On
Passion Sunday, 2 April 1536, Skypp 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?". Skypp 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. Skypp was a liturgical traditionalist in the ancient customs of the church, and the maintenance of the universities. Skypp 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 Skypp, 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 postulates that Skypp 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.' ==Notes==