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MatinsEngland in the 1550s, was a religious rollercoaster swinging between the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, dependent on the belief of the current Monarch. In 1553, Mary Tudor, a staunch Roman Catholic, became Queen. She set out vigorously to reinstate the Roman Catholic Church and papal authority. A number of prominent Protestant leaders were martyred in her determination to stamp out the Protestant Church. Many Protestant leaders fled to the continent, of those who did not the 2 most significant were Nicholas Ridley, bishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, bishop of Worcester.
Nicholas Ridley
Ridley attended Cambridge. A strong supporter for the reformation, he was a friend and supporter of Thomas Cranmer whose chaplain he became in 1537. He became master of Pembroke College in 1540, and a royal chaplain in 1541. His reforming sympathies led to a trial for heresy in 1543, but he was acquitted.
In the reign of Edward VI, Ridley became bishop of Rochester, and then in 1550 bishop of London. As bishop of London he carried through the principles of the Reformation, but was arrested when Mary Tudor became queen. Ridley refused to recant his Protestant doctrines, and was taken to Oxford with Hugh Latimer, where he was they were put on trial, for heresy.
BORN: 1500, Tynedale, Northumberland, England
The English Reformers and Martyrs
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer, raised Roman Catholic was educated at Cambridge, where he met a group of young Christians influenced by Martin Luther’s new doctrines. This made the authorities suspect him, but when Thomas Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury he seemed more secure. He became well-known as an outstanding preacher, he attacked abuse in the church and social injustice. He was 1 of only 12 preachers authorised to preach anywhere in England. Henry VIII appointed him bishop of Worcester in 1535. He resigned in 1539 when his Protestant sympathies led him to oppose Henry’s Six Articles. He returned to favour with the accession of Edward VI in 1547. Mary Tudor on gaining the throne had him arrested and sent to the Tower. Challenged on theological issues, he refused to recant.
BORN: 1487, Thurcaston, Leicestershire, England
DIED: 16 October 1555, They were burned at the stake in Oxford, England. Latimer’s last words to Ridley were prophetic: “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 I trust shall never be put out.”
