Christian Martyr born 1485 – Burned at the Stake 1555
Hugh Latimer was Bishop of Worcester during the reign of Henry VIII. Although divorce was against the doctrine of the Church of England, Latimer supported the practice in an attempt to stop the King from beheading Ann Boleyn so he could marry Jane Seymour.
Bishop Latimer was a graduate of Cambridge University and a major figure in The Reformation. Imprisoned in the Tower of London as a heretic, he was burned at the stake in 1555 with Cranmer and Ridley.
In Oxford, the famous Martyr's Memorial in the center of town commemorates the 'faithfulness unto death' of the three martyrs.
"The world was ordained to endure, AS ALL LEARNED MEN affirm and prove it
with Scripture, six thousand years. Now, of that number there be past
five thousand five hundred and fifty-two (years); so that there is no more
left but four hundred and forty-eight."
(Hugh Latimer, 1490-1555)