We begin our study of our two Preachers of the Week, first with Hugh Latimer (tomorrow we will post about Nicholas Ridley). Hugh Latimer was born in Thurcaston, Leicestershire, England around the year 1485. Although Latimer came from humble beginnings, his farming parents knew that he was extremely bright and so they strove to give him a decent education. At the age of 14, he attended Peterhouse College at Cambridge University. In 1510 he was elected a Fellow of Clare College and during the 1520s he graduated with several degrees. While in university, other students openly read and promoted the teachings of John Wycliffe and Martin Luther, but Latimer opposed the Reformation. He was raised a devout Catholic and often went to Reformation meetings to debate with the students there and try and convince them to stay in the Roman Church. He continued this routine until he met Thomas Bliney, who helped bring numerous students at Cambridge out of Catholicism (in 1527 Bliney recanted after being tried as a heretic; he later was arrested again and burned at the stake). Bliney took interested in Latimer and began praying that he would be awoken so that the Lord could use his oration skills to promote the Truth of the Gospel. An opportunity arose for Thomas to proclaim the Gospel to Latimer one day when he went to see him in confession. He spoke of “the anguish he had once felt in his soul,” and that finally, “the peace he had felt when he believed that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” This pierced Hugh’s heart as he had tried to earn his own salvation through his own works. After Bliney had finished, he stood to his feet while Latimer remained seated and crying. He consoled his friend with the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “Brother, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). Although he had been shown the errors of the Roman Catholic Church, conversion came slowly for Hugh Latimer, but as he read the Scriptures he became fully convinced that salvation comes through faith in Christ, by hearing the Word of God. As a new Protestant, Latimer stopped speaking against the Reformation and joined their forces in speaking about Rome, and even wrote a letter to King Henry VIII protesting a new law that forbade people from reading the Bible as they pleased. Even as he preached against Catholic teaching, he did not leave the church immediately, and was in fact ordained as a priest, and appointed as rector to the church at West Kington in 1531. Because he was so outspoken about his views of the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman authorities threatened Latimer with imprisonment. He did not heed their warnings but continued to preach the Word of God boldly. In 1532, he was summoned to London to face Bishop Gardiner of Winchester, an enemy of the Reformation. Gardiner tried to convince Latimer to sign a recantation, but he refused. Over the next several weeks, authorities continued to question him, and try to get him to recant, and each time he held fast. Finally they gave up and Hugh Latimer was excommunicated and condemned. However, later on Latimer appealed to the king and was restored after he agreed to 14 points of Roman Catholic practice and worship, including Lent and images in churches; he later admitted that this was a very low point in his life, but that he resolved to never do such a thing again. In 1535 Latimer was appointed at Bishop of Worcester by Henry VIII through the urging of his wife Anne Boleyn. Latimer’s relation with King Henry was one of intrigue. Whenever he was brought before the king, Latimer spoke the Truth boldly, and although the king never came to faith, he admired Latimer’s continuous steadfast preaching of the Word. In 1536 he was chosen to preach at the opening of Parliament, as well as the convocation confirming Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England. During these sermons he preached against the wrong teachings of the Roman Church, and called for reform throughout England. Hugh gave up the bishop position in 1539 after realizing he could no longer serve in a church with such a corrupt view of doctrine. He moved into the countryside hoping to seclude himself from the world, but during a bad storm, a tree fell on him and he was badly hurt. He traveled to London in search for a doctor, but his enemies found out he was there and brought about exaggerated charges against him. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for 6 years until the death of Henry VIII in 1547. King Edward VI offered Latimer his bishop position back, but he refused, feeling too old for such work (he was approximately 62 years old at the time). Archbishop Thomas Cranmer then offered him a position working with him, which Latimer accepted. He worked in the city of Lambeth, assisting Cranmer for 6 years.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:43:24 +0000
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