Nicholas Ridley (martyr)
Nicholas Ridley | |
---|---|
Bishop of London and Westminster | |
Church | Church of England |
Installed | 1550 |
Term ended | 1553 |
Predecessor | Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London |
Successor | Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Rochester (1547–1550) |
Orders | |
Consecration | 5 September 1547 by Henry Holbeach |
Personal details | |
Born | Nicholas Ridley c. 1500 South Tynedale, Northumberland, England |
Died | 16 October 1555 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
Denomination | Anglicanism |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 16 October |
Venerated in | Anglican Communion |
Title as Saint | Oxford Martyr |
Nicholas Ridley (c. 1500 – 16 October 1555) was an
Early years and advancement (c.1500–50)
Ridley came from a prominent family in
In 1540–1, he was made one of the
When Ridley was appointed to the see of London by
Vestments controversy (1550–3)
Ridley played a major part in the
Summoned to answer to the
Cranmer assigned Ridley to perform the
The Privy Council reiterated its position, and Ridley responded in person, agreeing that vestments are indifferent but making a compelling argument that the monarch may require indifferent things without exception. The council became divided in opinion, and the issue dragged on for months without resolution. Hooper now insisted that vestments were not indifferent, since they obscured the priesthood of Christ by encouraging hypocrisy and superstition. Warwick disagreed, emphasising that the king must be obeyed in things indifferent, and he pointed to St Paul's concessions to Jewish traditions in the early church. Finally, an acrimonious debate with Ridley went against Hooper. Ridley's position centred on maintaining order and authority; not the vestments themselves, Hooper's primary concern.[10]
Hooper–Ridley debate
In a Latin letter dated 3 October 1550, Hooper laid out his argument contra usum vestium.[12] With Ridley's reply (in English), it marks the first written representation of a split in the English Reformation. Hooper's argument is that vestments should not be used as they are not indifferent, nor is their use supported by scripture, a point he takes as self-evident. He contends that church practices must either have express biblical support or be things indifferent, approval for which is implied by scripture. Furthermore, an indifferent thing, if used, causes no profit or loss. Ridley objected in his response, saying that indifferent things do have profitable effects, which is the only reason they are used. Failing to distinguish between conditions for indifferent things in general and the church's use of indifferent things, Hooper then all but excludes the possibility of anything being indifferent in the four conditions he sets:
- 1) An indifferent thing has either an express justification in scripture or is implied by it, finding its origin and foundation in scripture.
Hooper cites
In response, Ridley rejected Hooper's insistence on biblical origins and countered Hooper's interpretations of his chosen biblical texts. He points out that many non-controversial practices are not mentioned or implied in scripture. Ridley denies that early church practices are normative for the present situation, and he links such primitivist arguments with the
- 2) An indifferent thing must be left to individual discretion; if required, it is no longer indifferent.
For Ridley, on matters of indifference, one must defer conscience to the authorities of the church, or else "thou showest thyself a disordered person, disobedient, as [a] contemner of lawful authority, and a wounder of thy weak brother his conscience." For him, the debate was finally about legitimate authority, not the merits and demerits of vestments themselves. He contended that it is only accidental that the compulsory ceases to be indifferent; the degeneration of a practice into non-indifference can be corrected without throwing out the practice. Things are not, "because they have been abused, to be taken away, but to be reformed and amended, and so kept still."
- 3) An indifferent thing's usefulness must be demonstrated and not introduced arbitrarily.
For this point, Hooper cites 1 Corinthians 14 and 2 Corinthians 13. As it contradicts the first point above, Primus contends that Hooper must now refer to indifferent things in the church and earlier meant indifferent things in general, in the abstract. Regardless, the apparent contradiction was seized by Ridley and undoubtedly hurt Hooper's case with the council.
- 4) Indifferent things must be introduced into the church with apostolic and evangelical lenity, not violent tyranny.
