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Martyrdoms in England – Part 5: This is the concluding segment of the barbarity witnessed in England in 14th through 16th century after the Roman Catholic Church become the dominant faith in the country. The soil of England was soaked with the blood of disciples of Jesus Christ during this period. Among those who testified to the resurrection of the Lord with their lives was Thomas Crowell, Earl of Essex. This distinguished politician, who proposed the legislation (Act of Supremacy) that in 1534 declared King Henry VIII to be Supreme Head of the Church of England, was executed by beheading on July 28, 1540.
His downfall came when he urged the King to marry Anne of Cleves to gain an alliance with her brother, a Protestant leader in Western Germany. Henry hated his fourth wife from the beginning, and the Protestant alliance was distasteful to him because he wanted to maintain the principles of Roman Catholicism.
Although Cromwell was made Earl of Essex and Lord Great Chamberlain in April 1540, his enemies persuaded king Henry in June that he (Cromwell) was a traitor to the mother church (Roman Catholicism) and the king. He was arrested on June 10, condemned without a hearing, and beheaded on July 28. Before the Catholics beheaded Cromwell, they treated him with utmost cruelty, but he submitted himself meekly to their axe.
Cromwell is ranked among important martyrs in England because he made concerted efforts to rid the country of Roman Catholicism and its influence. He did more for the Reformation in England than any other man, except Dr Thomas Cramer who also murdered by the so-called ‘mother church.’ His zeal for the true church earned him the wrath of the papists, who plotted against him and brought about his destruction.
About the same time, the Catholics arraigned three Christians, Dr Robert Barnes, Thomas Garnet, and William Jerome before the ecclesiastical court of the Bishop of London on charges of heresy. They were summarily condemned to be burnt at the stake. On July 30, 1540, the three men were chained together to a single stake. Dr Barnes was asked, either at his trial by the Bishop or at the stake by the Sheriff of London, for the reports differ, if the departed saints prayed for living humans.
Barnes replied, as so reported, “Throughout all Scripture we are not commanded to pray to any saints. Therefore I cannot preach to you that saints ought to be prayed to, for then I would preach to you a doctrine of my own head. If saints do pray for us, then I hope to pray for you within this half hour.” As the fire raged up around the three martyrs, they encouraged each other with unchanging courage that could only come from real faith in Jesus Christ.
Not long after this, a merchant named Thomas Sommers and three other men were arrested for reading some of Martin Luther’s books. Their punishment was to carry the books to a fire in the market centre at Cheapside and throw them into the fire. The other three men complied, but Thomas threw his books over the fire so that they were not burnt. For this, he was sent back to the Tower of London where he was stoned to death.
During this time, Dr Longland, the Bishop of Lincoln in Eastern England, raged so violently against heresy that he burnt at the stake, one Thomas Bainard for merely saying the Lord ’s Prayer in English. He also murdered James Moreton for reading James epistle in English. The Bishop then sent a priest, Anthony Parsons, another man named Eastwood, and one other to Windsor in South-Central England to be examined by the Bishop of Salisbury, a violent prosecutor of Christians. The Bishop wasted no time in their examinations and condemned them to death by burning at the stake.
When they were chained to the stake, Parsons asked for some water to drink, and when he received it he lifted the cup to his companions and said, “Cheer up my brothers, and lift up your hearts to God, for after this harsh breakfast we shall have a good dinner in the kingdom of Christ our Lord and Redeemer.” When Eastwood heard Parsons’ words, he lifted his eyes and hands toward heaven and asked the Lord to receive his spirit quickly.
The executioners had piled faggots and straw around the stakes, and Parsons pulled the straw to him and held it against his chest, and said to those who gathered to watch the burning, “This is God’s armour, and now I am a Christian soldier prepared for battle. I look for no mercy, but through the merits of Christ. He is my only Saviour, and I trust Him for my salvation.” The fires were then lit, and their bodies burnt, but nothing could harm their precious and immortal souls. Their faithfulness triumphed over cruelty, and their sufferings keep them ever in the hearts of those who love Jesus Christ and His church.
As I type this stories, I could not hold back the tears. Why did God not stop these innocent people from experiencing such barbarism? Why did He allow the Roman Catholic Church to wield such powers over the true church, the body of His Son Jesus Christ? We may never receive answers to these questions on this side of heaven. One thing is clear – the wicked shall not go unpunished (Proverbs 11:21).