Thomas Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury during the volatile years of the English Reformation. Educated at Cambridge, he became convinced that the Catholic Church needed reform. He earned the trust of King Henry VIII and was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. In this significant office, Cranmer worked carefully within the drama of the royal court to nudge the Church of England toward independence from Rome. Cranmer compiled the Book of Common Prayer and influenced the mass production of it and English Bibles. The throne of England returned to Roman Catholicism with the ascension of Mary I. Queen Mary (nicknamed “Bloody Mary”) ordered the execution of those complicit in the English Reformation. In fear for his life, Cranmer renounced Protestantism, but his friends, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, chose to burn rather than deny their beliefs. Witnessing their courage, Cranmer regained his conviction and renounced his renunciation. Cranmer was tied to a stake and as the flames leapt around him, he placed his right hand into the fire, declaring that his “unworthy hand” that had signed his renunciation would burn first. Within 3 years of Cranmer’s death, the Church of England returned to Protestantism and Cranmer’s work became consequential in shaping the prayers and worship of all English language Christianity.
O God, our heavenly Father, you raised up your faithful servant Thomas Cranmer to be a Bishop and pastor in your Church and to feed your flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister in your household as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.