John Skypp (c. 14951552) was the Bishop of Hereford from 1539 until 1552, and the

almoner An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '. History Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...

of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. Born in

Irstead Irstead is a village in the English county of Norfolk, England. The village is situated at Irstead Shoals, on the River Ant just south of Barton Broad, the second largest of the Norfolk Broads. The village forms part of the civil parish of Barton ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

of humble parents, Edmund and Alice Skyppe who both died in 1507, he graduated from Gonville Hall, Cambridge in 1518, and later was Master of Gonville Hall. He embarked on a clerical career that saw him become

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Newington, Shepway in Essex. Skip went to London to the court where he met with Boleyns and the reformers in the church. Skip was well-read and learned in the scriptures, a biblical scholar and fundamental interpretationist, he used his knowledge of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

to the furtherance of his own Protestant views. Skypp was

at the height of her power. On the dissolution of the monasteries, he managed to persuade Queen Anne that all proceeds should go to charity and education of the poor, a cause Anne took to Henry. It may have been a source of intense rivalry with

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

and a contributory factor in her downfall during a parallel with the Persian Xerxes's 'wicked minister'. For courageous as Queen Anne Boleyn was, she recruited Archbishop Cranmer, another reformist, against Cromwell's aims. Henry VIII knew that he needed the repeal of Act of Succession 1534, which only parliament could have done, a fortnight later. He held the benefice as Vicar of

Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (whe ...

in Essex from 1534 to 1539. He served as

Archdeacon of Suffolk The Archdeacon of Suffolk is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in the territory of the archdeaconry. History Originally in the Dioceses of No ...

before elevation to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary Mounthaw, a church in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

which was destroyed during the Great Fire of London.

Skypp's sermon

Passion Sunday Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday of Lent, marking the beginning of Passiontide. In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed Passiontide from the liturgical year of the Novus Ordo, but it is still observed in the Extraordinary Form, the Persona ...

, 2nd April 1536 Skip preached a sermon from John chapter 8, verse 46 on the theme of “Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato?” or “Which of you can convict me of sin?”. Skip rose defiantly to defend the ravages of the agents of the Vicar-General on behalf of his mistress. He warned against the "evil counsellors" making scarcely veiled references to Cromwell's role as chief enforcer. Skip was a liturgical traditionalist in the ancient customs of the church, and the maintenance of the universities. Skip elaborately embellished the symbolism borrowing the reformist Lutheran method of damning with faint praise the venal practices of the church. he clearly believed the Crown was motivated by greed; it was enough for onlookers to imagine sowing the seeds of doubt. For Skip the Old Testament King Solomon the Wise was rich but sensual, having taken too many wives and concubines to satisfy his carnal appetites. Solomon, like Henry VIII, was a towering figure in Jewish history, who had risked his kingdom for 'fool's gold.'

Alison Weir Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...

postulates that Skip may have seen Solomon in the stained glass windows of King's College, Cambridge. Cromwell accused the Queen's almoner of 'preaching seditious doctrines and slandering the King's Highness, his counsellors, his lords and nobles and his whole parliament.'Hamer, ibid; Bernard, 'Anne Boleyn's Religion'; Letters and Papers; Weir, p.55-6

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skypp, John 16th-century English bishops Bishops of Hereford Archdeacons of Dorset Archdeacons of Suffolk Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Masters of Gonville Hall, Cambridge People from North Norfolk (district) 1490s births 1552 deaths Year of birth uncertain 15th-century Anglican theologians 16th-century Anglican theologians