31 August 1555 A.D. Robert Samuel loved God, his
congregation and his wife. He was burned
at the stake for his faith.
Edward VI had died. Queen Mary 1
ascended to the English throne. She,
married to the Spanish Prince-now-turned-King of England, was all about
“restoring Catholicism as the state religion” and was giving “the courts of the
Roman Catholic Church the power to burn heretics” (488).
Things would go south fast. This was 4.0 Anglicanism, that is, a return
to 1.0 Anglicanism. In other words, is
was Papal and Roman, an un-doing of what her half-brother Edward had invoked in
his 3.0 version. This was a major set-back.
There had been 35 years of
Protestant principles and forces that had been reshaping the English contours
of faith in high places, notably, with Mr. (Canterbury) Cranmer and many
others. This had been developing since
1520.
Mr. (Rev.) Robert Samuel was,
however, a Protestant Anglican minister in the 3.0 stream. The English Reformation had increasingly seen
Reformed men not just in garden-variety pulpits with rank-and-file believers,
but in high places at Cambridge and Oxford and in high places of government.
However, the Papal Roman bishops
were unleashed under the new Queen. They resisted strenuously with Royal
support. Under Queen Mary, they “removed them [Protestant Anglicans] from their
parishes” and they “were forbidden to preach.”
100s left England for the
Continent. Others went underground, like
Mr. (Rev. Dr.) Matthew Parker (later Mr. Canterbury). Others were arrested,
tried and burned at the sake (about 288 of them).
Mr. (Rev.) Robert Samuel was one
such minister. For one thing, in time,
he was ordered to leave his wife. The
Protestants had allowed marriage amongst other things. Even Mr. (Canterbury) Cranmer had a wife from
Germany for crying out loud; ever-the-pliable one, he conveniently tucked her
away in Germany, but he was married.
For Mr. (Rev.) Samuel, he did not
leave his wife and he did not stash her away. He believed that violated God’s
law. He continued his Biblical ministry
to his parishioners in secret.
The ante-was-upped when Mary
ordered “all married clergymen to leave their wives and return” to
celibacy. It was a pro-active,
nationwide order in conformity with “strict canon law.” And Mary had that proverbial Tudor-tenacity. “By God and the Holy Mass, they’ll conform”
was the idea.
The bishops were directed to
enforce this in 10,000 churches throughout England. If anything, Queen Mary was consistent with
the canon law.
But never mind the irregularities
of Pope Clement VII’s “two wives” or Cardinal Wolsey’s “non-canonical”
relationship-slash-marriage with two children, but we digress.
Mr. (Rev.) Robert Samuel was
arrested and imprisoned. He never to saw his wife again.
The love-filled, grace-filled,
charitable, God-filled, Bible-filled, justified and sanctified bishop ordered
that “he [Mr. Samuel] be tortured with the cruelest techniques of the times”
(489). Although it sounds like something
perfect by the Spaniards in the Spanish inquisition, the English had mastered
the principles too.
Mr. (Rev.) Robert Samuel was tied
to a post. He was forced to support his bodily weight on his toes. He was deprived of food and drink. He was
insulted, of course.
But, things would get worse.
On August 31, 1555, he was put to the stake of fire and burned to
death. Anathema to the damned bastard!
That damned Protestant! Damned
Evanglical! Away with him! Burn, baby,
burn! (Yes, “Protestant” and
“Evangelical” were the terms of derisions and identity and were used in the
popular parlance)
Lest we forget!
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