Thomas was born around 1495 in Norwich. He became a protestant martyr. He is believed to be the person who converted Hugh Latimer to the doctrines of the Reformers- he also died a martyr. Around 1550 , aged only 15, he entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge University where he studied law. Conversion He was ‘struck’ by these words from 1 Timothy ch1 v15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came onto the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. ‘Immediately I felt a marvellous comfort and quietness, in so much that my bruised bones lept for joy.’ Scripture became his chief study and In 1519 he took holy orders. In 1525 he obtained a license to preach throughout the diocese of Ely. In 1527 he was arrested for heresy. He recanted and was released but in 1531 he was arrested again for spreading ideas critical of the hierarchical structure of the church and the cult of the saints, For this he was burnt at Lollards Pit, in Norwich,on 19 August 1531. Afterwards it was alleged that his execution had been carried out without the proper authorisation by the state. THe result was Bishop Nix in 1534 was condemned on this charge and had his property confiscated. ( Thomas was nicknamed Little Bilney because of his short stature.) Source Wikipedia

Thomas was popularly known as the ‘Archbishop of Nonconformity’. He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Noncomformity, devotional verse and for involvement in the cause of anti-slavery After a short pastorate on the Isle of Wight he moved in 1829 to King’s Weigh House Chapel, London. There he continued to discharge the duties of the ministry until he resigned in 1869 (40 years). During his time there the congregation grew so large that a new chapel on Fish Street Hill was built. In 1834 he personally laid the foundation stone of the chapel. He visited Canada and the USA in 1845 . Between 1857-9 he visited the Australian colonies. He was twice chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. He worked to obtain reunion with the C.of E. He introduced the chanting of psalms into Congregational worship as one step towards this. He gave a special impulse with the publication of The Service of Song in the House of the Lord. (See Books for other of his publications) On the other hand he wrote Twenty -Four Reasons for Dissenting from the Church of England (1848). He was an active member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society formed in 1839. He wrote the biography of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a leading parliamentary abolitionist. Thomas’s liberality of view and breadth of ecclesiastical sympathy entitles him to be ranked, on questions of Nonconformity, among the most distinguished. He gave his last sermon in November 1873. Following months of pain Thomas died,aged 76, on 24th February 1874. He wrote the well known hymn Eternal Light! Eternal Light! Source Wikipedia

Dominic is best remembered for his part in St. John Henry Newman’s conversion. He is also commemorated for his work in his efforts to return England to the Catholic faith in the 19th Century. He entered the Passionist Order, about 1814 as a lay brother and in 1818 he was ordained a priest. He lectured and taught at several places in Italy up until 1841 (20+years) when his wish to work in England as a missionary became a reality. During this period he had produced many theological and philosophical works. He arrived in Folkestone in October 1841 - a little Italian priest in ‘comical’ attire. In February 1842 he secured possession of Aston Hall, Staffordshire. for the Passionists in England. In October 1845 he received ( St. ) John Henry Newman into the Roman Catholic Church. Dominic visited Littlemore where Newman made his confession to him. (Newman relates in his ‘Apologia’ how Barberi arrived soaked from rain and as he was drying Newman knelt down and asked to be received into the Catholic Church.) On 27th August 1849 he suffered a fatal heart attack on the train at Pangbourne, just outside Reading. Dominic is buried in St. Anne and Blessed Dominic Church, Sutton, Merseyside. By the time of his death in 1849 he had established 3 Passsionist houses and several chapels in England. He had preached innumerable sermons and received 100s of converts. In 1963 he was beatified by the RC church. Rest in peace Blessed Dominic Barberi Source Wikipedia

Robert was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk He was educated at Cambridge. He was an English protestant martyr who helped spread Lutheranism in England. He was a prior at Austin Friars. Thomas Bilney influenced him in embracing the teaching of the Reformers and in 1528 he escaped, to Antwerp for Germany where he formed a lasting friendship with Martin Luther. In the summer of 1531, while in Wittenberg, he was commissioned to ascertain Luther and other continental divines opinion on the divorce proceedings between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He spent several years going between England and Germany A little more than a month after his protector, Thomas Cromwell, fell from favour, he was burnt as a heretic with two other Lutherans. On July 1540, along with 5 other religious dissidents - 3 Lutheran and 3 Catholic-. he was drawn on hurdles from the Tower of London to Smithfield to be executed Sources Wilipedia Briannica The Hodder and Stoughton Book of Famous Christians.

