Bishop Latimer

Bishop Hugh Latimer is one of the three men whose lives and witness are commemorated on the Martyrs' Memorial in Oxford. As he and his colleague Nicholas Ridley were tied to a stake and about to be burned to death for their faith, Latimer leaned over and said, "Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, play the man, we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust it shall never be put out." A man who says that is a man we should know.

Latimer was born sometime in the 1480s (we don't know which year for sure). He came from a family of wealthy farmers. In the first decade of the 1500s, he was a student at Cambridge; he earned a bachelor's degree in 1510 and stayed on for a master's degree. He was appointed a chaplain and continued to be a student. Eventually, he earned what we would consider today a master of divinity.

Around 1524, he wrote a thesis in which he critiqued the teachings of Martin Luther. In the audience as he defended his thesis at Cambridge was another Cambridge scholar named Thomas Bilney. Bilney, however, was on the opposite side from Latimer—he actually thought that Luther's ideas were right. So, he approached Latimer and the two engaged in conversation; soon, a friendship developed. Over time, Bilney was used by God to lead Latimer to see that the Reformers were not wrong but in fact were right. And they were the ones who had the right take on Scripture.

Bilney and Latimer and a few others would gather at the White Horse Inn to talk about Luther's ideas. Because they wanted to bring the Reformation from Germany to England, their gathering place became known as "Little Germany." The White Horse Inn no longer stands, but at the time it was right on what is now the campus of King's College, Cambridge. At the White Horse Inn, these young Cambridge scholars who were committed to the principles of the Reformation worked out what would come to be the plan for bringing the Reformation to England.

Latimer quickly moved up the ranks as a bishop in the Church of England, and throughout the reign of Henry VIII, he moved in and out of favor. When Henry died, he was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. Under Edward, the Reformation flourished and so did Hugh Latimer. He was appointed Edward's court chaplain and spent most of his time in London, not only being involved in the church there but also acting as one of Edward's counselors.

Unfortunately, Edward, who had been sickly even when he came to the throne, died as a young man. The great advance of the Reformation was thrown into reverse when Mary I, Edward's half-sister, ascended the throne in 1553. Mary was Catholic to the core, and she began to fiercely persecute Protestants. In 1554, Latimer was arrested, and in 1555, he was burned at the stake.

Right after his sins were pronounced at his trial, before the court of civil and ecclesiastical officials, Latimer said, "I thank God most heartily that he hath prolonged my life to this end that I may in this case glorify God by this kind of death."