Page 18 - Microsoft Word - Kwks. Cover Page

3. Queen Mary’s reigned after Henry V111 and, as a Catholic, she tried to undo the
Protestant Reformation of Henry V111. Protestants were given a choice as to
whether they returned to the Catholic faith or were burned at the stake. The first

martyr was John Rogers, editor of the Protestant Bible. Later the Oxford martyrs
were brought to Oxford in 1554 and imprisoned until they could be tried. They were:
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 Hugh Latimer

 Nicholas Ridley
 Thomas Cranmer

In 1555 Ridley and Latimer were burned in front of Balliol College in Oxford. Latimer

called out, “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 will never be put out.”

Cranmer feared burning and turned against his beliefs but when asked to publicly

confess in St Mary’s Church he declared his faith as a Protestant. He said, “I
renounce and refuse, as things written with my hand, contrary to the truth which I
thought in my heart, and written for fear of death and to save my life. And forasmuch
as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart …. when I come to fire it shall first
be burned.”

A small brass cross in the middle of Broad Street in Oxford marks the site of the
martyrs’ death. In St Giles, Oxford, there is a large monument commemorating their

faith. 286 Protestants were burned during Mary’s reign.

4. Let the children complete the worksheet(s). Encourage the children to visit the
monument when they are in Oxford.

5. End by praying for Christians across the world who are still suffering for their faith
in Christ.

Learning for Life (Fulfilment)

1. The children will have seen the high price martyrs have paid for their faith.

2. They will have gained factual knowledge about the English Reformation.

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