Jean Guillaume de la Flechere was a Swiss born English divine and Methodist leader. He emigrated to England in 1750 and began to work with John Wesley. He became a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century and one of Methodists first great theologians. he became a fervent supporter of the Evangelical Revival. He was devoted to the Methodist concern for spiritual renewal and revival but maintained a never wavering commitment to the Church of . He spent 25 years (1760-1785) working in the humble industrialising parish of Madeley in Shropshire. He believed the methodist model model functioned best within the parochial system and implemented his own brand of methodism in his own parish. John Wesley chose John to lead the Methodist movement on his death but John Fletcher died first! He worked with unique devotion and zeal. His wife Mary on his iron tomb gave this epitaph -unexampled labours. Source Wikipedia

Lorenzo Dow was an eccentric itinerant American evangelist. His wife, Peggy, (1780-1820)was almost as eccentric as her husband, He is said to have preached,over 30 years, to more people than any other preacher of his era. He became an important figure and a well known writer. His mannerisms in public speaking were like nothing ever seen before. He shouted, he screamed, he cried, he begged, he flattered, he insulted, he challenged people and their beliefs. He often preached before open-air assemblies of 10,000 people or more and held his audience spellbound all over the USA and Great Britain. Read the paragraphs * Missionary travels * and Travelling preacher. He was unkempt- rarely washed and only had one set of clothing. His long hair and beard were described as never having met a comb. He was a fierce abolitionist and occasionally forcibly ejected from towns. His autobiography* The Stranger in Charleston or the Trial and Confession of Lorenzo Dow* (1822) was at one time the second best selling book in the USA exceeded only by the Bible. Source Wikipedia

Girolamo Savonarola or Jerome Savonarola was an ascetic Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and was a preacher active during the Renaissance in France. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, plus his calls for Christian renewal. he denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor. In 1495 when Florence refused to join Pope Alexander VI’s Holy League against the French he was summoned to Rome. He disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching when banned . May 1497 he was excommunicated. A trial by fire was proposed and popular opinion turned against him. On 23 May,along with two other monks who supported him, they were condemned, hanged and burnt in the main square in Florence. Savonarola 's devotees , the Piagnomi, kept his republican freedom and religious reform alive well into the next century,

Isobel Selina Miller Kuhn - Belle - was a Canadian Christian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China and northern Thailand. She served with the China Inland Mission, along with her husband John , as a Bible translator, church planter, Bible teacher, evangelist and author of 9 books about her experiences. Rainy Seasons Bible Schools was opened by Isobel. During the dry season her ‘pupils’ worked hard on the land. When the floods came they were able to study. From 1930-1954 Isobel and John were missionaries in China. Their missionary work was put on hold from 1950-2 because of the Chinese communist revolution. In 1954 Isobel was diagnosed with cancer and she concentrated on writing her books. Her first book By Searching is an autobiography of her early life in a Christian home and her eventual conversion, aged 20, to being a born again Christian. ISBN 978-0853639111 Irene Howat in her book Gold from Dark Mines looks at Isobel 's searching and 5 other well known Christians and their build-up to their conversions. Isobel died on March 20th 1957 with her John at her side. Her funeral was held at Wheaton College Church. When I get to heaven they aren’t going to see much of me but my heels, for I’ll be hanging over the golden wall keeping an eye on the Lisu church! Isobel Kuhn (Note Her father was a roentgenologist - a person who uses x-rays in the diagnosis of illness an disease.) Sources Wikipedia 4 excellent pages of notes Gold From Dark Mines Irene Howat ch7 p173-p203 (ISBN 1 -85792-943-8)

