Martyrdom of Dr Rowland Taylor (1555)

Martyrdom of Dr Rowland Taylor (1555): Taylor was born in 1576 in Richmond, Yorkshire, England, where his father was closely associated with anti-Roman Catholic elements, especially the Puritans. A follower of William Perkins, an influential theologian, Taylor began preaching at age 21 and when about 25 years old, he preached a sermon at St Paul’s Cross – before Queen Elizabeth. He also held strong anti-Catholic views.

In a sermon delivered at St. Mary’s, Cambridge, in 1608, Taylor denounced Archbishop Richard Bancroft’s severe attitude towards Puritans. He was then silenced by Samuel Harsnet, Archbishop of York and threatened with degradation. There began a period of 17 years, in which Taylor had no benefice.

However, he had patrons, and is known to have been chaplain to Edward Conway, English soldier and statesman. Taylor lived in Watford in 1612, before moving to Reading where his brother, Theophilus Taylor was the minister of St Lawrence Church from 1618-1640.

  At Reading, young preachers gathered round Taylor, among them William Jemmat who later edited his works. Thereafter, Taylor obtained his Doctor of Divinity from Cambridge in 1630. He was later assigned to the church at Hadley, Suffolk as parish priest. Under his leadership, the Gospel of Christ had great success and took such root that many men and women in the parish were knowledgeable about Scriptures. Some could even be found who had often read the entire Bible, could recite some of Paul’s epistles by heart, and could give a godly Scriptural reply in any controversy.

Taylor was a mild-mannered person, humble and without pride. None in his parish was so poor that he or she could not approach him as a child to a father, and none was so rich that he could not rebuke him or her when they sinned. His preaching was forceful, firm, and true to the word of God.

He thrived in his stewardship throughout the reign of Edward VI. But when Edward died in 1553, his half-sister, Mary succeeded him to the throne of England. The woman later called “Bloody Mary,” a Catholic, persecuted true believers of Jesus Christ, killing many of them. Taylor did not escape this papist violence.

 In the beginning of this rage of the Antichrist, two of Taylor’s parishioners, an attorney named Foster and a tradesman, Clerk, hired John Averth, parson of Aldman and a Catholic, to hold mass at Hadley’s parish on the Monday before Easter. They obtained entrance to the church building and secretly built up their altar with all its idolatries. Some faithful parishioners later destroyed the altar. The next day, the group mobilised some armed men and rebuilt the altar where they conducted their mass.

Taylor, who was attracted to the noise confronted Averth and said, “Who made you so bold as to enter this church of Christ and profane and defile it with this abominable idolatry?” With that, Foster raged against Taylor and said, “You traitor! What are you doing here disturbing the Queen’s proceedings?”

Taylor replied, “I am no traitor, but I am the shepherd that God, my Lord Christ has appointed to feed this flock. Therefore I have good authority to be here, and I command you, in the name of God, to get away from this place, and not dare to poison Christ’s flock.” Then, after another exchange of words, the armed group forced Taylor out the building and continued with their popish mass.

Some days later, Foster and Clerk wrote a letter to Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor, complaining about Taylor. The Bishop responded by commanding Taylor to appear before him on a certain date. When Taylor’s friends heard about this, they were extremely grieved for they knew what the result would be.

So they advised him to flee the country. But he said to them, “I most heartily thank you for so tenderly caring for me. And although I know that I can look for neither justice not truth at the hands of my adversaries, I know that my cause is so good and righteous, and the truth so strong on my side, that by God’s grace I will go and appear before them and resist to their faces their false doings.”

 Shortly after, Taylor presented himself to Gardiner. The meeting started on an unpleasant note as the Bishop reviled Taylor, calling him an unprincipled person, a traitor and heretic. Taylor listened patiently and then said, “My lord, I am neither a traitor nor heretic, but a true subject and a faithful Christian man. I have come here as you commanded me, so that I might learn the reason why your lordship sent for me.” The Bishop replied, “Have you come, you villain? Have you no shame that you dare to look me in the face? Do you not know who I am?

 “Yes,” said Taylor, “I know who you are. You are Dr Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and lord Chancellor, and yet a mortal man, I think. But if I should be afraid of your lordly looks, why are you not afraid of God, the Lord of us all?

How dare you not be ashamed to look any Christian man in the face, seeing you have forsaken the truth, denied our Saviour Christ and His word, and acted contrary to your oath and the things you wrote? How will you look when you appear before the judgment seat of Christ and answer to that oath,  that you made first to King Henry the VIII, who is well remembered, and afterward to his son, King Henry the VI?

 The Bishop answered, “Tut-tut, that was Herod’s oath to Salome: unlawful, and so worthy to be broken. I have done well in breaking it, and I thank God I have come home to our mother the Catholic Church of Rome, and that is what I wish to do.”

Taylor answered, “Should I forsake the true Church of Christ, which is founded upon the true foundation of the apostles and prophets, to approve those lies, errors, superstitions, and idolatries that the popes and their company on this day, so blasphemously approve?

No. God forbid. Let the pope and his followers return to our Saviour and His word, throw out of the church the abominable idolatries that he maintains, and then Christian men will return to him. You wrote truthfully against him yourself, and were sworn against him.”

“I told you,” said the Bishop, “it was as Herod’s oath, unlawful, and so should be broken and not kept. Our holy father, the pope, has released me from it.”

 Taylor replied, “But you shall not be discharged before Christ, who doubtless will require your oath to be kept, and from whose obedience no man can pardon you, neither the pope nor any of his followers.”

 After exhausting his energy trying to cow Taylor into submission, the Bishop committed him to Clink Prison from where he was tried by a group of Catholic heretics led by Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London. Thereafter, he was moved to Woolsack, then to Brentwood en route to Hadley.

When they entourage came within two miles of Hadley, Taylor asked if he could get off his horse, and when permission was given, he leaped down and danced around in great joy. “Why, master doctor,” the Sheriff of Suffolk said, “What are you doing, are you all right?” Taylor answered, “Well, God be praised, good master Sheriff, never better, for now I know I am almost home. I haven’t more than a few steps to go over, and I am right at my Father’s house.”

When they arrived at Hadley, men, women and children turned out in large numbers, crying over the suffering and loss of their faithful shepherd. Addressing the crowd, Taylor said, “I have preached to you God’s word and truth, and have come here this day to seal it with my blood.” From there, the heretics took Taylor to Aldham Common and burnt at the stake for refusing to deny Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

Before they lit the fire, he lifted both hands and said, “Merciful Father of heaven, for Jesus Christ my Savour’s sake, receive my soul into Thy hands.” Then he stood still in the fire without crying or howling, with his hands folded together before him, until one of the Catholic heretics, Mulleine Soyce struck him on the head with a halberd and split his head open so that his brains fell out and his corpse collapsed into the fire.

I need someone to explain to me how these Catholic heretics were different from the Islamic terrorists of the 21^st century. I believe that both groups belong to satan, the founder of all dead religions. Anyone who still embraces the Roman Catholic Church after reading stories like this has a death wish and has chosen to spend eternity in the lake of fire with satan.

****Culled from The New Foxes Book of Martyrs 2001 by John Foxe, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Gainesville, Florida 32614, USA.