Antony Bek (bishop)

Antony Bek ( August 4, 1279 , † December 18 or 19, 1343 in Hevingham , Norfolk ) was a bishop of the English diocese of Norwich .

origin

Antony Bek was a son of Walter Bek (1250-1291), a country nobleman from Lusby in Lincolnshire , who served as constable of Lincoln . Antony's older brother Sir John Bek became Lord of Normanby , his younger brother Thomas Bek († 1347) became Bishop of Lincoln. He also had three sisters, Alice, Margaret and Joan Bek. His relatives included Antony Bek , Bishop of Durham († 1311) and his brother Thomas Bek († 1293), Bishop of St Davids.

Career as a clergyman

In 1301, Bek became rector of St Mary's Church in Wainfleet , while Bishop John de Dalderby granted him seven years to study in England or abroad. In 1314, Bek was one of the representatives of the University of Oxford in their dispute with the Dominican Order . In the following year, Bek was part of a college of theologians, along with Simon Mepeham , later Archbishop of Canterbury, that condemned a number of doctrines as heretical. On June 10, 1313, Bek received a benefice in Lincoln from Bishop Dalderby , and in 1316 a benefice in North Kelsey and the office of chancellor of the diocese.

After Henry Mamesfeld rejected the election as Bishop of Lincoln, the cathedral chapter elected on February 3, 1320 Bek as the new bishop. King Edward II confirmed the election on February 20, but Archbishop Walter Reynolds hesitated to approve. The Pope had already designated Henry Burghersh as the new bishop, who finally received the king's approval and was appointed Bishop of Lincoln. In return, Bek became cathedral dean of Lincoln, and in 1329 he got into a dispute with the cathedral chapter over the scope of his responsibilities. He traveled to Avignon to make his point there Pope John XXII. to perform. King Edward III also turned to the Pope, but he urged Beck to return as soon as possible, since Bishop Burghersh was serving as his Lord Chancellor and he therefore wanted Beck to be present in Lincoln. However, Bek managed to impress the Pope in such a way that he was appointed papal chaplain . On April 30, 1334, he received the Pope's approval to stay at the papal court for three more years and still draw the income from his English benefices.

Bishop of Norwich

Although the cathedral chapter of Norwich one of its members, Thomas Hemenhale had already elected as the new Bishop of Norwich, Bek was at the request of Pope Benedict XII. consecrated bishop on March 30, 1337 in Avignon. On July 9th, the temporalities of the diocese were given to him .

As a bishop, Bek was a staunch advocate of his rights, taking action against the executors of his predecessor William Airmyn , whom he accused of alienating church property. To this end, he had the appointments of the most important offices of the cathedral chapter checked. However, he had to confirm the right of the prior of the cathedral chapter to determine the holders of the offices of the cathedral chapter. When Archbishop John Stratford wanted to make a visit to the diocese in September 1343 , Bek resisted the visit of the metropolitan . Stratford legitimized his visitation with a papal indult , but Bek further denied this right, since in his opinion the indult had been issued under false conditions. When Bek finally prevented the archbishop from making the visitation by force of arms, he and the prior of the cathedral chapter were excommunicated , and the archbishop imposed an interdict on Norwich. This dispute was also brought before the Pope for a decision, but was not yet resolved when Bek died on the night of December 18-19 in his estate in Hevingham. The report that Bek was poisoned by his servants is considered unlikely.

Web links

• Roy Martin Haines: Bek, Antony (II) (1279-1343). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
John de Dalderby	Bishop of Lincoln 1320	Henry Burghersh
Thomas Hemenhale	Bishop of Norwich 1337–1343	William Bateman