James Gilchrist Lawson was a popular American Baptist evangellst Christian author and hymn writer of the early twentieth century. He wrote and compiled biographical sketches for Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians (1911) **** is a landmark text in Pentecostal and Charismatic history. ** Deeper Experiences is the one book , other than the Bible, that has most influenced me Professor Dallas Willard He wrote Greatest Thoughts about God the compiler of this volume is able to give to the world the very cream of religious thoughts concerning God James was also editor of The Marked Reference Bible Read the notes . Deeper Experiences ,over 100 years later, is still available in paperback

William Trewartha Bray was the eldest of three children He was born in the village of Twelveheads, Cornwall, England. After leaving school he became a miner in Cornwall for 7 years. He was a drunkard and prone to riotous behaviour. In 1821 he married Joanna, a lapsed Methodist. They had 9 children -two were orphans In November 1823, following a close escape from a mining accident, he was converted* *after reading John Bunyan’s Visions of Heaven and Hell. He became well known as an unconventional Cornish preacher - his sermons were enlivened by spontaneous outbursts of singing and dancing. His biographer, F.W. Bourne, quoted Billy as saying If they put me in a barrel, I would shout glory out through the bunghole! Praise the Lord about people who complained about his enthusiastic singing and shouting. He generously gave help to other people. He raise enough funds to build three new Methodists chapels. The one in Kerley Downs was nicknamed 'Three Eyes ’ because it had three windows and was later dedicated to him in 1984. In 2012 Michael Bentley wrote a children’s book about Billy.

Johann or Johannes Agricola (originally Schneider, than Schnitter) was a German Protestant Reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was born at Eisleben where he is sometimes called M agister Islebius. He studied at Wittenberg where he gained the friendship of Martin Luther. Together, in 1519 they attended the great assembly of German divines at Leipzig where he acted as recording secretary. After some time in Wittenberg he went in Frankfurt in 1525 to establish the Protestant mode of worship. Within a month he was called to Eisleben where he taught at St. Andrew’s school and preached in the Nicolai church until 1526… In 1536 he was recalled to Wittenberg and initially welcomed by Luther. Back in 1526 they had controversial disagreement over the binding obligation of the law on Christians- this broke out more violently then before. He was unable to appease the Adiaphoristic controversy. (See * Controversyand note from Britannica) He wrote an attack shortly after Luther had given him shelter when he was fleeing persecution. Luther had nothing further to do with him. He escaped to Berlin where Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, appointed him court preacher and general superintendent. He held both posts until his death 30 years later. His career there was one of great activity and influence. He died during an epidemic of plague on 22nd September 1566. He wrote a number of theological works (See Writings) Sources Wikipedia Britannica

George Abbot was an English divine who was Archbishop of Canterbury form 1611-1633. He was a translator of the King James Version of the Bible. He also served as the fourth chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1612-1633. He was a conscientious prelate , though narrow in view and often harsh towards both separatists and roman catholics. He wrote a large number of works and was one of the translators of the 1611 King James version of the Bible. George accidently shot a gamekeeper in 1621. A commission met to consider whether he was fit for the primacy- King James exercised his vote in his favour. Gustavus Paine notes that George was both translator of the 1611 Bible and the only Archbishop Canterbury to kill a human being. He was born and buried in Guildford. His legacy there is a hospital, a secondary school, a pub and a statue in the High Street. Source Wikipedia

Pierre Abelard, born Pierre ie Pellet, was a French scholastic, philosopher, leading logician, poet, composer and musician of the 12th century. He is considered a forerunner of Rousseau, Kent and Spinoza. He is sometimes credited as a chief forerunner of modern empiricism. He is considered to be the most significant forerunner also of the modern self-reflective autobiography - The History of my Calamities -his publicly distributed letter. In history and popular culture he is best known for his passionate and tragic love affair with his brilliant student and eventual wife, Heloise d’Argenteuil. They had a son, Astrolabe, before he was castrated by her uncle Fulbert’s men. In shame he embraced the monastic life. Afterwards both went into monasteries. In Catholic theology he is best known for his development of the concept of limbo, and his introduction of the moral influence theory on Atonement. He wrote a number of books and modern editions and translations of his work are available. (See List) Pierre is considered one of the founders of the secular university and pre-Renaissance secular philosophical thought. Sources Wikipedia Britannica

