6 August
1504 A.D. Birth of Matthew Parker—71st
of 105 Archbishops of Canterbury
Matthew Parker (1504 to 1575)
Church of England
An Archbishop with a Mixed Record.
Matthew Parker was born at Norwich, England. In
1527 he was ordained and attracted to the theology of the reformation. During the
short reign of Edward VI, he was made dean of Lincoln Cathedral. In this same
period, he cultivated the friendship of Martin Bucer, the Strassbourg reformer,
who came to Cambridge. When the Catholic queen, Mary, came to the throne in
1553, the Protestant Parker lost all his academic and ecclesiastical positions
and lived in obscurity. However, with the death of Mary and crowning of
Elizabeth, Parker rose to prominence. Elizabeth made him archbishop of
Canterbury. He had a major part in the publication of the Bishops' Bible, but
also served as Elizabeth's tool to repress religious dissent.
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