Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533, Cranmer was instrumental in setting down some of the most influential documents in reforming the Church of England during the reigns of King Henry VIII and Edward VI.
A graduate and then a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, Thomas Cranmer had become an anti-papist after being influenced by Lutheranism at the university. He first came to Henry VIII's notice in 1529, when the king was trying, without much progress, to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Cranmer had suggested appealing directly to the scholars and universities of Europe, rather than to the pope, to which Henry was reported to have said, "I think the cleric had the sow by the right ear." Thereafter, Cranmer was appointed Henry's ambassador for that purpose. Though the venture was not successful—most of the universities came out in favour of Catherine—Cranmer secretly married the niece of the Lutheran Reformer, Osiander, while in Germany.
On William Warham's death in 1532, the pope, on Henry VIII's recommendation, appointed Cranmer archbishop of Canterbury. Before he swore the oath of royalty to Rome, however, Cranmer declared that his only duty was to God and the king. Once consecrated, Cranmer began the process of legitimizing Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn. This was followed by the Act of Succession and Act of Supremacy by which Henry VIII became "the Supreme Head of the Church and Clergy of England." The break with Rome had been accomplished.
In the following years until the death of Edward VI in July 1553, Cranmer produced a number of important documents that would reform and begin to define the doctrine and liturgy of the Church of England in ways that are still visible. These include the first vernacular service, the Book of Common Prayer, a major work on the Eucharist, a book of homilies, as well as a confession of faith in forty-two articles.
Thomas Cranmer became a victim of Queen Mary's zeal to restore the English church to Roman Catholicism. He was first found guilty of treason, though the death sentence was never carried out. Two years later, aged 67, he was found guilty of heresy, and burned at the stake in Oxford on 21 March 1556.
Further Reading:
Despite his statue, the definitive biography of Archbishop Cranmer is yet to be written, and much about his life and beliefs remains uncertain and/or debated. Two of the best and accessible works include:
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer: A Life. Yale University Press, 2017.(Read two reviews of this book.)
Susan Wabuda, Thomas Cranmar. London: Routledge, 2017. (You can read this—if you are not already a subscriber—on a free trial on Perlego.
Print Resources:
Christian History Issue 48 (1995). Christian History Institute. This issue is devoted to Cranmer.
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Roger Beckwith, "Thomas Cramner After Five Hundred Years," Churchman 104.1 (Spring 1990): 6-19.
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Christian History Issue 48: Thomas Cranmer & the English Reformation.
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Samuel Leuenberger, "Archbishp Cramner's Immortal Bequest: The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England: An Evangelical Liturgy ," Churchman 106.1 (Spring 1992): 20-33.
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D.A. Scales, "Thomas Cramner's 'True and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament," Churchman 104.2 (Summer 1990): 102-131. Read this article first if you are going to read Darch below.
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John Darch, "Sixteenth Century Progressive and Twentieth Century Conservative? Relections on Cramner and the Eucharist ," Churchman 106.1 (Spring 1992): 65-71.
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Media Resources:
Lineage, "Thomas Cranmer: Reformation Leader
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