Hugh Latimer (1487–1555)
Hugh Latimer was one of the most powerful Protestant preachers of the English Reformation. Rising from rural obscurity to become Bishop of Worcester and court preacher to Henry VIII, he was also twice imprisoned for his uncompromising proclamation of evangelical truth.
The Oxford Martyrs
When the Catholic Queen Mary I came to the throne, Latimer was arrested along with Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer. On October 16, 1555, Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake together in Oxford.
The Candle of England
As the flames were lit, Latimer spoke to Ridley words that became immortal in Protestant history: "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
Ellen White and the Great Controversy
Ellen White presents the Oxford martyrs as examples of those who, like the two witnesses of Revelation 11, prophesied in sackcloth — faithful through persecution, their testimony ultimately vindicated by the spread of the Reformation.