Morticom The last dying words of famous religious figures

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CELEBRITY DEATHS

FAMOUS LAST WORDS
RELIGIOUS FIGURES

(9 Entries)

1)
Becket, Thomas (1118?-1170)
"For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready to embrace death."
Thomas Becket was appointed as chancellor of England by Henry II in 1154. He was a skillful, loyal, and ambitious administrator who became a favorite of the king. When the archbishop of Canterbury died in 1161, King Henry arranged for Becket to assume the position in order to bring the Church under royal control. Becket, however, took his appointment seriously, became an energetic religious leader, and frequently opposed the king. In 1164, after an especially ugly dispute, Becket fled to exile in France and lived there for the next six years. Henry eventually was forced to reconcile with Becket, and the archbishop returned to England. Becket continued to clash with the king, and one day Henry was overheard to say that he wished he were rid of the troublesome priest. Four of his knights took him literally, rode to Canterbury, and hacked Becket to death in the cathedral. The atrocity shocked all of Europe, and the Church quickly declared Becket a martyr. Threatened with excommunication, Henry was forced to do public penance to keep his throne. Becket's last words have also been recorded as "I commend myself to God, the Blessed Mary, St. Denis, and the patron saints of this Church," "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

2)
Beecher, Henry Ward (1813-1887)
"Now comes the mystery." Henry Ward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a fervent abolitionist and one of the most influential American clergymen of the 1800's. His down-to-earth sermons and outspoken moral earnestness helped make him a national figure. His popularity lasted throughout his life, surviving a sensational adultery trial in 1875 that ended in a hung jury, an acceptance of Darwinism, and even his eventual rejection of the divinity of Jesus.

3)
Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury (1489-1556)
"I see Heaven open and Jesus on the right hand of God." Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley (the Bishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (the Bishop of Worcester) were forced to stand trial as Protestant heretics after Queen Mary reestablished the Catholic faith as the official religion of England. All three were convicted and sentenced to be burned at the stake. Cranmer's case was appealed to the Pope, and while he awaited a response, Ridley and Latimer were executed. Cranmer was forced to watch their burning just prior to which Latimer allegedly announced, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I trust shall never be put out." While awaiting a decision on his appeal, Cranmer recanted six times, some of them in writing. It was, of course, to no avail. On 21 March 1556, Cranmer was taken to St. Mary's in the center of Oxford and, following a sermon, was ordered to publicly recant. To everyone's surprise, he repudiated his recantations, "And forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished; for if I may come to the fire it shall be first burned." After he was taken to the stake and the fire started, Cranmer held his right hand directly into the flame and cried out his last words for everyone to hear. Cranmer's last words at the stake have also been recorded as "This is the hand that wrote it, and therefore shall it suffer first punishment," and "I have sinned, in that I signed with my hand what I did not believe with my heart. When the flames are lit, this hand shall be the first to burn."

4)
Gregory, VII, Pope (1020?-1085)
"I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile." Gregory is remembered as one of the great medieval reform popes. Unconcerned about politics, Gregory attacked the practice of investiture or the right of lay kings to grant church officials the symbols of their authority. This brought him into direct conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV. Henry attempted to subvert the pope and, unsuccessfully, attempted to have him kidnapped while conducting Christmas Mass. Henry continued to attack the pope in letters and speeches, and Gregory finally excommunicated him. In response, Henry launched his forces against the pope and besieged Rome from 1081-1083, finally conquering the city in 1084. Gregory fled to the castle of St. Angelo for safety, and Henry oversaw the crowning of one of his men, Guilbert of Ravena as Pope Clement III. Gregory's ally Robert Guiscard soon rescued the pope from St. Angelo, but much of Rome was destroyed in the process. The destruction infuriated the populace, and Gregory was forced to flee Rome and take refuge in Salerno, where he died the following year.

5)
Huss, John (1372-1415)
"O, holy simplicity!" John Huss was a Czech priest who became the leader of a reform religious movement. With his attacks on the church's wealth and corruption, he antagonized the archbishop and clergy of Prague. He was forbidden to preach and finally excommunicated. He was tricked by the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund, into attending a reform council. There, he was arrested, condemned as a heretic, and burned at the stake.

6)
Jesus of Nazareth (4 B.C.?-30 A.D.?)
"It is finished." per John 19:30 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!" per Mark 15:34-5 and Matthew 27:46 "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." per Luke 23:46 Jesus of Nazareth was a 1st century Jewish teacher who was crucified by the Romans. Jesus is believed by Christians to be the Christ through whom God revealed himself to the world and whose death reconciles the world with God.

7)
Knox, Ronald (1888-1957)
"No . . . . Awfully jolly of you to suggest it, though." Ronald Knox was a British priest and author who served as the Catholic chaplain at Oxford for many years. For several days before his death from liver cancer, he lay comatose, attended by close friends. Shortly before his death, Lady Elton noticed that he had stirred slightly and asked if he would like her to read from his own translation of the New Testament

8)
Lawrence, Saint (?-258)
"Turn me. I am roasted on one side." Saint Lawrence is one of the most celebrated Roman martyrs. A church deacon during the time Emperor Valerian was vigorously persecuting christians, Lawrence also served as the keeper of the church's treasures. He was arrested and told that to save himself he must give the church treasures to the government. Lawrence readily agreed and told the official that it would take at least eight days to assemble them. On the eighth day, Lawrence returned to the prefect and presented him with hundreds of poor and disabled men, women, and children. "These," he said, "are the riches of the church." The enraged official then ordered Lawrence to be stripped, tied face down on a gridiron suspended over a bed of coals, and slowly burned to death. Lawrence maintained a cheerful appearance through out the ordeal and, when asked if he had any last request, responded with his last words. His behavior was said to have been so impressive that several Roman senators converted to Christianity on the spot, and hundreds of citizens did the same the following day.

9)
Mather, Cotton (1663-1728)
"Is this dying? Is this all? Is this what I feared when I prayed against a hard death? Oh, I can bear this! I can bear this!" Cotton Mather was the most famous of the late 17th century New England ministers and the last of the great Puritan preachers. He found himself overwhelmed by the advance of secularism and defended the old New England theocracy in its final losing battles.