22: Who were the Reformers in

England?
Irene Howat introduces us to some of the key figures in the English Reformation …
Between 1555 and 1558, 288 people were martyred for the Reformation cause.
They were: one archbishop, four bishops, 21 other clergymen, 203 laymen, 55
women and four children.

Archbishop J. C. Ryle gives the following as the five leading English Reformers.

John Rogers (1505 – 1555), Vicar of St Sepulchre, London, and Prebendary and

Reader of Divinity at St Paul’s. He assisted Tyndale and Coverdale in their work
on the English Bible. Rogers was taken through his own parish, past his family,
to the stake.
John Hooper (c 1495 – 1555), Bishop of Gloucester and known for his personal
holiness, diligent preaching and hard work. Firmly Calvinistic, he was
imprisoned as part of the Marian persecution and then burnt at the stake
outside his own cathedral.
Rowland Taylor (1510 – 1555), Rector of Hadleigh in Suffolk and a friend of
Thomas Cranmer. Taylor was a doctor of divinity and canon law. Defined by
Queen Mary as a treasonably-minded heretic, he went to his death with great
dignity.
Robert Ferrar (d 1555), Bishop of St David’s, Wales. Having embraced the
reformed cause, he demitted as Prior of Nostell in 1540. Tried and condemned
for his biblical doctrine, Ferrar was taken from London to Carmarthen and
martyred.
John Bradford (1510-1555), Prebendary of St Paul’s and Chaplain to Bishop
Ridley. He was one of six royal chaplains sent throughout England to preach
Reformation doctrines. Bradford was charged within a month of Queen Mary’s
accession and burnt to death in London.
But perhaps the main figure in Reforming the English Church was Thomas
Cranmer …

23: Who was Thomas Cranmer?

Cranmer was a pivotal figure in the English Reformation.  Irene Howat tells us why …
Thomas Cranmer (1489 to 1556) was an English Reformer and the first
Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury.

Born in Aslockton, Nottinghamshire, he was educated at Jesus College,

Cambridge, and ordained in early 1520s.
In 1529 Henry VIII consulted Oxford and Cambridge Universities regarding
legitimating his divorce and remarriage. Cranmer argued that his marriage was
not lawful according to canon law. Henry sent Cranmer to consult with Pope
Clement VII but they disagreed. Cranmer himself went on to break his vow of
celibacy in 1532 by marrying. Though this was according to Protestant practice,
his marriage remained secret for 15 years.

Thomas Cranmer was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. He

argued against papal supremacy and supported Henry’s royal supremacy. The
Ten Articles of Faith (1536) and Bishops’ Book (1537) promoted Scripture as the
standard of faith, admitted only three sacraments and adhered to the principle
of salvation by faith alone. Cranmer saw the vernacular Bible as a means of
spreading the reformed faith and The Great Bible was published in 1539.

In Edward VI’s reign Cranmer pressed the case for reform more openly and
was heavily involved with The Book of Common Prayer, the Book of Homilies
and The Forty-Two Articles (which were later reduced to thirty-nine). It was
under his charge as Archbishop of Canterbury that the mass was renamed
Holy Communion in 1552. On Edward’s death Mary Tudor was enthroned and
the mass reintroduced. Cranmer was found guilty of treason. Under severe
pressure he recanted his view on the mass and the papacy. Later, renouncing
his recantations, Thomas Cranmer went to a martyr’s death in 1556.