The Right Reverend John Stokesley | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of London | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Diocese | Diocese of London |
| Elected | 1530 |
| Term ended | 1539 (death) |
| Predecessor | Cuthbert Tunstall |
| Successor | Edmund Bonner |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1504 (deacon), 1505 (priest)[1] |
| Consecration | c. 1530 by John Longland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1475-09-08)8 September 1475[2] |
| Died | (1539-09-08)8 September 1539 |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Profession | Academic |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
John Stokesley (8 September 1475 – 8 September 1539) was anEnglish clergyman who wasBishop of London during the reign ofHenry VIII.
Stokesley was born atCollyweston inNorthamptonshire, and became a fellow ofMagdalen College, Oxford, in 1495, serving also as a lecturer. He graduated MA in 1500, and was successively ordained a deacon in 1504, a priest in 1505, and then proceeded DTh in 1516.[2] In 1498 he was made principal of Magdalen Hall, and in 1505 vice-president of Magdalen College.[3] Soon after 1509 he was appointed a member of the royal council, and chaplain and almoner to Henry VIII;[3] he attended Henry as his chaplain at theField of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.[4] He succeeded his relative Richard Stokesley as rector ofNorth Luffenham, Rutland, in 1527.[1]
In 1529 and 1530 he went to France and Italy as ambassador toFrancis I and to gain opinions from foreign universities in favour of the king's divorce fromCatherine of Aragon.[1][4]
He becameBishop of London andLord Almoner in 1530, and in September 1533 christened the futureQueen Elizabeth.[3][1] His later years were troubled by disputes withArchbishop Cranmer; Stokesley opposed all changes in the doctrines of the church,[4] remaining hostile to theEnglish Bible and fought to maintain all seven traditional sacraments, shrines and pilgrimages.[5] Stokesley was a staunch opponent ofLutheranism, and very active in persecutingheretics:John Foxe claimed Stokesley boasted on his deathbed of having been the means of executing over thirty heretics.[1]
In May 1538, the King's attorney took out a writ ofPraemunire against Stokesley and, as accessories with him, against the Abbess Agnes Jordan and the Confessor-General ofSyon Abbey. Stokesley acknowledged his guilt, imploredThomas Cromwell's intercession, and threw himself on the King's mercy.[2] He obtained the King's pardon.[1]
He was one of the primary architects of theSix Articles of 1539, which enshrined traditional religion into law.[citation needed] They became law in June 1539.
Stokesley died on 8 September 1539, and was buried inOld St Paul's Cathedral on 14 September 1539.[6]
Stokesley was a man of learning. He was well-versed in philosophy and theology, and had knowledge of the classical languages of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He wrote in favour of Henry's divorce, and withCuthbert Tunstall,Bishop of Durham, a treatise against Henry VIII's kinsmanCardinal Pole.[1][2]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stokesley, John".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 953.{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of London 1530–1539 | Succeeded by |
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