Denis was a French Catholic who served as Archbishop of Paris (1840-8). He was killed by a ‘stray’ bullet during the June Days uprising in Paris. On June 23rd 1848 a large segment of the citizens of Paris rioted because the French government had decided to close the National Workshops it had recently created. Paris was facing starvation. Denis, as archbishop, was begged by Frederic Ozanam to intervene to stop the bloodshed. He mounted the barricades bearing a green branch as a sign of peace. He was lead to believe his personal involvement peace might be restored between the military and the insurgents As he began to speak there was an exchange of fire arms - a ‘stray’ bullet hit Denis which would prove fatal. He was taken to his palace where he died on 27th June. A public funeral was held on 7th July. The crowd following the cortege was estimated at 200,000. His cause for canonization has commenced and he is venerated as a Servant of God within the Catholic Church. Source wikipedia

Aelred of Rievaulx was an English Cistercian monk, abbot from 1147 until his death (20 years later) . He best known as a writer. Both Anglicans and Catholics regard him as a saint. His early education was probably at the cathedral school in Durham. From about the age of 14 he spent time at the court of King David I of Scotland in Roxburgh, rising to the rank of echonomus (steward or master of the Household)… He left the court aged 24, in 1134, to enter the Cistercian abbey of Rievaylx in Yorkshire. He was the son of Eilaf, a priest, so he was forbidden, when he became an adult, by the 1095 Council of Claremont, ordination as a priest so he became a monk. ( This was done in part to prevent the inheritance of benefices.) In 1142 he travelled to Rome. On his return he became novice master at Rievaulx. In 1143 appointed abbot of the new Ravesby Abbey. 1147 elected abbot of Rievaulx, a position he held until his death in 1167. All of Aelred’s works have appeared in translation, most in English and French. ( See Writings) David Knowles, a historian of monasticism in England , describes him, for efforts in writing and administration, as the St. Bernard of the North, a singularly attractive character, no other English monk of the twelfth century so lingers in the memory.

Adrian IV, originally Nicholas Breakspear, was born in Abbot’s Langley, Hertfordshire. he was educated in Franceand became ab Augustine monk and abbot in 1137. While on a trip to Rome he was retained in papal service and elevated to cardinal (c1150). He went on various diplomatic missions to Catalonia, Scandinavia and Sweden. He was appointed bishop of Alano around 1140. He became pope in 1154 on the death of Pope Anastasius IV. For unknown reasons, probably at the request of his predecessor, he was elected pope by the other cardinals. He was unable to complete his coronation service due to the state of politics in Rome. Afterwards he decisively restored the papal authority. He crowned Frederick I (Barbarossa) Holy Roman Emperor. They had a stormy relationship - it started badly and got progressively worse. His relationship with England seemed to have remained generally good. He showered St.Albans Abbey with privileges and granted Henry ll policies where he could. Sources Wikipedia *The Hodder & Stoughton Book of famous Christians * by Tony Castle

AElfric was an English abbot and student of AEthelwold of Winchester. He was a prolific writer in the Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries and other genres. He wrote 2 sets of 40 homilies and then wrote 3 works to help students learn Latin - the Grammar, the Glossary and the Colloquy. A third set ,* Lives of Saints* dated from 996-7. AEthelwold asked him to translate from the Old Testament the beginning of Genesis from Latin into Old English. This was the very first time the Old Testament was translated into Old English. Rather than translate it verbatim he translated it by its meaning. In 1005 he moved to AEthelwold’s new monastery in Eynsham where he was the monastery’s first abbot. He died in 1010… He left careful instructions to future scribes to copy his work carefully. He did not want it marred by the introduction of unorthodox passages and scribal errors. AElfric was the most prolific writer in Old English.His main theme was God’s mercy. In 2022 a blue plaque was unveiled in Eynsham in recognition of his work. According to Claudio Leonardi he represented the highest pinnacle of Benedictine reform and Anglo-Saxon literature. Source Wikipedia

