21 Mar 1556: Cranmer Dies. Never Forget Newman, Keble, Pusey & Tractarians

Many posts today have paid tribute to the murderous death of Mr. (Canterbury) Cranmer on 21 Mar 1556.


Never, ever, ever forget Newman, Keble and Pusey who resented and hated the Reformation.  All three of these chaps resisted and opposed the establishment of the Martyrs' Memorial at Oxford University. A few notes from Wiki, although counter-factual in a few details in favor of Tracto-friendly operations.


The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, just outside Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century "Oxford Martyrs".

The Martyrs' Memorial, looking back towards Balliol College from Magdalen Street.

The lower section of the Martyrs' Memorial, looking towards the Taylor Institution.

Contents

• 1 Description
• 2 History
• 3 See also
• 4 References

Description

Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the monument was completed in 1843 after two years' work, having replaced "a picturesque but tottering old house". The Victorian Gothic memorial, whose design dates from 1838, has been likened to the steeple of a cathedral, though it was consciously patterned on the crosses King Edward I erected between 1290 and 1294 to the memory of his wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290). The three statues of Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley are by Henry Weekes.^[1] The monument is listed at grade II*.^[2]
The inscription on the base of the Martyrs' Memorial reads:

To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Prelates of the Church of England, who near this spot yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome, and rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake; this monument was erected by public subscription in the year of our Lord God, MDCCCXLI.

Cuthbert Bede (in his novel The Adventures of Mr Verdant Green) wrote about the setting of the Martyrs' Memorial thus in 1853:

He who enters the city, as Mr Green did, from the Woodstock Road, and rolls down the shady avenue of St Giles', between St John's College and the Taylor Buildings, and past the graceful Martyrs' Memorial, will receive impressions such as probably no other city in the world could convey.

The actual site of the execution is close by in Broad Street, just outside the line of the old city walls. The site is marked by a cross sunk in the road.

History

As well as being a monument to the Reformation, the memorial is also a landmark of the 19th century Oxford Movement, propagated by John Keble, John Henry Newman and others. Profoundly alarmed at the Catholic realignment the movement was bringing into the Church of England, the Rev. Charles Pourtales Golightly and other low church Anglican clergy raised the funds for erecting the monument, with its highly pro-Protestant and anti-Catholic inscription, as a public propaganda move.


As a result the monument was built 300 years after the events it commemorates.^[3]


The condition of the Memorial deteriorated in the 20th century, but it underwent a full restoration in 2003, funded by Oxford City Council and the Oxford Preservation Trust.^[4]


Popular rumour amongst some tour guides is that in the past students have misled foreign tourists about the nature of the Memorial and convinced them it was the spire of an underground church. This would result in the tourists venturing down a flight of stairs near the Memorial which actually lead to the public toilets.^[5]

See also

• Christian martyrs
• Religion in the United Kingdom

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford.

1. Jump up ^ "Stevens T. 'Weekes, Henry (1807–1877)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
2. Jump up ^ "Images of England: The Martyrs' Memorial". English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
3. Jump up ^ "The Martyrs' Memorial at Oxford". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
4. Jump up ^ "Martyrs' Memorial". Headington.org.uk. 
5. Jump up ^ "Sightseeing". Oxfordcityguide.com. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martyrs%27_Memorial&oldid=567110697"

Categories:

• Buildings and structures completed in 1843
• History of Oxford
• Visitor attractions in Oxford
• Monuments and memorials in Oxfordshire
• Buildings and structures in Oxford
• Christianity in Oxford
• Martyrs' monuments and memorials

Newman, Keble, Pusey, Martin Luther, & Oxford Martyrs' Memorial

As much as John Newman, John Keble, Edward Bouverie Pusey, agitators and extremists in the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC, Jack Iker's folks), Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (Keith Ackerman's folks) and others who railed against the Reformers, Luther included, we feel quite free from their self-loathings, extremisms, and hostilities to the English, Swiss, French, Hungarian, German, Danish, Swedish and Dutch Reformations. We feel quite free to agree with the Teutonic Titan, Martin Luther (while kindly preserving some objections for the record, e.g. Capernaiticism, and while heartily embracing most of the old boy's agenda). Who can forget the Newman-Keble-Pusey-Tractarian axis resisting the establishment of the "Oxford Martyrs' Memorial" commemorating Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer and the some 288ish martyrs during the English Reformation?  Yes, they did and more. Who can forget Newman-Keble-Pusey objecting to a joint Church of England-German Lutheran mission effort in Cyprus? Because it would offend the Greeks? Who, by a turn, object to "justification by faith alone?" The ACNAers would and do gloss over these things.  They like the Tractarians.  Mr. (abp.) Bob Duncan can't seem to say, "justification by faith alone."  On a more narrow note and topic, which reminds us of the wider issues, here is a lovely quote from this apostolic, holy, and catholic Churchman, Bruder Martin:

