Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2, 2024
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and an Archbishop of Canterbury. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which contributed to the separation of the English Church from the Holy See. He established the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England and published the Exhortation and Litany. When Edward VI was king, Cranmer published the Book of Common Prayer, changed doctrine or discipline in several areas, and promulgated the new doctrines through the Homilies. Upon the accession of Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. While imprisoned he made recantations and reconciled himself with the Catholic Church. Mary pushed for his execution, and he was burned at the stake after withdrawing his recantations. Cranmer's death was immortalised in Foxe's Book of Martyrs and his legacy continues through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles. (Full article...)