What Happened this Day in Church History; Bishops Ridley and Latimer Burned at the Stake

Christian History Institute ^ | unknown | Diana Severance

[Gamecock]

Queen Mary ascended the throne of England in 1553. In subsequent years, she had at least two hundred people put to death (often by fire) for their religious convictions. To history she became known as "Bloody Mary," although, in truth, she killed far fewer people per year than her brutal father. The godliness of many of her victims made them stand out.

Mary's father, King Henry VIII had separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic church, but he had not reformed the church's practices or doctrines. On Henry's death, his young son Edward became King. Many of Edward's advisors tried to move the English church in the direction of a more Bible-based Christianity. Two such men were Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer.

The scholar Nicholas Ridley had been a chaplain to King Henry VIII and was Bishop of London under his son Edward. He was a preacher beloved of his congregation whose very life portrayed the truths of the Christian doctrines he taught. In his own household he had daily Bible readings and encouraged Scripture memory among his people.

Hugh Latimer also became an influential preacher under King Edward's reign. He was an earnest student of the Bible, and as Bishop of Worcester he encouraged the Scriptures be known in English by the people. His sermons emphasized that men should serve the Lord with a true heart and inward affection, not just with outward show. Latimer's personal life also re-inforced his preaching. He was renowned for his works, especially his visitations to the prisons.

When Mary became Queen of England, she worked to bring England back to the Roman Catholic Church. One of her first acts was to arrest Bishop Ridley, Bishop Latimer, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. After serving time in the Tower of London, the three were taken to Oxford in September of 1555 to be examined by the Lord's Commissioner in Oxford's Divinity School.

When Ridley was asked if he believed the pope was heir to the authority of Peter as the foundation of the Church, he replied that the church was not built on any man but on the truth Peter confessed -- that Christ was the Son of God. Ridley said he could not honor the pope in Rome since the papacy was seeking its own glory, not the glory of God. Neither Ridley nor Latimer could accept the Roman Catholic mass as a sacrifice of Christ. Latimer told the commissioners, "Christ made one oblation and sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, and that a perfect sacrifice; neither needeth there to be, nor can there be, any other propitiatory sacrifice." These opinions were deeply offensive to Roman Catholic theologians.

Both Ridley and Latimer were burned at the stake in Oxford on this day, October 16, 1555. As he was being tied to the stake, Ridley prayed, "Oh, heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee, even unto death. I beseech thee, Lord God, have mercy on this realm of England, and deliver it from all her enemies."

Ridley's brother had brought some gunpowder for the men to place around their necks so death could come more quickly, but Ridley still suffered greatly. With a loud voice Ridley cried, "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit...", but the wood was green and burned only Ridley's lower parts without touching his upper body. He was heard to repeatedly call out, "Lord have mercy upon me! I cannot burn..Let the fire come unto me, I cannot burn." One of the bystanders finally brought the flames to the top of the pyre to hasten Ridley's death.

Latimer died much more quickly; as the flames quickly rose, Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out."

The martyrdoms of Ridley, Latimer, and Thomas Cranmer are today commemorated by a Martyrs' monument in Oxford. The faith they once died for can now be freely practiced in the land.

[dangus]

For those not familiar with St. Bartholomew's Day massacre:

Admiral Coligny, a Calvinist in mid-16th century France, was alleged to have assassinated Francis, Duke of Guise. After the Spanish trounced the Muslim navy (!), Admiral Coligny insisted that Queen Catherine attack the Spanish.

On St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24th, Admiral Coligny and about two dozen of his men were killed. Although Queen Catherine was never tied to the attacks, the protestants' presumption that she ordered them is not unreasonable, since she feared that Coligny would seize military control for himself to attack Spain.

Paris broke out into riots, with a Catholic/Loyalist mob slaughtering up to three thousand Calvinists. Similar outbreaks occurred over the next few months in many major cities, resulting in perhaps another 2,000 deaths. (Some Calvinists claim 100,000; certain Catholics cite "mere" hundreds; I used Wikipedia as an impartial source.)

Rome, believing that Coligny was prepared to attack Spanish forces which had rescued Europe from the Muslim horde, did appear to approve of the St. Bartholomew's Day raid. As the event became known as the "massacre," however, the following tragic riots became conflated with the raid, leading many to inaccurately suggest that Rome had approved of the purely unjustifiable violence.

[Gamecock]

***I used Wikipedia as an impartial source***

Since when does impartiality have any value around here? ;-)

[dangus]

No, and I'm probably not going to. Not that I think it'll be terrible, it's just I don't foresee the occasion to, and don't feel like I wanna spend $10 on a movie, the best for which I could say is that it probably isn't despicable. It's a hagiography of a very problemmatic man. It doesn't slander the Catholic Church too badly, but it *is* very one-sided from what even Lutherans I know have said.

[dangus]

Oh, by the way... Things look bad for Luther... Down 32%... Looks to peak out at about $7 million.... Still made way more than the Gospel of John ($900,000 vs. $122,000), but John did so well on a per-screen basis, that it's rumored to have gotten a better distributor for later in the year. Luther did quite poorly on a per-screen basis. (20 times more screens!)

[beelzepug]

Stand proud, soldier! :0)

[Gamecock]

***It's a hagiography of a very problemmatic man.***

A man who was a self-professed sinner. Just like the rest of us.

[Tantumergo]

"We Predestinarians seem to have been on the short end of almost all of it."

If that were true I guess it must have been pre-destined - just like in the days of Elijah.

[CARepubGal]

October 31 is a glorious day indeed! ;-)

[CARepubGal]

Somehow, the Catholics seem less than enthusiastic about this wonderful movie. Why would that be? :-)

[Gamecock]

Must be hitting a little close to home. The truth hurts. ;-)

[dangus]

I'm not slammin' Luther. I'm just saying as a Catholic, he's not *my* hero.

[redgolum]

Luther is an interesting figure. Full of faults and follies, like all of us. I haven't seen the movie, but from what I have heard it tends to minimize the problems with the way Luther orginally started to formulate his theology. Polygamy is not an acceptable form of Godly marriage.

[Gamecock]

Neither is shacking up with nuns, like a lot of middle age Popes were apt to do....

[redgolum]

True. Didn't one early pope die in..., a compromising position. ;)
No man, or authority is perfect. God uses a bunch of sinners to get his work done, and as a result we sinners sometimes get things messed up. The amazing thing is even with the sinful tendicies, the Christian church has remained.

[Gamecock]

You know, if the RCs would just admit that, I would go away. But they would rather dig their heels in and make their claims about how they have the "true" church.


Heck, even the "first Pope" had issues....