Campion, Edmund

Campion was born in London on January 24, 1540. He was the son of a book seller in Paternoster Row, next to St. Paul's Cathedral. He received his early education at the School of Christ's Hospital in London and at the age of 13 was chosen to give a welcoming speech when Queen Mary visited the city in August 1553 ^{[1] [2]} . He then studied at St. Johns College , Oxford , becoming a junior fellow in 1557 ^[3] and passed the required Suprematism Act , probably on the occasion of his bachelor's degree in 1560 ^[4] . He received a master's degree from Oxford in 1564 ^[5] .

Two years later, Campion welcomed Queen Elizabeth at the university and earned her lasting respect. ^[5] He was chosen to hold a public debate before the queen. Campion earned the patronage of the powerful William Cecil , as well as Earl of Leicester , whom many considered the future husband of the young queen.

In 1567, at the funeral of Sir Thomas White , the founder of the college, he was honored to give a farewell speech in Latin ^[5] .

According to Richard Cheney, Bishop of Gloucester, although he adhered to Catholic doctrines, in 1564 he received the rank of deacon in the Church of England. Internally, "he accepted remorse and aversion to reason." Rumors of his opinions began to spread, and he left Oxford in 1569 and went to Ireland for private study and research.

Ireland (1569–1570)

Campion was appointed as mentor to Richard Stanichurst , son of James Stanichurst, speaker of the Irish House of Commons , and attended the first session of the House of Commons, which included an extension. At Stanichurst’s request, Christopher Barnwell sheltered Campion for several weeks at Tervi House in Pale , which was hiding from persecution by the Protestant party in Dublin. He hid from his pursuers for three months, calling himself "Mr. Patrick" and writing the History of Ireland.

Douai (1571-1573)

In 1571, Campion secretly left Ireland and fled to Douai , now France , where he was reconciled with the Catholic Church and took part in the Eucharist , which he renounced for the past twelve years. He entered English College , founded by William Allen. College admission grew, and some time after Campion arrived, a papal subsidy began to be provided. Campion met again with Oxford friends. He taught rhetoric there and completed his undergraduate studies in theology , which was granted to him by the University of Douai on January 21, 1573. After that, he was ordained deacon ^[6] .

Rome, Brunn, and Prague (1573-1580)

Campion then traveled to Rome on foot, alone and disguised as a pilgrim, to join the Jesuits. In April 1573 in Rome, he became the first novice accepted by Mercurian , the fourth General of the Order, into the Society of Jesus . He was appointed to the Austrian province because there was no English Jesuit province there yet, and began his two-year obedience in Brunn (now Brno ) in Moravia . He was ordained deacon and priest by Anthony Brus, Order of the Knights of the Cross with a red star , the Archbishop of Prague ^[7] and celebrated his first Mass on September 8, 1578 ^[8] . For six years, Campion taught at Jesuit College in Prague as a professor of rhetoric and philosophy ^[9] .

Mission to England (1580-1581)

In 1580, a Jesuit mission to England began. Campion entered England under the guise of a jeweler, arriving in London on June 24, 1580, and immediately began to preach. His presence soon became known to the authorities and his fellow Catholics in London prisons. Among the latter was Thomas Poundé in Marshalsi , where a meeting was held to discuss ways to counter the rumors circulated by the Privy Council that Campion's mission was political and treacherous. Poundé hurriedly followed Campion and explained that Campion needed to write a short statement about the true reasons for his arrival ^[10] . The distribution of this declaration, known as the “Challenge to the Privy Council” or “Temple of Campion,” made his position more difficult. He led a hunted life, performing sacraments and preaching to Catholics in Berkshire , Oxfordshire , Northamptonshire and Lancashire ^[5] .

During this time, he wrote his Justifications ("Ten Reasons"), arguments against the validity of the Church of England . This Latin-language brochure was printed in an underground press in Stonor Park, Henley , and 400 copies were found on the benches of St. Mary's Church in Oxford on June 27, 1581. On his way to Norfolk, he stopped at Lifeford Grange, the home of a certain Francis Yate, then in Berkshire, where he preached on July 14 and the next day at the request of many ^[11] . Here he was captured by a spy named George Eliot, and taken to London ^[5] .

He was imprisoned for four days in the Tower of London in a tiny cell, then Campion was taken out and questioned by three secret advisers. Campion was then imprisoned in the Tower for more than four months and was tortured. ^[12] On November 14, 1581, he was brought to trial and charged ^[13] with others in conspiracy in Rome and Reims in order to rebel in the kingdom and topple the queen from the throne ^[5] .

The trial took place on November 20, 1581 . Campion and his colleagues were found guilty of high treason. He answered the verdict:

Condemning us, you condemn all your ancestors, all our ancient bishops and kings, all that was once the glory of England - the island of saints and the most faithful child of the throne of Peter.

Hearing the court decision - the death sentence, Campion and other convicts answered - Te Deum . After spending the last days in prayer, on December 1, 1581, he, together with two other priests, fathers Ralph Sherwin and Alexander Briant , was taken to Tyburn , where all three were hanged. Campion was 41 years old.