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The Final Hours of Bishops Latimer and Ridley
"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." These courageous words from the mouth of Bishop Latimer have reverberated down the centuries, a clarion call of the Reformation and one of the most famous statements ever spoken at an execution anywhere in the world. They were uttered in a ditch outside the walls of Oxford in October 1555, 450 years ago. Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, two of the heavyweights of the English Reformation, had helped to transform the Church of England from top to bottom according to biblical principles. But now Queen Mary Tudor was on the throne and their reforming work was undone.
With Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, they were taken to Oxford in March 1554, interrogated, condemned as heretics and excommunicated. In the late summer of 1555 events took a new turn. A papal delegation arrived in Oxford and condemned the prisoners over again at St Mary-the-Virgin Church. Cranmer’s life would be spared a few months longer because, as Archbishop of Canterbury, the Pope’s formal verdict was needed before his execution. But Latimer and Ridley could be more easily dealt with. On October 16, Latimer and Ridley were led to the place of execution in a ditch near Balliol College, just outside the city walls (now Oxford’s Broad Street). At the stake Ridley and Latimer joyfully embraced, having not met face to face since their arrival in Oxford 18 months before. Ridley encouraged his fellow martyr: "Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame or else strengthen us to abide it." Ridley kissed the stake and the two men prayed together, kneeling side by side.
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