2 July
1489 A.D. Birth
of Thomas Cranmer. Born in 1489, he laid his life down for the Reformed Faith
in 1556. The Protestant, Reformed and Heretical Archbishop of Canterbury Burned
by the English Queen and her Anglo-Vaticano Bishops.
A few youtube reviews.
As Protestant, Reformed and Confessional Anglicans, we have been shaped
by his Book of Common Prayer.
Also, a brief note from Christianity.com.
Chi
Staff. “Thomas Cranmer, Reluctant Martyr.”
Christianity.com. N.d. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/thomas-cranmer-reluctant-martyr-11629993.html. Accessed 5 May 2014.
Before a vast crowd of friends and enemies, the
Archbishop thrust his hand into the fire. He was going to his death by being
burned at the stake but insisted that the hand that was guilty of such shameful
sin must burn first. Jesus said "It is better to lose a limb than for your
whole body to go to hell," and Cranmer took him at his word.
He went in style, but Thomas Cranmer was not a
natural martyr.
Admittedly he was committed to his Protestant faith
in Catholic England at a time when that could be quite dangerous. And he rose
to the highest position in the English Church, becoming the first Protestant
Archbishop of Canterbury. But he loved his comfortable life of quiet
scholarship. When it came to it, would he have the courage to take the ultimate
stand for his faith? It was a close call. Here is his most unlikely story --
one that did much to shape the world of his day right down to our own day.
Cranmer was born into a mildly well-to-do family in Nottinghamshire, England,
in 1489. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, taking a surprising eight
years to get his degree. After attaining his MA, he suddenly gave up any
prospect of an ecclesiastical or academic career by marrying for love. When his
wife Joan died in childbirth he was crushed, but he was destined as a result of
this loss, to become possibly the most influential figure in the history of the
English church.
Mission: Divorce
Cranmer was ordained at Cambridge and was still
there at the time of Luther's encounter with Rome. He believed in reform, but
from within the Catholic church, and he was horrified by Luther's separation
from Rome. His mind was changed as a consequence of being drafted into the
diplomatic service of the King.
Cranmer's mission was to get rid of Henry VIII's
wife. Henry had married Catherine of Aragon with a special dispensation from
the pope, because Catherine was his brother's widow, a match contrary to church
law. But having borne him a daughter, Catherine failed to come up with any more
children, and Henry needed a son to pass his crown on to. He believed the
marriage was cursed by God, as Leviticus 20:21 warns, and another wife was
called for. Normally, he would have come to another mutually satisfactory arrangement
with the Pope, but the Pope was in serious trouble with Catherine's uncle, the
Holy Roman Emperor, so no deal. Cranmer had the idea of canvassing the
Protestant leaders of Europe and getting them to declare Henry's marriage
invalid. This long debate was ultimately unsuccessful, but it had two huge
results for Cranmer. It impressed the King enough to raise him to Archbishop of
Canterbury, the top job in the English church -- to Cranmer's horror. And
Cranmer was so impressed with the Protestants that he started to be gradually
won over. Cranmer marked the change by quietly taking a second wife while he
was out in Germany.
Cranmer at Canterbury
Parliament passed laws declaring the Church of
England independent of Rome, making the King instead of the Pope, its head.
Cranmer then declared the marriage void, and Henry took Anne Boleyn as his new
wife. Cranmer had no political ambitions. Even as Archbishop, he spent three
quarters of his working day in quiet study and found time in the remainder for
sport. His greatest achievement at this time was to get English Bibles into the
churches for the first time. In Henry's latter years, things got dangerous for
Cranmer. Henry was never really converted to Protestantism, and the Church of
England was really independent Catholic rather than Protestant. In 1539, the
King issued the Six Articles, insisting that the beliefs of the Church of
England were still well and truly Catholic. The bookies took bets that Cranmer
would soon be executed like others who had fallen foul of Henry's whims. But
the King respected Cranmer, and he retained his position. In January, 1547,
Henry died, and was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Edward VI. Edward was
a convinced Protestant, and so Cranmer was retained and now had the opportunity
to reform the church fully.
The New Prayer Book
Cranmer encouraged Protestant preaching in the
church and published his own sermons. But his greatest contribution to the
Reformation was the Book of Common Prayer. This replaced the Catholic liturgy
in Latin with new English services. The 1549 edition was pretty conservative,
hoping not to upset the mass of people who were attached to Catholic traditions
too much. But for this, it drew widespread criticism from Protestants, and so
in 1552 Cranmer produced a revised prayer book, which was more emphatically
Protestant. His Book of Common Prayer became one of the greatest classics of
English Literature, and well into the twentieth century its phrases were part
of the common currency of English people. Cranmer still kept in many elements
of Catholic liturgy and ritual that he found beautiful and not unbiblical, and
so the English services combined the best of old and new.
