Thomas Cranmer

born July 2, 1489 in Lincolnshire
died (executed by burning) March 21, 1556 in Oxford

Ordained priest 1523
Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533-1556 under Henry VIII
Compiler of First Book of Common Prayer 1549 under Edward VI

Thomas Cranmer was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to lead the Church after its separation from Rome and the inauguration of the English Reformation.

In 1544 he completed the first vernacular service for the newly independent Church of England, The Exhortation and Litany. He proceeded from that point to develop the first Book of Common Prayer, which was authorized and published in 1549.

During Henry VIII's reign, Cranmer's reforms were mild, given Henry VIII's theological conservatism and dislike of Lutheranism. During the reign of Edward VI, Cranmer made more sweeping changes, publishing the first Book of Common Prayer. Upon Edward's death in 1553, however, Cranmer was in jeopardy as the succession to the throne was unsettled and he had been excommunicated by the Roman Church. Cranmer supported the abortive ascension of Lady Jane Grey, but she was proclaimed queen for only 9 days before the Privy Council switched loyalty and backed Mary I. After Mary I, an ardent Roman Catholic, ascended to the throne in 1553, Cranmer was arrested and executed by burning. Before his execution, he was pressured into signing a recantation. He later recanted the recantation, and when he was burned at the stake, allegedly first held into the flames the hand that had signed the recantation.

Cranmer's library at Croydon Palace held numerous text that he used in formulating the first Book of Common Prayer, but it was sold off piecemeal at his death, so we will never know exactly what it contained.

For more information, see:
The BBC biographical entry of Thomas Cranmer
My Episcopal Cafe's Speaking to the Soul meditation on Cranmer, March 21, 2015

1534 Act of Supremacy

A law passed in 1534 with the support of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell that acknowledged the principle of Royal Supremacy, making Henry VIII the supreme head of the Church of England and granting him the authority to nominate all bishops and control all Church property within the boundaries of the Church of England. In effect, this declared the Ecclesia Anglicana, or English Church, to be a national church separate from the primacy of Rome. This Act is commonly dated as the beginning of the English Reformation.

Ten Articles

Compiled by Archbishop Cranmer at the insistence of King Henry VIII, and approved by convocation in 1536, this was a list of 10 statements regarding doctrines and ceremonies of the newly independent Church of England.

The Institution of a Christian Man, otherwise known as “the Bishop’s Book,” expanded upon these articles.

Articles related to doctrines: 

1. That Holy Scriptures and the three Creeds are the basis and summary of a true Christian faith.
2. That baptism conveys remission of sins and the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, and is absolutely necessary as well for children as adults.
3. That penance consists of contrition, confession, and reformation, and is necessary to salvation.
4. That the body and blood of Christ are really present in the elements of the eucharist.
5. That justification is remission of sin and reconciliation to God by the merits of Christ; but good works are necessary.

Articles related to ceremonies:

1. That images are useful as remembrancers, but are not objects of worship.
2. That saints are to be honored as examples of life, and as furthering our prayers.
3. That saints may be invoked as intercessors, and their holydays observed.
4. That ceremonies are to be observed for the sake of their mystical signification, and as conducive to devotion.
5. That prayers for the dead are good and useful, but the efficacy of papal pardon, and of soul-masses offered at certain localities, is negatived.

For more information, see:
The Ten Articles, from the Luminarium Project

Great Bible

An English version of the Bible, authorized by Thomas Cromwell in the name of Henry VIII, published in 1538 and translated by Miles Coverdale, whose version of the psalms are still used in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.