Martyrs and witnesses

This week the Church remembers several important ‘martyrs’ amongst them Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer. They were both Bishops, important figures in the English reformation and ultimately victims of its tumultuous politics.

Their legacy to the English Church is significant. Ridley was Chaplain to Cranmer when he was Archbishop of Canterbury and had an important influence on the Book of Common Prayer. Meanwhile, Latimer was a great preacher and eventually became Bishop of Worcester.

Eventually, when Mary Tudor came to the throne and restored Roman Catholicism, both Ridley and Latimer were burned at the stake in Oxford. According to tradition the older Latimer cried out to Ridley as the flames grew higher, “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.” Over four hundred years on, it seems his final wish was granted.

Today, we understand martyrs to be those who have died for their faith or for a cause. Interestingly, the ancient Greek word, ‘martyros’ refers to ‘a witness’. It was only later within the life of the persecuted early Church that it became clear that to be such a witness sometimes called for the ultimate sacrifice.

St. Paul tells us that we must all stand ready to give an account of what he describes as “the hope that lies within”. So whilst none of us are likely to be martyrs, all of us are called to be witnesses.