Cranmer the Heretic
Unfortunately for Cranmer's reforms, and for
Cranmer himself, King Edward died in 1553. Lady Jane Grey was queen for a brief
nine days before being swept aside by Edward's elder sister Mary. This was the
one daughter that Catherine of Aragon had produced, and her life since then had
not been happy. Not only had her mother been sent away, but when the marriage
was declared invalid, Mary became "illegitimate." She was a fervent
Catholic, and blamed all that had happened on Protestantism in general and
Cranmer in particular. Mary set about restoring Roman Catholicism. When she
replaced the English Prayer Book with the old Latin Mass, Cranmer protested and
was arrested. In a humiliating ceremony, he was removed from office, but worse
was to come. Barraged in jail by Roman Catholic apologists for three years, his
confidence in his faith was crushed. Mary's men persuaded him to sign a series
of six recantations. The first merely said that the English should obey their
Queen's religion, but they became more and more
serious and the last was a "root-and-branch" denunciation of
Protestantism. In exchange for his life and freedom, the broken man signed. The
capitulation of one of the greatest living Protestant leaders was a fantastic
victory for Mary.
Surprise!
But now she made her great mistake. Her personal hatred for Cranmer was such that even though she had his recantation, she insisted on burning him anyway. The execution was on 21st of March, 1556, and Cranmer was allowed to preach before the massive crowd to publicize his recantation. In his last masterly speech, he repented of all his sins -- as he was meant to -- but ended by repenting his greatest sin of all, denial of the Protestant gospel. Amid uproar and commotion, he was led off to the fire and burnt. He put his right hand into the flames first. "As my hand offended," he said, "writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished."
But now she made her great mistake. Her personal hatred for Cranmer was such that even though she had his recantation, she insisted on burning him anyway. The execution was on 21st of March, 1556, and Cranmer was allowed to preach before the massive crowd to publicize his recantation. In his last masterly speech, he repented of all his sins -- as he was meant to -- but ended by repenting his greatest sin of all, denial of the Protestant gospel. Amid uproar and commotion, he was led off to the fire and burnt. He put his right hand into the flames first. "As my hand offended," he said, "writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished."
What Might Have Been
The Roman Catholic Church convened the Council of Trent to counter the spreading Reformation influence. Cranmer eagerly desired that Protestant leaders meet together. He particularly sought unity on the Lord's Supper. He desired to host a meeting in England and on March 20, 1552, wrote and invited Calvin of Geneva, Bullinger (Zwingli's successor at Zurich) and Melanchthon (Luther's successor at Wittenberg). It never came to pass. July 24, 1553, Mary became queen. Cranmer's moment had passed. Below is an excerpt from his letter of invitation to Calvin.
The Roman Catholic Church convened the Council of Trent to counter the spreading Reformation influence. Cranmer eagerly desired that Protestant leaders meet together. He particularly sought unity on the Lord's Supper. He desired to host a meeting in England and on March 20, 1552, wrote and invited Calvin of Geneva, Bullinger (Zwingli's successor at Zurich) and Melanchthon (Luther's successor at Wittenberg). It never came to pass. July 24, 1553, Mary became queen. Cranmer's moment had passed. Below is an excerpt from his letter of invitation to Calvin.
Our adversaries are now holding their councils at
Trent for the establishment of their errors; and shall we neglect to call
together a godly synod, for the refutation of error, and for restoring and
propagating the truth? They are, as I am informed, making decrees respecting
the worship of the host; wherefore we ought to leave no stone unturned, not
only that we may guard others against this idolatry, but also that we may
ourselves come to an agreement upon the doctrine of this sacrament. It cannot
escape your prudence how exceedingly the Church of God has been injured by
dissensions and varieties of opinion respecting the sacrament of unity; and
though they are now in some measure removed, yet I could wish for an agreement
in this doctrine, not only as regards the subject itself, but also with respect
to the words and forms of expression. You have now my wish, about which I have
also written to Masters Philip [Melanchthon] and Bullinger; and I pray you to
deliberate among yourselves as to the means by which this synod can be
assembled with the greatest convenience. Farewell.
-- Your very dear brother in Christ,
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
From Cranmer's 1552 Prayer Book
Almighty and most mercyfull father, we have erred
and strayed from thy wayes, lyke lost shepe. We have folowed too much the
devises and desyres of oure owne hearts. We have offended against thy holy
lawes. We have left undone those things whiche we oughte to have done, and we
have done those thinges which we ought not to have done, and there is no health
in us: but thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offendors. Spare thou them,
O God, which confesse theyr faultes. Restore thou them that be penitent,
according to thy promyses declared. unto mankynde, in Christe Jesu oure Lorde.
And graunt, O most merciful father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a
godly, righteous, and sobre life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.
Almighty God, unto whom all heartes be open, all
desyres knowen, and from whom no secretes are hyd: clense the thoughtes of our
heartes by the inspiracion of thy holy spirit, that we maye perfectlye love
thee, and worthely magnify thy holy name: through Christ our Lorde. Amen.
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