Fiery Faith

 

35 Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.                                              Hebrews 11:35-38

While awaiting execution at Newgate prison, John Hooper scribbled with a piece of coal on the wall of his cell, “Fear not death. Only in God put thy whole trust.” What were his crimes? Standing against teachings of the Catholic Church, specifically he denied the doctrine that the elements of the Lord Supper were the real body and blood of Christ.

Hooper lived during a time of political and religious turmoil that threatened to tear England apart. When staunchly Catholic Queen Mary I came to the throne in 1553, the radical Protestant views of John Hooper made him an obvious target. He was one of the first arrested in the infamous attempt of “Bloody Mary” to reverse the spread of the English Reformation.  

On August 29th, 1553, Hooper appeared before Queen Mary’s Council, where he was banished as a prisoner to the Fleet, a notorious prison known for housing people without the due process of law. Throughout his 17-month stay in the prison, judges begged Hooper to recant his heretical views and subsequently set himself free, but time and time again, John Hooper refused. Inevitably, on February 9, 1555, he was condemned to execution by burning at Gloucester.

A large crowd estimated to be 7,000 strong turned out to see Hooper die. Eyewitnesses say that Hooper prayed until soldiers began to fasten three iron shackles to him, in order so that he may not escape. Hooper refused them, saying “God will give me strength sufficient to abide the extremity of the fire without bands.”

The next forty-five minutes were excruciatingly painful, not only for the condemned, but also for gawkers. A combination of factors made kindling a roaring fire difficult. Executioners used green faggots on the pyre and the high winds blew the fire out twice! When the fire had to be relit a third time Hooper exclaimed, “For God’s love, good people, let me have more fire!”

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records the grisly details of Hooper’s demise. As the flames licked up his body, the feet and legs of the condemned were reduced to charred stumps. Smoke turned his tongue and mouth black. The heat caused his lips to shrivel to his gums. With the blood and fat dripping from his fingers, Hooper beat his arm against his chest until it fell off, and continued to do so until his other arm fell off.  His last words were, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me! Receive my spirit!” Moments later, Hooper’s body bowed forward in lifeless surrender.

The sacrifice of men like John Hooper and the 282 other martyrs killed during Queen Mary’s reign are the reason we enjoy so many blessings we take for granted. A translation of the Bible in a language we can understand and freedom to worship without a State sponsored religion are just a couple of victories that were hard won by the martyrs. The next time you open your Bible or sit in a church pew, why not thank God that you live in such times that you can approach Him with such ease. Let John Hooper’s unwavering stance and bravery in the face of persecution inspire us to not back down when powerful people challenge our faith. For even while being consumed by flames, Hooper never gave in. We must do the same. -DM

Sources:

Jasper Ridley, Blood Mary’s Martyrs (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001), 71-72.

Foxe’s Voices of the Martyrs (Washington D.C.: Salem, 2019), 137-138.