Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, is executed
March 21, 1556. By Jesús Vico and Beatriz Camino.
| On this day in 1556, Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556), was burned at the stake after being accused of heresy by Queen Mary I. He was the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and an advisor to King Henry VIII and Edward VI. He also played a major role during the English Reformation by establishing the basic structures of the Church of England. Early years and entry into royal service Thomas Cranmer was born in 1489 in Nottinghamshire into a family who was minor gentry. As his parents didn’t own enough land to give to all their children, Thomas joined the clergy. He then went on to Cambridge and joined a fellowship at Jesus College in 1510. However, he lost it after he married the daughter of the keeper of a local tavern. After his wife passed away in childbirth he was reaccepted by the college and focused on his studies. He entered the church in 1523 and became an outstanding theologian. Cranmer’s entry into royal services took place in 1529 when King Henry VIII ordered him to write a propaganda treatise in order to facilitate his divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. After it was finished, Cranmer travelled to Italy to defend its argument before the Pope in 1530. Even though the discussion did not lead to any resolution on the matter, he was appointed grand penitentiary of England. Two years later, he served as an ambassador to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Germany with the aim of becoming closer to the Lutheran princes. During this time, he made his first contact with Continental Reformers in Switzerland and married the niece of one of their leaders in spite of his priest’s orders. Archbishop of Canterbury In 1533, Cranmer was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry VIII. Right after it, he proceeded to declare the King’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon void and married him to Anne Boleyn, who was already pregnant. During these first years, he started to introduce small reforms in the Church of England. He began to drift slowly in the direction of Protestantism and abandoned the traditional Roman Catholic belief in transubstantiation. Moreover, he showed his support for the translation of the Bible into English, which was made compulsory in the parishes in 1538, and published the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany. After King Edward VI ascended to the throne following King Henry’s death, Cranmer was able to take full control of the Reformation of the Church. He wrote a complete liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer, and introduced several changes in the areas regarding the Eucharist, clerical celibacy and the use of images in places of worship. Trial for heresy and execution When King Edward passed away, the Archbishop showed his support for Lady Jane Grey as successor following the King’s wishes. Even though Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland, she was deposed nine days later and succeeded by the Roman Catholic Mary I. Cranmer was then accused of treason and imprisoned, thus putting a stop to the Reformation. He was then forced to sign a recantation several times to discourage his followers. Despite this, he was sentenced to be burnt at the stake in 1556. Before he died, he disavowed his recantation and stuck first his right hand, with which he had signed the document, into the fire. The Archbishop was later declared a martyr and his death is narrated in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Throughout the centuries, his legacy has lived on within the English Church through the Book of Common Prayer, which is still considered one of the most important works of the Anglican Church. |
When Isaac was born in 1674, his father was in jail for his approval of Nonconformist thought. Although young Isaac had a great deal of respect for his father’s convictions, he often thought of his mother’s days of nursing her children at the entrance to the jail. The boy Isaac showed his brilliance at a very young age. He learned Latin by age four, Greek at age nine, French at eleven, and Hebrew at thirteen. Many of the well-to-do citizens offered to educate him at Oxford or Cambridge, which would have prepared him for the Anglican ministry. Isaac would have none of it and at age sixteen traveled to London to continue his education at a prominent Nonconformist academy. After graduation in 1694, he spent two years at home where he began his hymn writing.
His most popular hymns are “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” and “Joy to the World!” Matthew Arnold, a nineteenth-century author, said, “’When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’ is the best hymn in the English language.” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” has been given the title of England’s second national anthem and “Joy to the World” stands at the top of Christmas hymns.
In 1705, Watts published his first volume of original hymns and sacred poems. His next hymnal was Hymns and Spiritual Songs and was published in 1707. Many of the Dissenters did not approve of the hymnal. They believed only Psalms and not hymns should be sung in church. This led Watts to adapt the Psalms to Christian worship services. It was called The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. It was his goal to give the Psalms a New Testament meaning and mode. Watts clarified his method with these words “Where the Psalmist describes religion by the fear of God, I have often joined faith and love to it. Where he speaks of the pardon of sin through the mercies of God, I have added the merits of a Savior. Where he talks of sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God…Where he promises abundance of wealth, honor, and long life, I have changed some of these typical blessings for grace, glory, and life eternal, which are brought to light by the gospel, and promised in the New Testament.”
With Watts’ health failing, he moved to the estate of the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas and Lady Abney, to recuperate. His plans were to stay only a few weeks but spent the next thirty-six years as a guest there.
It is interesting to note that Watts never married. His sickness and unpleasant appearance caused his personal life to suffer. He was five feet tall, pale, skinny, and he had an oversized head. All of the pictures of him show him in a large gown with large folds. This is probably an effort by the artists to downplay his less than pleasing appearance. Elizabeth Singer, an avid reader of his book Hymns and Spiritual Songs thought Isaac Watts was her soulmate even though she only knew him through his writings. A meeting was arranged. When she saw his appearance, she refused his marriage proposal. This was as close as he ever came to being married.
Lowell Mason, composer of “Joy to the World, “was born and raised in Medfield, Massachusetts. As an adult, he worked in a dry goods store and a bank in Savannah, Georgia. His strong interest in music led him to study with Frederick L. Abel and write his own pieces. Later, as music leader at the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, he led the church to set up the first Sunday School for Afro-American children in the United States.
In the last part of his life, he was the music director of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Here he changed American church music from professional choirs and orchestras to congregational singing and organ music.
first four notes of “Lift Up Your Heads” from Handel’s Messiah and the middle section of the carol (“and heaven and nature sing”), which can also be located in Messiah in the introduction of “Comfort Ye My People.”
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Even Steven 