = [[Bishop of Rochester]]

|birth_name =

|birth_date = 19 October 1469

|death_date = 22 June 1535 (aged 65)

|feast_day = 22 June

|venerated_in = [[Catholic Church]]

|image = Portret van John Fisher, RP-P-1908-4493.jpg

|caption =

|birth_place = [[Beverley]], [[Yorkshire]], [[Kingdom of England]]

|death_place = [[Tower Hill]], [[Tower of London]], [[London]], Kingdom of England

|titles = Bishop and Martyr

|beatified_date = 29 December 1886

|beatified_place = [[Rome]]

|beatified_by = [[Leo XIII]]

|canonized_date = 19 May 1935

|canonized_place = [[Vatican City]]

|canonized_by = [[Pius XI]]

|attributes =

|patronage =

}}

John Fisher was [[beatification|beatified]] by [[Pope Leo XIII]] with [[Thomas More]] and [[List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation#Beatified 29 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII|52 other English Martyrs]] on 29 December 1886. In the Decree of Beatification, the greatest place was given to Fisher.

He was [[canonise]]d, with Thomas More, on 19 May 1935 by Pope Pius XI, after the presentation of a petition by English Catholics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-Fisher|title=Saint John Fisher {{!}} English priest|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> His feast day, for celebration jointly with St Thomas More, is on 22 June (the date of Fisher's execution). In 1980, despite being an opponent of the [[English Reformation]], Fisher was added to the [[Church of England|Church of England's]] [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|calendar of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church]], jointly with Thomas More, to be [[Commemoration (Anglicanism)|commemorated]] every [[6 July]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Church of England}}</ref> (the date of More's execution) as "Thomas More, Scholar, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Reformation Martyrs, 1535".<ref name="CofEholyDays">{{cite web

*[[Erasmus' Correspondents]]

| url = https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar

*[[The John Fisher School]], Purley

| title = The Calendar

*[[St John Fisher Catholic High School (Dewsbury)]], Dewsbury

| work = The Church's Year

*[[St John Fisher Catholic High School (Harrogate)]], Harrogate

| publisher = [[Church of England]]

*[[St. John Fisher Catholic High School (Wigan)]], Wigan

| year = 2000

*[http://www.stjohnfisher-wigston.leics.sch.uk/ St. John Fisher Catholic Primary School], Wigston

| access-date = 1 March 2018

}}</ref> He is also listed along with [[Thomas More]] in the [[List of Anglican Church calendars#Calendars of saints' days in churches throughout the Anglican communion|calendar of saints]] of some of the other Churches of the [[Anglican Communion]], such as [[Calendar of saints (Anglican Church of Australia)#July|The Anglican Church of Australia]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Australian Prayer Book : for use together with the Book of Common Prayer (1662) |publisher=Anglican Information Office |isbn=9780909827793 |___location=Sydney |publication-date=1992 |page=300 |quote=JULY 2 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 6 John Fisher, bishop (1468-1535) and Thomas More (1478-1535), scholars and martyrs for conscience' sake |year=1978}}</ref>

===Patronage===

====Australia====

* [[St John Fisher College (University of Tasmania)|St John Fisher College]] at the [[University of Tasmania]] in [[Hobart]]

* St John Fisher Catholic High school in [[Bracken Ridge, Queensland]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stjohnfishercollege.qld.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx|title=St John Fisher College – Bracken Ridge|website=stjohnfishercollege.qld.edu.au|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

* [https://www.churchesaustralia.org/list-of-churches/locations/new-south-wales/f-k-towns/directory/6899-st-john-fisher-catholic-church St John Fisher Church] (Kurnell), Sydney, Australia

*[[Mary Immaculate Church, Annerley|St John Fisher Church]] (Tarragindi), Brisbane, Queensland<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/parishes-mass-times/parish/annerley-ekibin-catholic-parish-annerley-ekibin/|title=Life experience makes Fr Bryan a Youngcare fan|website=Archdiocese of Brisbane|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

====Canada====

* St. John Fisher Catholic School, Scarborough

* Fisher Hall, one of the residence halls at Saint Michael's College at the University of Toronto

