Battle of the Bibles - Present Truth

Jane Seymour, the third of Henry's wives, he became an ardent Reformer and between
them he and Cranmer were able to greatly advance the cause of Protestantism.
Reforming preachers seemed to burst forth as plants released from winter's icy grip
reach up and absorb the life-giving warmth of the sun. Only this time, England's clergy
were experiencing the spiritual growth that comes from the "Sun of Righteousness".
Such names as Ridley, Latimer, Rogers, Hooper, Bradford and Saunders soon became
famous Protestant identities.
But this euphoric time of emergence from popery was to be short-lived. In 1553
King Edward went to a premature grave, but the effect which he had in nurturing the
seedlings of Protestantism was vital and long-lasting. When Archbishop Cranmer
sorrowfully conducted his king's funeral service, could he have possibly realised that this
would be his last official duty?
And so it was! Edward's half-sister Mary, daughter of the Spanish Catherine of
Aragon, and, like her mother, fiercely Catholic, next ascended the throne of England, but
only after solemnly swearing that she would allow freedom of religion. But no sooner had
she been crowned than she discarded her pretence and proceeded to displace
Protestant leaders. She ordered Cranmer to be confined to his house and put a Roman
Catholic in his place.
Within a few weeks, Coverdale, the Bible translator, together with other
Reformers, found himself in gaol. Grafton and Whitchurch, who had printed Coverdale's
Bible, fell from grace. It was soon evident that Mary was determined to return England to
Catholicism. Protestant ministers were speedily replaced by ignorant priests whose
mass and liturgy were performed in Latin. They had absolutely no use for a Bible in the
vernacular, let alone a Protestant one.
Queen Mary's piety for the faith of her Spanish mother did not go unnoticed in the
Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Charles V, ruler of Spain and the greater part of Western
Europe, had acquired much of his empire through the fashionable expedient of intermarriage
with European royalty. As his father had been honoured with the title of "Most
Catholic King", and had acquired vast wealth from the spices, silver and gold from the
Indies and the Americas, few potentates felt in a position to ignore his advances. If he
could arrange the marriage of his only son Philip to Queen Mary, he would not only bring
England within his own political orbit but would enlist her as an ally in subjugating his
troublous neighbour, France. Thus he would secure a sizeable block of Europe against
the enemies of Spain and the Holy Catholic Church. Furthermore, if the marriage were to
produce a son, he would automatically become the rightful heir to the English throne,
and another peaceful Spanish conquest would eventuate.
It so happened that at the age of twenty-seven, Philip was very eligible. The fact
that Mary was eleven years his senior was quite irrelevant to the cause. Philip, ever the
dutiful son and a lackey of the pope, was willing. Could Mary be persuaded to lay aside
her spinster-driven thoughts of marital martyrdom to secure the future of a papal
empire? Most certainly she would!
For the English, such a match did not hold popular appeal. The possibility of an
heir born to a Spanish king and a half-Spanish queen was fraught with danger to
England's sovereignty. A poorly-prepared insurrection led by Sir Thomas Wyatt, whose
battle cry was "No Spanish match! No Inquisition!", was a failure and resulted in the loss
of his head with others of his supporters also being executed.
On June 25, 1554, the royal pair were married in Winchester Cathedral as equals
in rank, for Philip's father, the Emperor Charles, had kept his part of the bargain by
announcing his intention of abdicating the throne so that Mary could marry a king.
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