In making such an inflammatory, risky statement (he later may have called his opponents "papists" in a part of his argument that is lost), Hooper may not have been suggesting England was tyrannical but that Rome was—and that England could become like Rome. Ridley warned Hooper of the implications of an attack on English ecclesiastical and civil authority and of the consequences of radical individual liberties, while also reminding him that it was Parliament that established the "Book of Common Prayer in the church of England".
In closing, Hooper asks that the dispute be resolved by church authorities without looking to civil authorities for support—although the monarch was the head of both the church and the state. This hint of a plea for a separation of church and state would later be elaborated by
Outcome of the controversy
The weaknesses in Hooper's argument, Ridley's laconic and temperate rejoinder, and Ridley's offer of a compromise no doubt turned the council against Hooper's inflexible convictions when he did not accept it. Heinrich Bullinger,
Downfall (1553–5)
On 2 February 1553 Cranmer was ordered to appoint
Edward VI became seriously ill from
Ridley signed the letters patent giving the English throne to Lady Jane Grey. On 9 July 1553 he preached a sermon at St Paul's cross in which he affirmed that the princesses Mary and Elizabeth were bastards. By mid-July, there were serious provincial revolts in Mary's favour and support for Jane in the council fell. As Mary was proclaimed queen, Ridley, Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk and others were imprisoned. Ridley was sent to the Tower of London.[16]
Through February 1554 Jane and her leading supporters were executed. After that, there was time to deal with the religious leaders of the English Reformation and so on 8 March 1554 the Privy Council ordered Cranmer, Ridley, and
Death and legacy
The sentence was carried out on 16 October 1555 in Oxford. Cranmer was taken to a tower to watch the proceedings. Ridley burned extremely slowly and suffered a great deal: his brother-in-law had put more tinder on the pyre in order to speed his death, but this only caused his lower parts to burn. Latimer is supposed to have said to Ridley, "Be of good comfort, and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." This was quoted in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.[18]
A metal cross in a cobbled patch of road in
In the
In 1881,
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Horn, Joyce M. (1992), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 7, pp. 65–67
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Ridley, Nicholas (RDLY521N)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "National Gazetteer (1868) - Newcastle upon Tyne". Newcastle Gazette. GENUKI Charitable trust. 1868. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Index Number 101023631
- ^ Testamenta Vetusta, by Nicholas Harris Nicolas, esq, page 686; the will of Elizabeth Lady Fineux, of Herne, Kent; written 1539;"to Master Nicholas Rydley, vicar of Herne, ...."
- ^ Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of all Known Students . . Vol 1. Cambridge: University Press
- ^ Bernard 2005, p. 507; Ridley 1996, pp. 87–88
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 454–459
- ^ a b c d e Ridley 1962, pp. 308–315; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 469–484
- ^ Primus 1960, p. 13
- ^ The letter exists but with some parts lost.
- ^ Reid 1974, pp. 94–99; Ridley 1968, pp. 121–126
- ^ "History of King Edward's School, Witley". Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 538–541
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 547–553
- ^ Heinze 1993, pp. 267–271; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 574–582
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 606–608
- ^ "The Martyrs' Memorial at Oxford". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
- ^ "Holy Days". Common Worship. Church House Publishing. June 2000. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
References
- Bernard, G. W. (2005), The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church, London: ISBN 0-300-12271-3.
- Heinze, Rudolph W. (1993), "'I pray God to grant that I may endure to the end': A New Look at the Martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer", in Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.), Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9
- ISBN 0-300-06688-0.
- Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian Howard, eds. (2004), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: OCLC 56568095
- Reid, W. Stanford (1974), Trumpeter of God, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-13782-8.
- Primus, John Henry (1960), The Vestments Controversy, J. H. Kok.
- Ridley, Jasper (1957), Nicholas Ridley, London: Longmans, Green and Co..
- Ridley, Jasper (1962), Thomas Cranmer, Oxford: OCLC 398369.
- Ridley, Jasper (1968), John Knox, Oxford: Clarendon Press, OCLC 251907110.
External links
- Keeping the Faith (BBC Radio 4), documentary on his story by the historian Jane Ridley, a descendant.
- Nicholas Ridley at Find a Grave
- Works by Nicholas Ridley at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)