* St. John Fisher R.C. School, Forest, Ontario<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.st-clair.net/sjf/home.aspx|title=Home – St. John Fisher|website=st-clair.net|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

* St. John Fisher Parish, Bramalea (Brampton), Ontario<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stjohnfisherbr.archtoronto.org/|title=St. John Fisher Parish, Bramalea|website=stjohnfisherbr.archtoronto.org|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

* St. John Fisher Elementary School, Pointe-Claire, Quebec<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stjohnfisher.lbpsb.qc.ca/|title=St. John Fisher Elementary School, Pointe Claire|website=stjohnfisher.lbpsb.qc.ca/|access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====

* The [[University of Cambridge]]:

**Fisher House, the [[Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rc.net/eastanglia/fisherhouse/About/fisherhouse.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021018185910/http://www.rc.net/eastanglia/fisherhouse/About/fisherhouse.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 October 2002|title=About Fisher House|date=18 October 2002|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

** Fisher Building, a student accommodation at [[Queens' College, Cambridge|Queens' College]], where Fisher was president from 1505 to 1508<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/visiting-the-college/history/college-facts/the-buildings/fisher-building-history|title=Fisher Building history|website=queens.cam.ac.uk|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref>

**The Fisher Building, conference centre and meeting rooms in [[St John's College, Cambridge|St John's College]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/cripps-building-1 |title=The Cripps Building|publisher=St John's College, Cambridge |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

*Schools:

**[[St John Fisher Catholic College]] in [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]], [[Staffordshire]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://saintjohnfishercc.co.uk/ |title=Welcome to St John Fisher Catholic College |publisher=St John Fisher Catholic College |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[St John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate|St John Fisher Catholic High School]] in [[Harrogate]], North Yorkshire<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sjfchs.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to St John Fisher Catholic High School |publisher=St John Fisher Catholic High School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[St John Fisher Catholic High School, Peterborough|St John Fisher Catholic High School]] in [[Peterborough]], [[Cambridgeshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stjohnfisherschool.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to our School |publisher=St. John Fisher High School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[St John Fisher Catholic High School, Wigan|St John Fisher Catholic High School]], Wigan, Lancashire<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sjfhs.co.uk/ |title=Welcome to St John Fisher Catholic High School! |publisher=St John Fisher Catholic High School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[St John Fisher Catholic School]] in Chatham, Kent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stjohnfisher.school/home/about-us/ |title=About Us |date=30 January 2017 |publisher=St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy]] in [[Dewsbury]], West Yorkshire<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stjohnfisher.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy|publisher=St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy|access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School]], Colne, Lancashire<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fishermore.lancs.sch.uk/ |title=Home |publisher=Ss John Fisher and Thomas More RC High School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

**[[The John Fisher School]] located in [[Purley, London|Purley]], [[Surrey]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.johnfisherschool.org/our-school/our-school |title=Our School |publisher=The John Fisher School |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

*[https://www.st-johnfisher.essex.sch.uk/ St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Loughton, Essex]

*Churches:

**Saint John Fisher parish, Kidbrooke, London<ref>{{cite web|url=http://directory.rcsouthwark.co.uk/kidbrooke_stjnfisher.html|title=Southwark Parish Directory|website=directory.rcsouthwark.co.uk|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

**Saint John Fisher Roman Catholic Church, Harrow, London

**Saint John Fisher Roman Catholic Church, Shepperton, London

**Saint John Fisher Roman Catholic Church, Rochester, Kent

**John Fisher R.C. Church, Scarthoe, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. (Closed 2017)

**Saint John Fisher R.C. Church, Priory Crescent, Southend on Sea, Essex

**Saint John Fisher Church, [[Cambourne]], Cambridgeshire

*Other:

**St John Fisher House, [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] – the headquarters of the [[Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter|FSSP]] in [[England]] and [[Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fssp.org/en/|title=FSSP|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

**The football teams [[Fisher Athletic F.C.]] (1908–2009) and [[Fisher F.C.]] (founded 2009) of [[Rotherhithe]], south-east London<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fisherfc.org/about-fisher/ |title=About Us |publisher=Fisher FC |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

