Cranmer was appointed a fellow of Jesus College Cambridge in 1511. Cambridge University was known at this period of time for having progressive ideas when it came to religion. Therefore it is not surprising that Cranmer should have been taken in by the new-thinking in religion that had spread across much of Northern Europe. The chief exponent of this attitude towards Christianity was Luther in the Holy Roman Empire and, due to the invention of the printing press less than a century befo

Cranmer was directly involved in this critical reforming act. To the Protestants, it was important that you read a well translated bible in your native tongue. 'The Bible' as William Chillingworth said one hundred years later 'is the only religion of the Protestants' , and therefore it was vital that you could understand Gods word correctly.

Another important and dramatic consequence of the English reformation was the 'vernacular religious culture' . This was a positive and long-lasting contribution to the reformation under Henry VIII. Naturally as Archbishop, Cranmer was heavily involved in paving the way for the sanctioning of the English bible and ensuring that it was popular and used. In the December of 1534, the convocation of Canterbury (probably at Cranmer's instigation) asked the king that he should decree a translation of the bible into the vernacular. It seems that Henry VIII, throughout his reign, had misgivings about dramatically reforming the church one he had broken from Rome, and it is clear that Henry felt that translating the bible would be heretical and he did not at first give his permission to allow the English Bible. However because of the work of Cranmer and Cromwell, the vernacular bible soon became commonplace. They solicited support for the translation among the more sceptical of bishops. In 1538, Cromwell used his own money to print copies of the English Bible and finally in 1539, Henry passed an act declaring that all parishes should own and use a copy of the English Bible.

However Cranmer could also be seen as hypocritical, taking his loyalty with Henry too far, and even unhelpful in moving the reformation process along. Once Henry had settled himself as the leader of the English church and some changes had been made, he began to grow more conservative in his ways. This was especially noticeable in the late 1530s and early 1540s. The cause of this could have been that Henry felt threatened from foreign disapproval and retaliation to his religious reforms. Whilst previously the Holy Roman Empire had been at war with France, and therefore both too preoccupied to react to England's religious affairs, they had now signed a peace agreement and both showed their open displeasure at what they saw going on in England. Henry force married priests to give up their positions and no longer gave his consent to vernacular bibles and ordered them to be withdrawn, amongst other things. Cranmer did little to stop this, he may not have been happy with the decisions that the king was making, but the king was determined and at this stage of his life, Cranmer was not prepared to die for religion (though he would eventually, under the rule of Mary). Cranmer had been married for a number of years and he had been instrumental in orchestrating the translation of the bible and the English liturgy. Cranmer was quite willing to condemn his colleagues for heresy, in some cases even having them burnt, for practising beliefs, which he too, openly held close to his heart, 'In a moment of crisis Cranmer never managed to protect anything or anyone else from the wrath of the prince which was in a favourite personal proverb of the age, death'

Cranmer was appointed Arch-bishop of Canterbury in 1533 and in the same year the Act of Restraint of Appeals was passed through the Houses of Parliament. Henceafter the Archbishop was afforded the right to preside of issues that had previously been in the hand of the pope. Naturally enough, when the king applied to Cranmer for an annulment to his marriage, he granted it immediately and said that it was unlawful that they should ever have been allowed to get married.

re, his books, such as the 95 Thesis, had been circulated around many of the academic capitals of Europe including Cambridge. It is certain that Cranmer would have read Luther's literature and in 1520 he joined a group of Cambridge academics who met regularly to discuss theological problems raised by Luther. Among this grou

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Approximate Word count = 2949
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)