A Candle that Shall Never be Put Out

On October 16, 1555, Queen Mary reigned in England. She had quickly and contentiously risen to power two years prior after deposing Lady Jane Grey. The previous decades had produced political and religious tumult in England, a constant flip-flopping from Roman Catholicism to a new kind of Protestantism codified by Henry VIII and overseen by Thomas Cranmer. Mary’s policy was to return England to a Roman Catholic state. Quickly into her reign, Mary began to overturn the laws that protected free Protestant worship. At the reenactment of the Heresy Act, many Protestant leaders fled England. However, many church leaders stayed, and as a result were imprisoned.

Beginning in early 1555, Queen ‘Bloody’ Mary as she is now known, oversaw the execution of several prominent Protestants. By October, two church leaders had been arrested in Oxford: Bishop of Worcester Hugh Latimer (1487-1555) and Bishop of London and Westminster Nicholas Ridley (1500-1555). Latimer and Ridley had both played instrumental roles in the early Protestant movement in England, and both worked alongside Thomas Cranmer to formulate the theological ideals of what became the Anglican Church in England. 

Ridley and Latimer were tried together in 1555 on heresy charges. Both men had publicly refused to accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation teaches that during the mass when the bread and wine are blessed by the priest, those elements turn into the physical and actual body and blood of Christ respectively. It’s not in the scope of this post to dissect the errors of transubstantiation. In short, transubstantiation presents a ‘re-sacrifice’ of Christ, as the priest is breaking the body (bread) and spilling of blood (wine) in the Eucharist service. Such a ‘re-presentation’ is completely unwarranted and unnecessary, and in fact, is a direct contradiction to Scripture (see Hebrews 10:10 and Hebrews 7:27). Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was sufficient once for all the saints.

Because of their unapologetic stand for biblical doctrine and practice and Mary’s intransigence, Latimer and Ridley were condemned to execution by burning at the stake. On October 16, 1555, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were tied together at the stake, back-to-back, and a fire was lit beneath them. As the flames grew and engulfed the men, Hugh Latimer is recorded as saying the following quote: 

“Be of good comfort, and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”

These two great men stood for biblical doctrine and it landed them at the stake. However, their lives were precious to God and their stand was completely warranted and worth it. Latimer and Ridley could not recant their beliefs, because their beliefs were founded upon the Word of God. In the words of Martin Luther, “[they were] bound by the Scriptures…and [their] conscience is captive to the Word of God.” The world may label Latimer and Ridley as foolish to be willing to be burned at the stake for the sake of a doctrinal matter. However, their lives had been changed by the sacrifice of Christ, and the very gospel was at stake. These two men were willing to endure anything for the sake of Christ and even gave their lives as martyrs to display the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice once for all.

Biblical doctrine is a candle, and may it grow ever stronger. And I pray that God will always raise up faithful men and women to stand for what He has revealed to be correct in His word, no matter the cost. God has promised that his church will endure, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. The church must continue to raise up disciples like Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, who will stand for biblical doctrine. Psalm 116:15 teaches that the death of the saints is precious in the sight of the Lord, and I believe that is true of Latimer and Ridley. They faithfully followed Christ to the bitter end and received their reward.

After their death, the truths of Protestant theology continued to spread, and to this day, the candle has not been put out.

So while Mary reigned in England on October 16, 1555, God Almighty was reigning on the heavenly throne. And no power of man nor scheme of hell could thwart His plans. Mary was the Queen of England but she was not sovereign. God was and is and will continue to be on the throne forevermore, and He will preserve His church, His people, and His Word.