Many readers know John Fisher primarily as the fellow martyr of Thomas More and as a victim of King Henry VIII’s break with Rome. Far fewer realize that Fisher was already renowned in the early sixteenth century as one of Europe’s foremost theologians and as a reforming bishop of exceptional holiness and learning. His theological precision and fidelity to tradition made him uniquely suited to confront the doctrinal crisis emerging from Germany.
When Martin Luther denied core Catholic doctrines concerning justification, the papacy, and the sacraments, his teachings were condemned in 1520 by Pope Leo X in the bull Exsurge Domine. Rather than recant, Luther reaffirmed his errors and publicly burned the corpus of canon law. As the crisis deepened, Henry VIII sought distinction in the realm of theology and letters, assembling scholars to assist him in defending the Church’s sacramental teaching against Luther’s De Babylonica Captivitate. The result was the king’s Assertio, published in 1521.
Luther responded the following year with Contra Henricum regem Angliae, a work marked by ridicule, invective, and scant engagement with the substance of the arguments. Bound by royal protocol, Henry could not reply personally. Instead, he entrusted the task to John Fisher.
The Defense of the Royal Assertion stands apart from Fisher’s other writings for its sharpness and urgency. Offended by Luther’s refusal to address the arguments and by his abuse of the English crown, Fisher responds with force and precision. His deference to Henry and his vigorous defense of the king are striking, especially in light of the tragic fate that awaited Fisher a decade later.
Across twelve chapters, Fisher dismantles both Luther’s personal attacks and the theological foundations of his sacramental errors. He defends the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the authority of the Fathers, and the sacramental character of Holy Orders and Matrimony. The work offers a rare window into the theological combat of the early Reformation and reveals Fisher as a formidable polemicist, faithful pastor, and master theologian.
This volume is essential reading for students of Reformation history, sacramental theology, and the life and thought of one of England’s greatest saints.
About the Author
John Fisher was Bishop of Rochester, a cardinal of the Church, and one of the most distinguished theologians of his age. A leading defender of Catholic doctrine during the early Reformation, he was renowned across Europe for his learning, pastoral zeal, and fidelity to the Church.
In 1535, he was executed for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church in England. Canonized in 1935, St. John Fisher is remembered as a martyr for the faith and a towering figure in the theological history of the sixteenth century.
