Commontide
Proper 23
Liturgical Color: Red
The 18th Sunday after Trinity
O God, our refuge and strength, true source of all godliness: Graciously hear the devout prayers of your Church, and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.
The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.
Bishops and Martyrs
Anglican Commemoration
Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were English bishops burned together at Oxford on October 16, 1555, for refusing to recant the Reformed faith under Queen Mary I. Latimer, the plain-spoken preacher who had once told a king to his face what he did not want to hear, and Ridley, the Cambridge scholar who had reasoned his way out of the doctrine of transubstantiation, died at the same stake for the same conviction. Latimer's words to his companion at the fire, "we shall this day light such a candle," became one of the most remembered sentences in English Christian history.
Hugh Latimer was born around 1485 in Leicestershire. Educated at Cambridge, he was converted to evangelical theology through Thomas Bilney and became famous for his forceful preaching, particularly the 'Sermon on the Plough' (1549). He served as Bishop of Worcester under Henry VIII.
Nicholas Ridley was born around 1502 in Northumberland. Educated at Cambridge and Paris, he became an expert on sacramental theology and served as Bishop of Rochester and then London under Edward VI. His eucharistic theology rejected transubstantiation while affirming real spiritual presence.
When Mary I restored Catholicism in 1553, both were imprisoned. Neither would recant their Reformed convictions, particularly regarding the Eucharist. They were condemned and burned together at Oxford on October 16, 1555. John Foxe's account, drawing on eyewitness testimony, records Latimer's famous exhortation: '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.' Their deaths, together with Cranmer's execution the following March, became foundational to Anglican martyrology.
Latimer and Ridley became foundational figures in English Protestant martyrology. Their joint death and Latimer's famous 'candle' exhortation shaped Anglican identity for centuries. Foxe's account made them household names.