This week in Christian history: Thomas Becket murdered, Church of Ireland disestablished

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, December 29, 2024

Thomas a Becket murdered – Dec. 29, 1170

A Medieval illustration depicting the assassination of Archbishop Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Archbishop Thomas a Becket was brutally murdered by four knights in the sanctuary of Canterbury Cathedral in England.

In the years leading up to the murder, Becket and King Henry II of England had been feuding over the extent to which secular royal officials could exert control over the Church.

The knights were spurred to kill Becket by King Henry himself, who reportedly declared just before the murder, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

According to an eyewitness account, Becket was hacked down while resisting arrest, with his head being sliced open at the crown “so that the blood [turned] white from the brain, and the brain equally red from the blood.”

News of Becket's martyrdom shocked the Medieval world, with the knights responsible losing support from King Henry and being excommunicated by the pope. Becket was canonized as a saint three years later.