Johnson along with the others left the colony in order to seek ordination in the Church of England. As one of the now famous "Great Apostates" he was greeted warmly by the Church and University establishment. On Sunday, March 31, 1723, at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, "at the continued appointment and desire of William, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and John, Lord Bishop of London, we were ordained Priests most gravely by the Right Reverend Thomas, Lord Bishop of Norwich". He was also granted honorary master's degrees at both Oxford and Cambridge; Johnson was the first man born in American to receive an honorary master's degree from Oxford.