Ian Dosher
Professor File
World Religions
Thomas Cranmer: The ArchBishop of Canterbury
Early Life
Thomas Cranmer was born July 2, 1489, in Aslacton, Nottinghamshire, England and was the second son of his father Thomas Cranmer and his mother Agnes. His father was, according to the article called “Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury” by Geoffrey R. Elton on “ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA”, “the lowest rank of the gentry; at any rate, he had only enough property to endow his eldest son, John, so that Thomas and his younger brother were destined for the church.” By church, this meant the Catholic Church, which at the time was the official religion of the Kingdom of England. After his time in the church, and dealing with a “marvellous severe and cruel schoolmaster,” he went on to the Cambridge in 1503 and would later become appointed to the fellowship at Jesus College in 1510 and 1511. But despite this, he was soon forced to leave his position due to the fact he married the relative of the landlady on the nearby Dolphin Inn. His wife would later die in Childbirth, and he returned to his fellowship with the permission of the Jesus College. “From about 1520 he belonged to a group of scholars who met regularly to discuss the theological problems raised by Martin Luther’s revolt; known to be inclined to the new way of thinking, they were dubbed “Little Germany.”” This came from Encyclopedia Britanica, as unlike most most of the people of his time as a believer in protestant ideals, he was purely academic. On the Wikipedia Article “Thomas Cranmer” it is stated, “In the summer of 1529, Cranmer stayed with relatives in Waltham Holy Cross to avoid an outbreak of the plague in Cambridge. Two of his Cambridge associates, Stephen Gardiner and Edward Foxe, joined him. The three discussed the annulment issue and Cranmer suggested putting aside the legal case in Rome in favour of a general canvassing of opinions from university theologians throughout Europe. Henry showed much interest in the idea when Gardiner and Foxe presented him this plan. It is not known whether the king or his new Lord Chancellor, Thomas More, explicitly approved the plan. Eventually it was implemented and Cranmer was requested to join the royal team in Rome to gather opinions from the universities.” This was the unusual part of the Divorce between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, the fact that they never went through with the Pope in Rome and instead; decided to get the opinions of Universities throughout Europe. When they had found the opinions of these people, they were collected into the Collectanea satis copiosa, which talked about Henry VIII being independent of the Pope in Rome.
Archbishop of Canterbury (1533-1555)
In the Article THOMAS CRANMER, RELUCTANT MARTYR, it is stated, “Parliament passed laws declaring the Church of England independent of Rome, making the King instead of the Pope, its head.” Then after this, the then archbishop Thomas Cranmer nullified the Marriage of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VII. “Cranmer had no political ambitions. Even as Archbishop, he spent three quarters of his working day in quiet study and found time in the remainder for sport.” His time as Archbishop was quite, as
stated he spent his time being much more of a scholar than a religious man. He also helped make the Church of England by writing the Anglican Prayer Book (1549), “He was the leader in moderate doctrinal reform as expressed in the Ten Articles of 1536 and the Bishops' Book of 1537. Under King Edward VI (1547-1553), he continued as a leader of the Reformation.” His time as a leading voice in the reformation had also brought him some controversy, “The 1549 edition was pretty conservative, hoping not to upset the mass of people who were attached to Catholic traditions too much. But for this, it drew widespread criticism from Protestants, and so in 1552 Cranmer produced a revised prayer book, which was more emphatically Protestant.”
Trail, Recantations, and Death (1553-1556)
Even though Thomas Cranmer had been the Archbishop for quite some time, his fall came when Mary I took the throne. Mary was fiercely loyal catholic and loyal to the pope and backed toward the original catholic ideals in England. “She was a fervent Catholic, and blamed all that had happened on Protestantism in general and Cranmer in particular. Mary set about restoring Roman Catholicism. When she replaced the English Prayer Book with the old Latin Mass, Cranmer protested and was arrested.” Once he was arrested, he was forced to recant his Protestant leanings and was held in jail. “Late in that year the heresy laws were revived, and in September 1555, after enfeebling imprisonment, Cranmer was subjected to a long trial in which he stoutly defended himself against the charge of having unjustifiably departed from his own earlier position on the sacraments and the papacy.” Despite him being arrested, his voice could not be silenced by the newly reborn catholic authorities in England, and he was then forced to give a speech of his recantations in a church, which he did do. But he wrote a second speech where he denounced his recantations and denounced catholicism. “At the pulpit on the day of his execution, he opened with a prayer, and an exhortation to obey the king and queen, but he ended his sermon totally unexpectedly, deviating from the prepared script. He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his hand since his degradation and as such he stated his hand would
be punished by being burnt first. He then said, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." Upon this he was dragged out of the church and burnt at the stake, which Thomas putting his hand in the fire, his punishing of it, and his dying words were, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit …; I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."
Legacy
Although he was killed for heresy, “Bloody Mary” never saw what she did and the death of Cranmer brought about his Martyrdom to the English Protestants. His outreach can still be seen today, in the modern day Anglican Church of England, which he helped build.
Citations:
“Cranmer, Thomas.” Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church, 7 Mar. 2013, www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/cranmer-thomas
Elton, Geoffrey R. “Thomas Cranmer.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 June 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Cranmer-archbishop-of-Canterbury
“Thomas Cranmer, Reluctant Martyr.” Christianity, Christianity, 28 Apr. 2010, www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/thomas-cranmer-reluctant-martyr-11629993.html
“Thomas Cranmer.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cranmer.