<p>St. Thomas Becket is also known as St. Thomas of Canterbury.&nbsp; He was born 1118, and died December 29, 1170.&nbsp; He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until he was murdered in 1170.&nbsp; He is noted for engaging in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in the Canterbury Cathedral.</p> <p>He was born in Cheapside, London, on December 21. At the age of 10, he was a student at Merton Priory in England, and later attended a grammar school in London.&nbsp; He later spent a year in Paris around the age of 20.&nbsp; He also studied canon law during this time.&nbsp; With his fathers business failing, he acquired a position working for Theobald of Bec, who soon became the Archbishop of Canterbury.&nbsp; Theobald entrusted him with several important missions to Rome and also sent him to Bologna and Auxerre to study cannon law.&nbsp; He then named Thomas Archdeacon of Canterbury, and other ecclesiastical offices.&nbsp; He was so good in these posts that it led to Theobald recommending him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor.&nbsp; He was appointed to that position.&nbsp;</p> <p>As Chancellor, Thomas enforced the King&rsquo;s traditional sources of revenue that were extracted from all landowners, including churches and Bishops.&nbsp;&nbsp; King Henry even sent his son Henry to live in Thomas&rsquo;s household.&nbsp; The young Henry said that Thomas Becket showed him more fatherly love in a day than his father did for his entire life.&nbsp; Thomas was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, several months after the death of Theobald.&nbsp; It was the hope of King Henry that Thomas would continue to put the royal government first, rather than that of the Church.&nbsp; It was at this time that Thomas began his transformation into an ascetic.&nbsp;</p> <p>Thomas Becket was ordained a Priest on June 2, 1162 at Canterbury, and on June 3, 1162 consecrated as Archbishop.&nbsp; A rift quickly grew between Henry and Thomas, as the new archbishop resinged his chancellorship and sought to recover and extend the rights of the archbishopric.&nbsp; This led to a series of conflicts with the king including that over the jurisdiction of secular courts over English clergymen.&nbsp; The king attempted to influence other Bishops against Becket as well.&nbsp;</p> <p>In 1170, the Young Henry was crowned King of York by the Archbishop of York, along with the Bishop of London, and the Bishop of Salisbury.&nbsp; This was a breach of Canterbury&rsquo;s privilege of coronation, and in November 1170, Thomas Becket excommunicated all three of them.&nbsp; While the three clergymen fled to the King of Normandy.&nbsp; Thomas continued to excommunicate his opponents in the Church, and the news eventually reached Henry.&nbsp;</p> <p>Upon hearing the reports of Becket&rsquo;s actions, Henry uttered words that were interpreted by his men as wishing Becket killed.&nbsp; The words were, &ldquo;Will no one rid me of this turbulent Priest&rdquo;?&nbsp; Whatever it was the Henry said, it was interpreted as a royal command, and four knights set out to confront the Archbishop of Canterbury.&nbsp; On December 29, 1170, they arrived at Canterbury.&nbsp; They placed their weapons under a tree outside the Cathedral and hid their armour under their cloaks before entering to challenge Becket.&nbsp; They told Becket that he was to go to Winchester to give an account of his actions, but Becket refused.&nbsp; It was not until Becket refused their demands to submit to the King&rsquo;s will, that they retrieved their weapons and rushed back inside to kill him.&nbsp; In the meantime, Becket proceeded to the main hall for vespers.&nbsp; The four knights, with drawn swords, caught up with him in a spot near a door to the Monastic Cloister, where the monks were chanting vespers.&nbsp; They killed St. Thomas Becket on the floor of the Cathedral.&nbsp;</p> <h1><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></h1> <p>St. Thomas Becket is also known as St. Thomas of Canterbury.&nbsp; He was born 1118, and died December 29, 1170.&nbsp; He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until he was murdered in 1170.&nbsp; He is noted for engaging in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in the Canterbury Cathedral.&nbsp; He was killed by four Knights of the Young King Henry of York, on the floor of the Canterbury Cathedral.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>