‘Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day
light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be
put out.’ These courageous words from the mouth of Bishop Latimer have
reverberated down the centuries, a clarion call of the Reformation and one
of the most famous statements ever spoken at an execution anywhere in the
world. They were uttered in a ditch outside the walls of Oxford in October
1555, 450 years ago. Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, two of the
heavy-weights of the English Reformation, had helped to transform the Church
of England from top to bottom according to biblical principles. Now Catholic
Queen Mary Tudor was on the throne and their reforming work was undone.
With Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, they were taken to Oxford in March 1554,
interrogated, condemned as heretics and excommunicated. In the late summer
of 1555 events took a new turn. A papal delegation arrived in Oxford and
condemned the prisoners over again at St Mary-the-Virgin Church. Cranmer’s
life would be spared a few months longer because, as Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Pope’s formal verdict was needed before his execution. But
Latimer and Ridley could be more easily dealt with. On October 16, Latimer
and Ridley were led to the place of execution in a ditch near Balliol
College, just outside the city walls (now Oxford’s Broad Street). At the
stake Ridley and Latimer joyfully embraced, having not met face to face
since their arrival in Oxford 18 months before. Ridley encouraged his fellow
martyr: “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of
the flame or else strengthen us to abide it.” Ridley kissed the stake and
the two men prayed together, kneeling side by side.
A large number of spectators gathered to witness the execution. Armed
soldiers were out in force because the authorities feared trouble from the
crowd. Dr Richard Smith, a local Oxford clergyman, preached for 15 minutes
from a makeshift pulpit on the predictable text: ‘If I yield my body to be
burned, but have not love, I gain nothing’ (1 Corinthians 13:3). The
preacher exhorted Latimer and Ridley to return to the Roman Catholic Church
and explained to the crowd that they were not martyrs but suicides. The
bishops were told they could only speak if it was to recant, but Ridley
replied: “So long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord
Christ and his truth. God’s will be done in me.” In a loud voice he shouted
out that he committed his cause to God.
Ridley’s brother-in-law, George Shipside, was allowed within the cordon
of guards to give a bag of gunpowder to the two men to shorten their
sufferings, which they accepted thankfully as a token of the mercy of God.
As the fire was lit, Latimer died swiftly and comparatively painlessly. He
held out his hands into the flames and was soon overcome by the smoke. Yet
Ridley suffered excruciating agony. As the flames began to rise, he called
out: “Into your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit.” But the fire on his side
of the stake burned slowly. The bundles of wood and reeds were packed so
tightly that the flames burned only his feet and legs, and he cried out: “I
cannot burn.”
Shipside ran forward and unwittingly made matters worse by piling on more
bundles of wood high up around Ridley’s face and head, which only deadened
the fire still further. The martyr’s legs were burned off, while above the
waist he was untouched. Still conscious, he shouted out, “For God’s sake,
let the fire come to me! I cannot burn! Lord, have mercy on me!” One of the
soldiers eventually pulled away a bundle of wood, allowing the flames to
rise. Ridley was able to swing himself forward, so that the fire reached the
bag of gunpowder around his neck. Archbishop Cranmer was forced to watch the
horrifying final moments of his brother bishops and his faith began to
waver, though he ultimately also gave his life for the gospel on the same
spot.
Yet the martyrdom of Latimer and Ridley had even greater and more
far-reaching consequences. By the grace of God, their violent execution did
more to promote the growth of biblical Christianity in England than all
their sermons and theological treatises put together. Their gospel witness
has lived on through four and a half centuries since. May the candle they
lit in that Oxford ditch never be put out!
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”
