In October of this year, a number of people gathered in Exeter to remember the two faithful Christians who were martyred in the City in the sixteenth century. These were but two of the many who died because of their faith at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

It appears that most people today have forgotten how important such a stand was. Indeed, the events of that time are little known and neglected. Yet, in 1890, just over 100 years ago, the first Lord Bishop of Liverpool, J. C. Ryle, wrote: “To no class of men does England owe such a debt as to our Protestant Reformers”.

Ryle also gave some indication of what he meant by such a statement: “To the Reformation Englishmen owe an English Bible, and liberty for every man to read it. To the Reformation they owe the knowledge of the way of peace with God, and of the right of every sinner to go straight to Christ by faith, without bishop, priest, or minister standing in his way. To the Reformation they owe a Scriptural standard of morality and holiness, such as our ancestors never dreamed of. For ever let us be thankful for these inestimable mercies! For ever let us grasp them firmly, and refuse to let them go! For my part, I hold that he who would rob us of these privileges, and draw us back to Pre-Reformation ignorance, superstition, and unholiness, is an enemy of England, and ought to be firmly opposed”.

Is it not particularly strange then, that the Church in our land is apparently ever seeking to undo the work of the Reformers? Indeed, is it not even stranger that many in the Churches believe that the break with Rome was a great mistake? More than this, there are those who are actively seeking to ‘revise’ the history of those days.

Ryle’s words are still relevant, “We live in times when many Churchmen openly sneer at our Reformation, and scoff at our Reformers. The martyrs, whose blood was the seed of our Church, are abused and vilified, and declared to be no martyrs at all. The Reformation is said to have been an unmitigated disaster.”

He goes on to say, “But I will say boldly, that the men who were burned in this way were not men whose memories ought to be lightly esteemed. Opinions for which “an army of martyrs” died ought not to be dismissed with scorn... To their courage we owe, in a great measure, our English liberty. They taught the land that it was worth while to die for free thought. Happy is the land which has had such citizens! Happy is the Church which has had such Reformers!”

We do well in these days of increasing religious and political unity to consider again just what the Protestant Reformation was all about.