Wherefore
let every one that desires salvation, diligently take heed of him and
his followers, no otherwise than Satan himself.
LATIMER
ON CHRISTIAN LOVE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Hugh Latimer, reformer and martyr, was born in Leicestershire, England,
in 1485, or two years later than Luther. On completing an education at
Cambridge, he took holy orders and preached strenuously in favor of the
Lutheran views. As a profound canonist, he was placed on the commission
appointed to decide on the legality of Henry VII's marriage with
Katharine of Aragon. His decision in favor of Henry gained him a royal
chaplaincy and a living.
Appointed Bishop of Worcester in 1535, he preached boldly the reformed
doctrines, but lost favor at court, and when Gardiner and Bonner pushed
a reactionary movement to the front, he retired from his see (1539).
Latimer lived in peaceful retirement under Edward VI, but under Mary he,
with other reformers, was arrested and thrown into the Tower. Brought to
Oxford for examination, he refused to recant, and was confined for a
year in the common prison, and on October 16, 1555, put to death by
fire, along with Ridley, at a place opposite Balliol College, where the
Martyr's Memorial was subsequently erected.
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