The Passions of the Marian Martyrs: Lessons for the Anglican Communion

Posted on October 2, 2008 
Filed under Resources

Dr Andrew AtherstoneEvangelical Christians within the Western branches of the Anglican Communion face continual hostility because of their commitment to Jesus Christ and the biblical gospel, as is increasingly apparent with every year that passes.

To become a gospel minister within the Anglican churches of Britain and North America now requires a willingness to face a lifetime of bullying and scorn, not least from neighbouring clergy and the episcopal bench. We cease to be surprised at scandalous tales of harassment of the godly by power-thirsty bishops. Ministers have their licences revoked, their church buildings confiscated, their stipends stopped, their families expelled from their rectories, simply because they insist on obeying God before men.

The persecution of the saints by those in positions of ecclesiastical power has become an established part of life within the Anglican Communion in the West. Yet we have been here before. …

– Dr. Andrew Atherstone, Tutor in History & Doctrine and Latimer Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, wrote this article (direct link to PDF file) for Churchman in 2006. Sobering reading.
Thanks to Church Society. (Photo: Wycliffe Hall.)