Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thoma Cramner: 22 March, tranferred from Sunday
I apologise that I have not had a chance to write about Thomas. You can read some about him at the following link:
My object here is to present the lives of Saints from the Bible, persons whose lives show Christian virtues, and most of all people who were important in the life and development of the Christian Church. Thomas Cranmer was such a person. It was he who helped Henry the VIII tale the church of England from beneath the jurisdiction of Rome. More importantly, he was a wonderful translator who took some of the best of the best in liturgical developments of his time and turned it into the 1549 and 1552 Books of Common Prayer. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer was little changed from the 1552 Book up until recently the prayer book used officially in the Church of England, and until recently the inspiration for the prayer books used by the various churches of the Anglican Communion up until today. Parts of this book can also be found in use by many other denominations to this day in English.
Interestingly enough, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is not only important in its religious influence, but in its effect on the English language. An amazing number of expressions used in the English language even today go back to the King James Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and Shakespeare.
Towards the end of his life, Cranmer had troubles making up his mind. He believe in the divine right of kings, and while King Henry VII and Edward VI ruled there was no problem. He tried to submit to Queen Mary, but tore up the documents several times. The last time he signed the document recanting the Protestant faith but he recanted just before being burned at the stake.