Cranmer in Context

An anthology of and introduction to the life and writings of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Tudor martyr and creator of The Book of Common Prayer.

Thomas Cranmer was a notable ecclesiastical statesman and much involved in the separation of the Church of England from the papacy. As an archbishop of the Reformation, he presided over a Church in transition, revising services, re-formulating doctrine and re-drafting canon law. In pastoral ministry he afforded both faithful and not so faithful a reasonable diversity of worship within a single comprehensive church. His considerable intellectual development, a lifetime's study of the Scriptures and his characteristic moderation make his writings of real significance for the English-speaking world. Cranmer's writings are increasingly difficult to find, either in print or used in worship. Peter Newman Brooks provides a brief life of Cranmer, together with a range of extracts from his correspondence, controversies, treatises and prayers, setting the spotlight on Cranmer's remarkable contribution to sixteenth-century national politics and piety.