====United States====

* Fisher is the patron of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester]] in New York State, so named by [[Pope John XXIII]] in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stjohnfairport.org/ourparish|title=Our Parish History|access-date=14 June 2021|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803013515/https://www.stjohnfairport.org/ourparish|url-status=dead}}</ref>

*Due to his status as the Bishop of Rochester, Fisher has been adopted as a patron of several institutions in other cities named Rochester, including:

** St. John Fisher Catholic Church near [[Rochester, Michigan|Rochester]], Michigan<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.grizzlycatholic.org/our-history | title=Our History }}</ref>

** [[St. John Fisher University]] in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], New York<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sjf.edu/about/history/|title=History of Fisher|publisher=St. John Fisher University, Rochester, NY|access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref>

** St. John of Rochester Catholic Church near Rochester, New York

*A number of other parishes are also dedicated to St. John Fisher, including those in:

** [[Rancho Palos Verdes]], California<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sjf.org/|title=Welcome to St. John Fisher Catholic Church|website=St. John Fisher Catholic Church|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

** [[Marlborough, Connecticut|Marlborough]], Connecticut<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stjfchurch.org/|title=St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church|website=stjfchurch.org|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

** [[Chicago]], Illinois<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stjohnfisher.org/|title=Under Construction|website=stjohnfisher.org|access-date=12 December 2018|archive-date=25 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625154321/http://stjohnfisher.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

** [[Newtown, Ohio|Newtown]], Ohio

** [[Tulsa]], Oklahoma

** [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], Oregon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sjfchurchpdx.org/wordpress1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607035039/http://sjfchurchpdx.org/wordpress1/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 June 2015|title=SJF church Portland|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

** [[Boothwyn]], Pennsylvania<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stjohnfisherchurch.com/|title=St. John Fisher Church|website=St. John Fisher Church|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

** [[Churchill, Pennsylvania|Churchill]], Pennsylvania<ref>{{cite web | url=https://diopitt.org/saint-john-fisher | title=Saint John Fisher, Churchill }}</ref>

** [[Galveston]], Texas<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archgh.org/parishes/stjfisher/|title=Home – Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston|website=archgh.org|access-date=12 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223912/https://www.archgh.org/parishes/stjfisher/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* And the [[St. John Fisher Seminary Residence]] in the Catholic Diocese of [[Bridgeport]], Connecticut.

==Personal==

===Portraits===

Several portraits of John Fisher exist, the most prominent being by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]] in the Royal Collection; and a few [[secondary relic]]s are extant.

===Relic===

Fisher's walking-staff is in the possession of the Eyston family of [[East Hendred]], in [[Oxfordshire]] (formerly [[Berkshire]]).<ref>''The Berkshire Book'', Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes (1951)</ref>

===Cinematic and television portrayals===

John Fisher was portrayed by veteran actor [[Joseph O'Conor]] in the film ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]'' (1969), by [[Bosco Hogan]] in the series ''[[The Tudors]]'', by [[Geoffrey Lewis (British actor)|Geoffrey Lewis]] in the 1971 miniseries ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII (BBC TV series)|The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]'' and by [[Richard Durden]] in the 2015 miniseries ''[[Wolf Hall (miniseries)|Wolf Hall]]''.

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*E. Surtz, ''"The English Works and Days of John Fisher'', HarvardBishop of Rochester (1469–1535): Sermons and other Writings, 1520–1535," edited by Cecilia A. Hatt, Oxford University Press, 19672002.

* B. Bradshaw & [[Eamon Duffy]] (ed.) "Humanism, Reform and the Reformation: The Career of Bishop John Fisher," Cambridge University Press, 1989.

*E.E. Reynolds, ''Saint John Fisher'', Anthony Clarke, Wheathampstead, 1972.

* {{cite book |last1=MacNabb |first1=Vincent |title=St. John Fisher |date=2015 |publisher=Mediatrix Press |isbn=978-1953746337}}

*B. Bradshaw & Eamon Duffy (edd.), ''Humanism, Reform and the Reformation: The Career of Bishop John Fisher'', Cambridge University Press, 1989.

