Thomas More

=== Resignation ===
As the conflict over supremacy between the Papacy and the King reached its peak, More continued to remain steadfast in supporting the [[Papal supremacy|supremacy of the Pope]] as [[Apostolic succession|Successor of Peter]] over that of the King of England. Parliament's reinstatement of the charge of [[praemunire]] in 1529 had made it a crime to support in public or office the claim of any authority outside the realm (such as the Papacy) to have a legal jurisdiction superior to the King's.<ref name="Kelly_xiv"/>

In 1530, More refused to sign a letter by the leading English churchmen and aristocrats asking [[Pope Clement VII]] to [[Declaration of nullity|annul]] Henry's marriage to [[Catherine of Aragon]], and also quarrelled with Henry VIII over the heresy laws. In 1531, a royal decree required the clergy to take an [[English post-Reformation oaths|oath acknowledging the King]] as [[Supreme Head of the Church of England]]. The bishops at the [[Convocation of Canterbury]] in 1532 agreed to sign the Oath but only under threat of praemunire and only after these words were added: "as far as the law of Christ allows".<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Tanner |editor1-first= Joseph Robson |title=Tudor Constitutional Documents: A. D. 1485–1603 |date=1922 |publisher=CUP Archive |page=17 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9o8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA17 |access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>

This was considered to be the final [[Submission of the Clergy]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7biywRf8_DsC&pg=PA140 |title=Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage |author= Gerard Wegemer |publisher=Scepter Publishers |year=1995 |isbn= 1-889334-12-X |page=xiv}}</ref> Cardinal [[John Fisher]] and some other clergy refused to sign. Henry purged most clergy who supported the papal stance from senior positions in the church. More continued to refuse to sign the Oath of Supremacy and did not agree to support the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine.<ref name="Kelly_xiv"/> However, he did not openly reject the King's actions and kept his opinions private.<ref name= "Richards8"/>

On 16 May 1532, More resigned from his role as Chancellor but remained in Henry's favour despite his refusal.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=31uoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |title= Defending Royal Supremacy and Discerning God's Will in Tudor England |author=Daniel Eppley |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn= 978-1-351-94579-0 |page=13}}</ref> His decision to resign was caused by the decision of the convocation of the English Church, which was under intense royal threat, on the day before.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=y5rDAyEoHyAC&pg=PA116 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Thomas More |editor=George M. Logan |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 2011 |isbn=978-1-139-82848-2 |page= 116}}</ref>