Anglican Heroes: Nicholas Ridley

Lighting a Candle in England for the Gospel

Late 16th century portrait of Nicholas Ridley in the National Portrait Gallery, London from Wikimedia Commons

I want to do some blog posts about Anglican heroes.

First up is Nicholas Ridley, after whom Ridley College is named.

Nicholas Ridley (1500-55) was a leading light in the English Reformation who shaped the religious landscape of England by taking it in a decidedly Protestant direction. He was a theologian, bishop, and martyr.

Ridley studied in Newcastle, Cambridge, and Paris. He was ordained a priest at age 26. He became the senior proctor of Cambridge University in 1534 at which point he advocated against papal supremacy, arguing that, “The Bishop of Rome had no more authority and jurisdiction derived to him from God, in this kingdom of England, than any other foreign bishop.”

During the 1540s, Ridley served in a number of posts including as chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King, Master of Pembroke College, he assisted Thomas Cranmer with the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, was appointed as bishop of Rochester, then in 1550 as the bishop of London and Westminster.

Ridley was known for several writings including, "A Brief Declaration of the Lord's Supper," which presented his views on the Lord’s Supper that proved important in the near and long term. In it, he emphasized the significance of Christ's presence in the sacrament. Ridley argued against the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, where the elements are transformed into Christ’s body and blood, asserting instead that the bread and wine remain symbols of Christ's body and blood rather than undergoing an ontological change. Yet he stressed as well the importance of faith in receiving the sacrament, whereby Christ is made “real” in the Eucharist by faith, so that it is through faith that believers partake in the benefits of Christ's sacrificial death.

Ridley had a significant role in the vestment controversy in the early 1550s. On the one hand, he rejected ornate and elaborate vestments in preference of something simpler, which he implemented in the Diocese of London and Westminster. Yet he also opposed some of the Henrican exiles who had fled to Europe, returned to England, and insisted on more radical beliefs which they tried to import into England, including the rejection of all priestly vestments on the grounds that they were vestiges of Jewish and papal paraphernalia. The vestment controversy remained a point of lingering contention in the Church of England for many years, reflecting broader tensions between different factions within the English Reformation, concerning just how “Protestant” the Church of England would be. In sum, Ridley considered it a matter of “indifference” (adiaphora), in which case, it was fine to defer to the governing authority on the matter!

With the death of Edward VI, the coup against lady Jane Grey, and the ascendency of Queen Mary, Roman Catholicism was reinstituted. Accordingly, in 1555, Ridley was imprisoned for heresy and later sentenced to death by burning at the stake. He was executed with Hugh Latimer on 16 October 1555 in Oxford. Since it was a slow and painful death by burning, Latimer encouraged Ridley with the famous words, “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..” Along with Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, they are known as the Oxford martyrs and their death is commemorated on 16 October in the Anglican Church.

There are two Anglican training colleges named after Ridley, Ridley Hall in Cambridge was founded in 1881, and in 1910 Ridley College, a residential and training college, was established in Melbourne.

There is also the Ridley Hymn which commemorates his martyrdom and is sung on 16 October every years. I particularly love the second stanza:

A candle bright, they both shall light this new day,
that shall burn on, ne’er put out, by God’s grace.
“Be of good comfort Ridley”, cries the old man,
who bows in flame – beholds our Saviour’s face.
His friend in embers, burning, yet assured;
with final breath, he shan’t deny our Lord.

---

Hey, come study with me at Ridley College for BTh, BMin, Grad Dip, MDiv, MTh, or PhD. We have a vibrant campus life, worldclass online degrees, and one of the best PhD programs in the world in divinity studies. In addition, there is also the FREE Ridley Certificate. Check out Ridley’s podcast and chapel talks too!