On This Day in Tudor History

On November 12, 1555, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and long-time servant of three Tudor monarchs, died at the (approximate) age of 62.

Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.

Interestingly, Gardiner *may* have been a blood relation of Queen Mary I. His father is known to have been Sir William Gardner, a substantial cloth merchant of the town where he was born. His mother, Helen, was reputed to be an illegitimate daughter of Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford.

Gardiner's abilities attracted the notice of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who made him his secretary. In 1527 he and Sir Thomas More were named commissioners of England in arranging a treaty with the French ambassadors for the support of an army in Italy against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

That year he accompanied Wolsey on his important diplomatic mission to France. Henry VIII was, at this time, anxious to cement his alliance with King Francis I, and gain support for his plans to divorce Katherine of Aragon. In the course of his progress through France, Wolsey received orders from Henry to send back his secretary, Gardiner, for fresh instructions. Wolsey was obliged to reply that he positively could not spare Gardiner as he was the only instrument he had in advancing the king's "Great Matter." The next year, Wolsey sent Gardiner and Edward Foxe, provost of King's College, Cambridge, to Italy to promote the same business with the pope. Pope Clement VII, who had been recently imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo by mutinous soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire, had managed to escape to Orvieto and was fearful of offending Charles V. Clement refused to issue a definitive ruling concerning Henry's annulment.

Gardiner's pleading was unsuccessful and he returned home where Wolsey and the pope's legate, Cardinal Campeggio, began the infamous trial at Black Friars.

Under King Edward VI, he completely opposed the policy of the dominant party both in ecclesiastical and in civil matters. Of course he objected to the religious changes in England, both on principle and on the ground of their being moved during the king's minority. His remonstrances resulted in his being imprisoned in the Fleet, and the visitation of his diocese was held during his imprisonment. Though soon released, he was soon called before the council, and, refusing to give them satisfaction on some points, was thrown into the Tower of London, where he remained for the rest of the reign, a period of over five years.

On Queen Mary I's entry into London, Gardiner and other Catholics were set free. Gardiner was restored to his Bishopric and appointed Lord Chancellor, and he placed the crown on the queen's head at her coronation. He also opened her first parliament and for some time was her leading councillor. He was now also called upon, in old age, to undo not a little of the work in which he had been instrumental in his earlier years — to demonstrate the legitimacy of the queen's birth and the legality of her mother's marriage, to restore the old religion, and to recant his own words touching the royal supremacy.

As chancellor he had the onerous task of negotiating the queen's marriage treaty with Philip II of Spain, for which he shared a general repugnance. Shortly after this, he became ill and died quickly. He lies buried in his own cathedral at Winchester, where his effigy is still to be seen.

Gardiner is played by Terence Rigby in the 1998 film Elizabeth, where he is portrayed as a villainous bishop who took part in the Ridolfi plot and who vehemently opposed Elizabeth I's Act of Uniformity. For the record: this is quite inaccurate, as Gardiner had died before Elizabeth ascended the throne.

On This Day in Tudor History

On October 16, 1555, under Queen Mary I, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism and the U.S. Episcopal Church.
Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later chaplain to Henry VIII's son, King Edward VI. He also served as chaplain to Katherine Duchess of Suffolk until Edward VI's sister, Mary I, came to the throne, he was tried for his beliefs and teachings in Oxford and imprisoned. Ridley was also an English Bishop of London who was tried for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey.

They were both burned at the stake outside Balliol College, Oxford.

The deaths of Latimer, Ridley and later Thomas Cranmer — now known as the Oxford Martyrs — are commemorated in Oxford by the Victorian Martyrs' Memorial which is located near the actual execution site. The Latimer room in Clare College, Cambridge is named after him.

On This Day in Tudor History:

On November 12, 1555, During the reign of Mary I, Parliament re-establishes Catholicism as the Church of England - in an ironic twist - on the very day that devout Catholic, Steven Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor, dies.

The Vatican gets Revenge on Henry VIII!!!

And once again, a woman is at the center of the controversy between the Pope and the Church of England!

Following representations from English Anglicans alarmed by the prospect of women bishops, the Catholic Church has offered them the ultimate remedy. In an extraordinary move and with no forewarning, Pope Benedict XVI has created a structure that will allow conservative male clergy and their congregations to remain Anglican in all but name under female-free Vatican protection.

The details of the new structure have not yet been announced, but presumably the erstwhile Anglicans will be allowed to continue using Anglican worship services in Anglican-style parishes while being officially members of the Catholic Church. Pretty sneaky, huh?

For some time, married Anglican priests have been accepted by Rome while retaining their wives, but only on a case-by-case basis. (Ahem, Cardinal Wolsey, anyone?) Apart from their married status, they have had to forgo the culture of Anglicanism and embrace the fullness of Catholic polity. The new structure seems to offer conservatives the best of both worlds from their perspective.

This is not by any means the first split in the Anglican Church, a church created as a separate entity by Henry VIII in 1534 when an earlier Pope refused to give him permission to divorce Katherine of Aragon. There have been numerous others, caused by disputes over the relationship between church and state. But this one, just like the original split, can be attributed to women.

King Henry wanted his divorce so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Centuries later women bishops are fast becoming a reality for the worldwide Anglican Church. Twenty years after the first woman bishop was consecrated in the US, and 65 years after the first woman priest was ordained by the Bishop of Hong Kong, there are now 24 women bishops around the world, including two in Australia: Kay Goldsworthy in Perth and Bishop Barbara Darling in Melbourne.

A vociferous minority protests that women are not acceptable as leaders in the Anglican Church. This is ironic, given that a woman - Queen Elizabeth II - has been Supreme Governor of the Church of England for the past 57 years, and her ancestor Elizabeth I - Anne Boleyn's daughter - was the monarch who entrenched a reformed Church of England.

Despite these female leaders, some argue that a few verses in the Bible deny women authority over men; these verses were used for centuries to prevent women from having an equal role in society, not just in the church. (Other verses, including the example of Jesus himself, support the full equality of women.)

Those bishops and clergy who petitioned Rome for this indulgence are no doubt mostly conservative clergy who have longed for the security of the Catholic Church for aesthetic, theological and psychological reasons. They want to belong to what they see as the ''true'' church, but either their married state or their sentimental attachment to cultural Anglicanism has held them back. Such longings well pre-date the emergence of women clergy in the Anglican Church.

From the Roman perspective, it is a means of demonstrating to its own restive nuns and lay women that there is no hope of female equality in the foreseeable future. It may, however, lead to some heart-searching for Catholics concerned about the impact that priestly celibacy continues to have on their Church. How can it be unacceptable for home-grown clergy to marry but OK for the imports from Anglicanism?

It will be interesting to see how many Anglican clergy and laity actually go over to Rome and how long they stay. The Anglican Church has a much more democratic polity than the Catholic Church. Anglican vicars and parishes have a significant degree of autonomy and Anglicans have decision-making powers through diocesan and national synods. They participate in the election of their bishops. They help decide how church finances will be spent. Will they adjust easily to the complete obedience required by Papal autocracy? Again.

It's 1533 all over again...