Today the Episcopal Church remembers Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, theologian, a leader in the Reformation, author of the Book of Common Prayer, and martyr who was burned at the stake in Oxford by an order of Queen Mary on this day in 1556.
Thomas was born in 1489 in Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England. His parents were of modest means. At the age of fourteen, two years after the death of his father, Thomas went to the newly created Jesus College, Cambridge. It took him a surprisingly long eight years to reach his Bachelor of Arts degree following a curriculum of logic, classical literature and philosophy. During this time he began to collect medieval scholastic books, which he preserved faithfully throughout his life. For his master’s degree he took a different course of study, concentrating on the humanists, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Erasmus. This time he progressed with no special delay, finishing the course in three years. Shortly after receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1515, he was elected to a Fellowship of Jesus College.
Sometime after Thomas finished his master’s degree, he married a woman named Joan. Because he married, he was forced to forfeit his fellowship, resulting in the loss of his residence at Jesus College. In order to support himself and his wife, he took a job at another college. When Joan died during her first childbirth, Jesus College showed its regard for Cranmer by reinstating his fellowship. He began studying theology and by 1520 he had been ordained a priest, the university already having named him as one of their preachers. He received his doctorate of divinity in 1526.
King Henry VIII’s first marriage had its origins in 1502 when his elder brother, Arthur, died. Their father, Henry VII then betrothed Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, to the future king. The betrothal immediately raised questions related to the biblical prohibition (see Leviticus 18 and 20) against marriage to a brother’s wife. The couple married in 1509 and after a series of miscarriages, a daughter, Mary, was born in 1516. By the 1520s, Henry still did not have a son to name as heir and he took this as a sure sign of God’s anger and made overtures to the Vatican about an annulment. The Vatican refused after Catherine’s relative, the King of Spain, sent his troops to Rome to “persuade” the Pope. Henry gave Cardinal Wolsey the task of prosecuting his case; Wolsey began by consulting university experts. From 1527, in addition to his duties as a Cambridge don, Thomas assisted with the annulment proceedings.
Cranmer was a staunch Reformer, and when he became Archbishop of Canterbury began the Reformation in England. After the death of Henry VIII, Thomas was the guardian of the new King, Edward, and the Reformation was in full swing in England, and the Book of Common Prayer was introduced, a work of liturgical genius. There was no uniformity in the liturgies of the day, and Thomas studied the many different liturgies in Europe and wrote the Book of Common Prayer, in the language of the people, who could participate in worship in a real way whereas they could not before. The liturgy, meaning “the work of the people,” once again allowed the people to worship God in a true communal fashion.
Thomas died in 1556 when Queen Mary I wanted Thomas to recant the Reformation. He refused and was burned at the stake.
Let us pray: Merciful God, through the work of Thomas Cranmer you renewed the worship of your Church by restoring the language of the people, and through his death you revealed your power in human weakness: Grant that by your grace we may always worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Tonight at St. Augustine’s at 6 pm the Lenten Series continues. We will have red beans and rice, chicken, potato salad, bread, but we need someone to bring a green salad.
Saturday, 24 March, at 11 am we will have our End of Life Issues seminar.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Thomas was born in 1489 in Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England. His parents were of modest means. At the age of fourteen, two years after the death of his father, Thomas went to the newly created Jesus College, Cambridge. It took him a surprisingly long eight years to reach his Bachelor of Arts degree following a curriculum of logic, classical literature and philosophy. During this time he began to collect medieval scholastic books, which he preserved faithfully throughout his life. For his master’s degree he took a different course of study, concentrating on the humanists, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Erasmus. This time he progressed with no special delay, finishing the course in three years. Shortly after receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1515, he was elected to a Fellowship of Jesus College.
Sometime after Thomas finished his master’s degree, he married a woman named Joan. Because he married, he was forced to forfeit his fellowship, resulting in the loss of his residence at Jesus College. In order to support himself and his wife, he took a job at another college. When Joan died during her first childbirth, Jesus College showed its regard for Cranmer by reinstating his fellowship. He began studying theology and by 1520 he had been ordained a priest, the university already having named him as one of their preachers. He received his doctorate of divinity in 1526.
King Henry VIII’s first marriage had its origins in 1502 when his elder brother, Arthur, died. Their father, Henry VII then betrothed Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, to the future king. The betrothal immediately raised questions related to the biblical prohibition (see Leviticus 18 and 20) against marriage to a brother’s wife. The couple married in 1509 and after a series of miscarriages, a daughter, Mary, was born in 1516. By the 1520s, Henry still did not have a son to name as heir and he took this as a sure sign of God’s anger and made overtures to the Vatican about an annulment. The Vatican refused after Catherine’s relative, the King of Spain, sent his troops to Rome to “persuade” the Pope. Henry gave Cardinal Wolsey the task of prosecuting his case; Wolsey began by consulting university experts. From 1527, in addition to his duties as a Cambridge don, Thomas assisted with the annulment proceedings.
Cranmer was a staunch Reformer, and when he became Archbishop of Canterbury began the Reformation in England. After the death of Henry VIII, Thomas was the guardian of the new King, Edward, and the Reformation was in full swing in England, and the Book of Common Prayer was introduced, a work of liturgical genius. There was no uniformity in the liturgies of the day, and Thomas studied the many different liturgies in Europe and wrote the Book of Common Prayer, in the language of the people, who could participate in worship in a real way whereas they could not before. The liturgy, meaning “the work of the people,” once again allowed the people to worship God in a true communal fashion.
Thomas died in 1556 when Queen Mary I wanted Thomas to recant the Reformation. He refused and was burned at the stake.
Let us pray: Merciful God, through the work of Thomas Cranmer you renewed the worship of your Church by restoring the language of the people, and through his death you revealed your power in human weakness: Grant that by your grace we may always worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Tonight at St. Augustine’s at 6 pm the Lenten Series continues. We will have red beans and rice, chicken, potato salad, bread, but we need someone to bring a green salad.
Saturday, 24 March, at 11 am we will have our End of Life Issues seminar.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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