More than 100 descendants of Archbishop Richard Scrope from across Britain and America are expected to attend the special Evensong on Wednesday, 600 years to the day since he was beheaded on June 8, 1405, for high treason.
The Catholic bishop was executed after he was accused of trying to overthrow Henry IV, but a question mark has remained throughout the intervening centuries as to whether Scrope was in fact the traitor he was accused of being.
Next week's service will include a procession to the archbishop's tomb in the Minster, when one of his descendants will lay a wreath of white roses on top of his last resting place to symbolise the House of York.
Senior clergy at the Minster have organised the service in an outward display of unity between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. The monarchy and the Church endured a torrid relationship following Scrope's beheading, and it is hoped the Evensong will show any old wounds left festering throughout the centuries have been healed once and for all.
The Dean of York Minster, Keith Jones, said: "This service is not only a chance to re-examine the life and death of Archbishop Scrope, but also an opportunity to pray for the reconciliation and healing of these old sorrows, and to pray for the unity of the Christian Church today.
"We will be joined by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in York, and a representative of Cardinal Danneels of Malines-Brussels, with whom the Minster has a long and friendly association."
Archbishop Scrope was immortalised by William Shakespeare who portrayed him as a villainous member of the clergy in Henry IV Part II. But the actions of the monarch to try the archbishop for treason led many to view Scrope as a courageous martyr and defender of the church, murdered by a tyrant whose legitimate claim to the throne was already in question.
The similarities with Thomas Beckett were not lost on those who sought to defend the name of the archbishop, who held his position at York Minster between 1398 and his death in 1405.
Louise Hampson, York Minster's collections manager, said: "The execution of Archbishop Scrope was the first time that a lay court had ordered the execution of a prelate.
"Almost immediately after his death miracles began to be attributed to him and a large body of devotional and political material was created, including liturgical offices and prayers.
"Locally he was regarded as a saint in the making and the popularity of his cult threatened to eclipse that of the 'legitimate' York saint, St. William, as people flocked to Scrope's tomb in the north quire aisle."
Members of the Schola Cantorum of Ampleforth College will join the Minster choir to sing
at next week's service, which begins at 5pm and is open to the public.
PR.Jeeves@ypn.co.uk

Villain or Martyr?

Paul Jeeves
THE glorious Gothic architecture of York Minster may appear to be an unlikely setting to remember the life of one of Shakespeare's villains.
While the playwright portrayed Archbishop Richard Scrope as a cold and calculating traitor to the English monarchy, many believe he should instead be remembered as a martyr who acted to preserve the interests of the Church which were being undermined by Henry IV.
Archbishop Scrope came from a wealthy aristocratic family, who was prominent in Yorkist politics during the Wars of the Roses. While he did not appear to have been particularly opposed to the Lancastrians, he did object to the taxes that Henry IV was making on the Church and its lands. This opposition to Henry led Archbishop Scrope to become involved with Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland and Thomas Mowbray, the Earl Marshall, in leading an armed uprising against the king in the spring of 1405.
Archbishop Scrope was betrayed and arrested on May 19, 1405, and tried at his own palace at Bishopthorpe.
He was beheaded on the afternoon of June 8, 1405, in a field just outside York's Skeldergate Postern, for the crime of high treason.
This was the feast day of St William of York, and it ensured that Scrope would not be venerated as a saint in the Minster, where St William's shrine had pride of place. But miracles began to be attributed to him soon after his execution.