Thomas Cranmer

If Martyn Percy kills himself, the Church of England will have blood on its hands

465 years ago today, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake for 'heresy'. 15 years ago today, on the 450th anniversary of that fateful day, the Archbishop Cranmer blog was born. It has been a long, sometimes fruitful, sometimes…

Pope Francis proclaims Thomas Cranmer ‘Doctor of the Church’

April 1, 2019
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Pope Francis has proclaimed Archbishop Thomas Cranmer a Doctor of the Universal Church in recognition of his bold witness of faith and his contribution to divine worship and liturgy. Last…

Catholic Herald stokes sectarianism with ‘Heretic of the Week’

January 6, 2019
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The Catholic Herald runs a column called 'Heretic of the Week'. It hasn't been running for many weeks, which is probably why it isn't that widely known, but a recent…

Lambeth Awards: why is the CofE patting itself on the back over Safeguarding?

April 9, 2018
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The Lambeth Awards were bestowed last week at Lambeth Palace. The Anglican Oscars non-academic honours for exemplary service and inspirational ministry were instituted in 2016 as part of Justin Welby's…

Reformation 500: we are all Protestants now

October 31, 2017
380 Comments

‘Reformation’ is an awkward word; so, of course, is ‘Protestant’. Both terms convey a sense of theological unity or ecclesial uniformity wrapped in a righteous evangelical zeal, when, in fact,…

Justin Welby is not a heretic, he’s a very faithful Anglican

May 15, 2017
310 Comments

In the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Westminster there is a list of Archbishops of Canterbury which chronicles the centuries of communion between the popes of Rome and the chief pastors…

Sex and the Church: how does a “radical new Christian inclusion” differ from the world’s?

February 16, 2017
382 Comments

You know that church that's seemingly in crisis and turmoil? Well, today it'll carry on praying, worshipping, visiting the ill and bereaved, loving one another... (and re-stocking food-banks). And it'll…

Archbishops call on Queen to repent of being Supreme Governor of the Church of England

January 18, 2017
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In this 500th anniversary year of an obscure monk called Martin Luther banging his 95 Theses onto the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg, the event which history marks as…

Archbishop Cranmer – 10 years of religio-political edification and enlightenment

March 21, 2016
116 Comments

Ten years ago today, on 21st March 2006, the Archbishop Cranmer blog burst into the Blogosphere. Well, perhaps the irruption wasn't so much a burst as a seep, for…

Pope's preacher lauds the "great theological and spiritual enrichment" of the Reformation

November 26, 2015
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When Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household, was invited to speak in Westminster Abbey at the inauguration of the 10th General Synod of the Church of England,…

Welby: "Christians are not saints"; Cranmer: "O yes we are"

August 27, 2015
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"Christians are not saints," tweeted Lambeth Palace, apparently quoting from a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. "They are sinners calling other sinners to know and love…

On this day, 459 years ago, a man was burned at the stake for 'heresy'

March 21, 2015
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On this day, 459 years ago, a man was burned at the stake for 'heresy' – essentially for holding conflicting personal, political and theological loyalties. He bequeathed to us…

The martyrdom of Thomas Becket

December 29, 2014
261 Comments

On this day in 1170 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by the knights of King Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral. It was muddled politics and religion -…

Ian Paisley – the Last Great Protestant – is dead

September 12, 2014
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The Rt Hon the Rev'd Dr Ian Paisley, the Lord Bannside, has died and passed into Glory. Whatever you may have thought about him - however he may have inspired…