The Spark of the Reformation - 500th anniversary event

‘Casting the First Stone of England’s Reformation: Christmas Eve 1525 in St Edward’s, Cambridge’

Join us for a lecture at St Edward's Church, Cambridge with Professor Alec Ryrie on Barnes’ midnight Mass sermon that kindled the fire of the English Reformation.

On Christmas Eve 1525, an Augustinian friar named Robert Barnes preached a sermon in St Edward’s Church. What he said was provocative, but it was the context that made it explosive. It not only led to his arrest and imprisonment, a dramatic escape after faking suicide, setting him on the road that would end with burning at the stake fifteen years later. It also set in train a sequence of events that made it possible for Henry VIII to break Catholic England and begin to build something new in its place, eventually taking England’s religion somewhere that would have appalled both the friar and the king.

The event will be followed by a reception with mulled wine and mince pies, which all attendees are welcome to join.

To book visit: https://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/college-events/the-spark-of-the-reformation-500th-anniversary-of-robert-barnes-sermon/

This is a hybrid event. You can book to attend in-person or watch the event online via YouTube. Please note that the event will not appear on the YouTube channel until Saturday 6 December.