16th October 2026

The liturgical calendar marks today as the Commemoration for Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, bishops and martyrs, burned at the stake in Oxford in 1555 in the reign of Queen Mary. She, of course, was Catholic, and they were Protestant, tried and condemned for heresy. Such could be the cost of principled adherence to one side or the other in the ferocious debates around doctrine in the uncertain times brought about by the Reformation. In 1556, the more famous Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury and author and compiler of the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, met the same fate in the same place. Let it be noted that the turmoil of those days also produced martyrs on the Catholic side.

Over the centuries, there must have been countless martyrs who died for their faith, some at the hands of hardline co-religionists, many more perhaps at the hands of enemies of the Church. Their perseverance and loyalty in the face of suffering and death are meant to inspire and encourage the rest of us, but I must admit I’ve found myself shrinking from the thought of such a fate. Would I truly be up to the challenge?

Not that any of us aiming to be disciples of the crucified Saviour has much cause to complain. Not only did he leave us with the example of his own faithfulness in the face of a cruel death, but Jesus never hid the possible cost of walking in his way. ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ (Matt. 16:24)

Ken Stewart