The Oxford Martyrs
On Oct. 16, 1555, in Oxford, England, Bishop Hugh Latimer and Bishop Nicholas Ridley were convicted of heresy and burned alive at the stake. Latimer and Ridley, along with Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, led the Reformation in England and are known together as the Oxford Martyrs. Their story unfolds in the midst of great theological and political shifts of the Protestant Reformation.
Let’s back up to 1547, when King Henry VIII, died and his ten-year-old young son Edward VI took the throne. Henry and Edward led the efforts of the English Reformation. Thomas Cranmer, who had authored the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and second BCP in 1552, published the Book of Homilies. These homilies served as a theological guide for parishes with no priests and set the stage for more reformed theology in the churches in Britain.
But in July of 1553, only six years into his reign, King Edward died, and his Roman Catholic half-sister Mary ascended to the throne. Mary sought to bring England closer to Roman Catholic theology and liturgy. The time of her reign is known as the Counter Reformation.
Hugh Latimer, who was made bishop in 1535 by Henry VIII, opposed Mary and advanced Reformation ideas in England. In 1553, Mary imprisoned him along with Bishop Nicholas Ridley. Ridley had also been made Bishop by Henry and participated with Cranmer in the preparation of the first Book of Common Prayer. On October 16, 1555, they were burned at the stake in Oxford. The next year, she executed Archbishop Cranmer in the same way.
The burning of Latimer and Ridley, from the Book of Martyrs by John Foxe (1563)
The queen was known as “Bloody Mary” by Protestants in her time, as she executed between 275-300 Protestant in the 5 years she was queen. In 1558 Mary died and her half-sister Elizabeth became queen. Queen Elizabeth reigned for more than 40 years, ended papal rule, and officially returned England to Protestantism through Parliament in 1559.
On October 16, the feast day of Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer we remember all those who have died for the faith.
Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, that, like your servants Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer we may live in your fear, die in your favor, and rest in your peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Oxford Martyrs Memorial, Oxford England