Known as "A Man for all Seasons", St. Thomas More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children, and Lord High Chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. He also refused to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England after the king broke with Rome and denied the Pope as head of the Church.
St. Thomas More's belief that no lay ruler (the King of England) has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost him his life.
More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared that he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.
Material excerpted from Saint of the Day for June 22 on American Catholic website.