* [[Vincent Nichols]], "St John Fisher: Bishop and Theologian in Reformation and Controversy", Alive Publishing, 2011.

*Richard Rex, ''The Theology of John Fisher'', Cambridge University Press

* E.&nbsp;E. Reynolds, "Saint John Fisher," Wheathampstead: Anthony Clarke, 1972.

* [[Richard Rex]], "The Theology of John Fisher," Cambridge University Press

* [[Edward Surtz]], "The Works and Days of John Fisher," Boston: Harvard University Press, 1967.

* {{BBKL|url=http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/f/fisher_j.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630005040/http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/f/fisher_j.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-06-30 |band=2|spalten=42–43|autor=Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz|artikel=Fisher, John}}

==External links==

{{commons category|John Fisher}}

*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08462b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry]

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08462b.htm "St. John Fisher"] in the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]

{{wikiquote}}

* [http://newsaints.faithweb.com/martyrs/England01.htm John Fisher and Thomas More: Martyrs of England and Wales]

* {{Wikisource-inline|list=

** {{cite Americana|wstitle=Fisher, John |short=x |noicon=x}}

** {{cite CE1913 |last=Hudleston |first=Gilbert Roger |wstitle=Bl. John Fisher|short=x |noicon=x}}

** {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Fisher, John |short=x |noicon=x}}

** {{cite SBDEL|wstitle=Fisher, John |short=x |noicon=x}}

** {{cite DNB |last=Mullinger |first=James Bass |author-link=James Bass Mullinger |wstitle=Fisher, John (1459?-1535)|volume=19 |short=x |noicon=x}}

** {{cite AmCyc|wstitle=Fisher, John |short=x |noicon=x}}

}}

* {{Catholic-hierarchy|Bischof|bfishe|John Fisher|Zugriff=2016-07-15}}

* {{DNB-Portal|118683748}}

{{catholics-start}}

{{s-rel|ca}}

{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Richard FitzJames]]}}

{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Rochester]]|years=1504–1535}}

{{s-aft|after=[[John Hilsey]]}}

{{s-aca}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]|years=1501}}

{{s-aft|after=[[Humphrey Fitzwilliam]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas Wilkynson]]}}

{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge|President]] of [[Queens' College, Cambridge]]|years=1505–1508}}

{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Bekensaw]]}}

{{s-end}}

{{Catholic saints|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:1469 births|John Fisher]]

{{Bishops of Rochester}}

[[Category:1535 deaths|John Fisher]]

{{Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge}}

[[Category:People from Beverley|Fisher, John]]

{{History of Catholic theology|collapsed}}

[[Category:English saints|Fisher, John]]

{{Chancellors of the University of Cambridge}}

[[Category:Catholic martyrs|Fisher, John]]

{{Subject bar |portal1=Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= England}}

[[Category:English cardinals|Fisher, John]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bishops of Rochester|Fisher, John]]

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[[Category:People executed by decapitation|Fisher, John]]

[[Category:Martyred priests|Fisher, John]]

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[[Category:16th-century English writers]]

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[[Category:16th-century English male writers]]

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[[Category:16th-century English cardinals]]

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[[Category:16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs]]

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[[Category:Chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]

[[Category:Christian martyrs executed by decapitation]]

[[Category:English Renaissance humanists]]

[[Category:English Roman Catholic saints]]

[[Category:Executions at the Tower of London]]

[[Category:Martyred Roman Catholic bishops]]

[[Category:People educated at Beverley Grammar School]]

[[Category:People executed by Tudor England by decapitation]]

[[Category:People executed under Henry VIII]]

[[Category:Executed people from Berkshire]]

[[Category:People executed under the Tudors for treason against England]]

[[Category:People from Beverley]]

[[Category:Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge]]

[[Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]

[[Category:Yorkshire saints]]

[[Category:Catholic martyrs of England and Wales]]

[[Category:Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity]]

[[Category:Anglican saints]]