William was an English official on board the Mayflower in 1620 He was probably born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. He studied briefly at Peterhouse, Cambridge before entering the service of William Davison , ambassador to the Netherlands, in1584. He became a Puritan before moving illegally from England to Holland - the departure was a complex matter. They were arrested in 1607 but in 1608 they were successful leaving from the Humber estuary. For the first year they lived in Amsterdam, Holland. After controversy they moved to Leiden. He was first an assistant and later an elder to Pastor John Robinson. He printed and published Puritan religious books and taught English to university students. When the Speedwell sailed to England he was the highest ranked layman of the congregation and was their designated elder for the Plymouth colony. He was also the only pilgrim with political and diplomatic experience. The Mayflower departed Plymouth in England in September 1620. The 100 foot vessel carried 102 passengers and a crew 30/40 in cramped conditions. During the voyage the ship was buffeted by strong winds. After being blown off course by gales it landed first at Cape Cod. It continued on to an area near present day Plymouth, Massachsetts and landed on 21st December 1620. Within months half the passengers had died due to the cold, harsh New England winter. William served as the senior elder and religious leader of the colony until 1629 when pastor Ralph Smith arrived. He continued to preach irregularly until his death on 10th April 1644. 4 of the outer islands now bear his name - Great, Little, Middle and Outer Brewster. Source Wikipedia

Thomas Bray in 1698 founded the UK based Christian Charity *Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ( SPCK) and in 1701 the separate Society for the Propagation of the Gospel(SPG). After graduation and ordination he* became a curate at Bridgnorth and then chaplain for Sir. Thomas Price at Lea Marstone. Thomas’s library drew the attention of John Kettlewell, the vicar at Coleshill, who pointed out to him that the poverty of country parsons kept then from owning and reading theological books, which could lead to ignorance and hopelessness and affect their ministry. As a result Thomas wrote and published the first volume of* Catechetical Lectures* The book sold well and drew the attention of Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, who had been impressed by his diligence and library ideas. Thomas as a result was sent to the colony of Maryland, USA to represent him. Maryland wanted an experienced, unexceptionable priest to supervise them. Thomas knew that the clergy willing to accept positions overseas were often among the poorest and unable to bring or obtain religious books, so he conditioned his acceptance upon having funds to supply the parishes with books. In 1699 he sailed to Maryland having started his library work in seaport libraries at Gravesend, Deal and Plymouth on his outward journey. He envisioned a library for each parish in the USA. During his lifetime 39 were established in the Colonies, over 80 were established in England and Wales. His efforts would eventually lead in the founding of nearly 100 libraries in the USA and over 200 in England. In 1706 he became rector of St.Botolph’s, Aldgate where he spent the final decades of his life serving that parish and engaging in other philanthropic and literary activities. *To obtain books for these libraries, requests are to made to the learned author now living, yo give copies of their books, and to others, especially merchants to the foreign plantations, to give money, of all of which there shall be a full amount published, * Steiner 1896 pp59-75 Source Wikipedia

St. Birinus was the first bishop of Dorchester. He was known as the ’ Apostle to the West Saxons’ for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. H e was a Benedictine monk. He was made bishop by Asterius in Genoa. Pope Honorius created the commission to convert the West Saxons. In 635 King Cynegils, who had allowed St. Birinus to preach and baptise his son and grandson, was trying to create an alliance with Oswald of Northumbria, a pagan king. to fight the Mercians. The ‘sticking point’ was that Oswald was a pagan. When Oswald was converted and baptised the alliance was made. St.Birinus was then given Dorchester-on-Thames as his episcopal see. He established several churches in Wessex - he supposedly aid the foundations for St. Mary’s in Reading. There is a church to St. Birinus in Calcot, Reading. That was our local church when we lived there. St, Birinus died in Dorchester on 3 December c649. Source Wikipedia