The New International Encyclopædia/Fisher, John (theologian)

FISHER, John (1569-1641). An English Jesuit and theologian. He was born in Durham, was educated at the English colleges in Rheims and Rome, and entered the priesthood when but twenty-three years old. By 1594 he was a member of the Society of Jesus, and suffered religious persecution in Holland and England. Escaping from prison in his native land, he traveled to its northern parts as a missionary, and enlisted some distinguished proselytes. Again arrested, he was condemned to death, but was banished to Brussels instead, and returned to England to be kept for three years in prison, where he made many converts. He was an able debater with prominent Protestants, and was favored for a time by the Stuarts; but the Jesuits were subject to severe penal laws, and he suffered further banishment, followed by imprisonment on his return. His published writings consist of theological disputations. Consult Conference Between William Laud, Late Archbishop of Canterbury, and Mr. [John] Fisher, the Jesuit, edited by Simpkinson (London, 1901).