"As for us, we are obliged to preach the Gospel which offers to all men liberty from the Law, sin, death, and God’s wrath. We have no right to conceal or revoke this liberty proclaimed by the Gospel. And so we cannot do anything with the swine who dive headlong into the filth of licentiousness. We do what we can, we diligently admonish them to love and to help their fellow-men. If our admonitions bear no fruit, we leave them to God, who will in His own good time take care of these disrespecters of His goodness. In the meanwhile we comfort ourselves with the thought that our labors are not lost upon the true believers. They appreciate this spiritual liberty and stand ready to serve others in love and, though their number is small, the satisfaction they give us far outweighs the discouragement which we receive at the hands of the large number of those who misuse this liberty."
-Martin Luther

 

Bruder Martin Luther

 

Oxford Martyrs' Memorial

The Tractarian-in-Chief: John Henry Newman
and Anti-Reformation Man

Or, who can forget Mr. (bp.) Jack Iker of the ACNA, after signing the GAFCON arrangement in Jerusalem, "assuring" his fellow-Tractaholics that "they'd continue reading the Thirty-nine Articles like Newman" and with Newman's interpretation? Any objections from the Misters (bishops) in the ACNA?   Nah. Or, David Virtue doing an "investigative" report?  Nah. 

Incorrigible, unchangeable, un-teachable, indifferent, contradictory, shallow, fearful, even hostile and extremist, and amnesiacal. Who wouldn't be Post-Anglican if this is Anglicanism? Who needs it? Or them?  We'll keep the baby, but drain the dirty tub of dirty water.

Due to substantial 5th amendment violations, they've compromised themselves so often, including undue harshness, often by poor examples, that their leadership cannot be trusted, honoured or respected. Or, desired. We'll just keep reading, thank you.

 

 

Lest We Forget: Latimer and Ridley Burned at the Stake

Cavendish, Richard. "Latimer and Ridley Burned at the Stake." History Today 55.10 (2005): 52-53. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.

"Latimer and Ridley Burned at the Stake

October 16th, 1555

ACROSS IN THE ROAD in Oxford's Broad St marks the site of the execution. Workmen had discovered part of a stake and some bits of charred hone there, in what had once been part of the town ditch. Whether, as the flames were kindled, Latimer really said, 'Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as shall never be put out' is uncertain. The remark, if Latimer made it, came ultimately from the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp in the second century given by the historian Eusebius, an author he knew well. It was in the 1583 edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, but not in the earlier edition of 1563. John Foxe was unusual among intellectuals at the time in thinking that burning people to death for their opinions was not an altogether commendable idea.

Hugh Latimer was about seventy when he went to the stake. A former Bishop of Worcester, he was later an influential preacher and chaplain in London and at Edward VI's court. Nicholas Ridley, in his early fifties, had been Bishop of London and an outspoken supporter of the attempt to make Lady Jane Grey queen instead of 'Bloody' Mary. After Mary's accession he was arrested for treason. Latimer was warned that his arrest was imminent, and the new regime might have preferred him to flee abroad, but he stood his ground. From early in 1554 he and Ridley shared a cell in the Tower of London with Archbishop Cranmer and the well-known preacher John Bradford.

In March Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were moved to the town prison in Oxford, where they were to debate in public with Roman Catholic theologians. Ridley defended his beliefs with particular brilliance and Latimer dismissed his opponents as 'mass-mongers'. Back in the town gaol, with his faithful servant Augustine Bernher in attendance, Latimer read the New Testament over and over again. No other books were allowed him. Cast down by the mounting defections from Protestant ranks, the prisoners watched anxiously as the heresy trials began in January 1555 and greeted the first burning, of John Rogers at Smithfield in February, as a triumph. Ridley wrote, 'And yet again I bless God in our dear brother and of this time proto-martyr Rogers.'

The arch-conservative Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor, presided over the trial for heresy at the end of September, when Latimer took the opportunity to deliver a blistering attack on the see of Rome as the enemy and persecutor of Christ's true flock. There was never any doubt about the verdict.

Ridley went to the pyre in a smart black gown, but the grey-haired Latimer, who had a gift for publicity, wore a shabby old garment, which he took off to reveal a shroud. Ridley kissed the stake and both men knelt and prayed. After a fifteen-minute sermon urging them to repent, they were chained to the stake and a bag of gunpowder was hung round each man's neck. The pyre was made of gorse branches and faggots of wood. As the fire took hold, Latimer was stifled by the smoke and died without pain, but poor Ridley was not so lucky. The wood was piled up above his head, but he writhed in agony and repeatedly cried out, 'Lord, have mercy upon me' and 'I cannot burn'. Cranmer, who was made to watch, would go to his own death the following year. "

~~~~~~~~

By Richard Cavendish