# Thomas Cranmer

By [Egbert Robert](https://paragraph.com/@03329) · 2022-07-03

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**Thomas Cranmer** (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the [English Reformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation) and [Archbishop of Canterbury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Canterbury) during the reigns of [Henry VIII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII), [Edward VI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI) and, for a short time, [Mary I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I). He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's marriage to [Catherine of Aragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon), which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from union with the [Holy See](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See). Along with [Thomas Cromwell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cromwell), he supported the principle of [royal supremacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Supremacy), in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.

During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed [Church of England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England). Under Henry's rule, Cranmer did not make many radical changes in the Church, due to power struggles between religious conservatives and reformers. He published the first officially authorised [vernacular](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacular) service, the [_Exhortation and Litany_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhortation_and_Litany).

When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the [_Book of Common Prayer_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Common_Prayer), a complete liturgy for the English Church. With the assistance of several Continental reformers to whom he gave refuge, he changed doctrine or discipline in areas such as the [Eucharist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist), [clerical celibacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy), the role of [images](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_image) in places of worship, and the [veneration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneration) of saints. Cranmer [promulgated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promulgate) the new doctrines through the Prayer Book, the [_Homilies_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Books_of_Homilies) and other publications.

After the accession of the [Catholic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic) Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and [heresy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy). Imprisoned for over two years and under pressure from Church authorities, he made several [recantations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recantation) and apparently reconciled himself with the Catholic Church. While this would have normally absolved him, Mary wanted him executed, and, on the day of his execution, he withdrew his recantations, to die a [heretic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heretic) to Catholics and a [martyr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyr) for the principles of the English Reformation. Cranmer's death was immortalised in [_Foxe's Book of Martyrs_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxe%27s_Book_of_Martyrs) and his legacy lives on within the Church of England through the _Book of Common Prayer_ and the [_Thirty-Nine Articles_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Nine_Articles), an [Anglican](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican) statement of faith derived from his work.

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*Originally published on [Egbert Robert](https://paragraph.com/@03329/thomas-cranmer)*