Date: Wednesdays, January 29 - February 26 ( 5 weeks) Time: 7pm - 8:15pm Location: The Back 40 (6565 Arlington Blvd, 3rd Floor) Contact: Rev. Dr. John Frederick

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” It’s an ancient saying from the church father Tertullian (c. 150-220 AD) that called attention to a perplexing reality: the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians actually caused the church to grow in conversions rather than to be crushed and quieted.

As Anglicans, we stand on the shoulders of many faithful saints from the 16th century English Reformation. Like the apostles and the earliest Christians, most of the Anglican Reformers were martyred for their faith. Their legacies and influence live on in the 39 Articles of Religion and in the scripturally-infused spiritual riches of the Book of Common Prayer. Their sacrificial faithfulness is our Anglican spiritual heritage and their resilience in the face of persecution forms the steadfast fibers of our Anglican spiritual roots. Every Sunday in gathered worship, we stand with over 85 million Anglicans across the globe to pray the prayers of martyred men. But who were these leaders? And what can we learn from their lives, struggles, witness, and faithfulness?  We’ve taken time to learn their prayers; let’s turn now to learn about the people behind the prayers.

Join us this Winter as we explore the biographies of five foundational Anglican fathers in the faith: Thomas Bilney, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer (the architect of the Book of Common Prayer). We’ll use the book Masters of the English Reformation by Sir Marcus Loane (available here) as our guide. No prior reading or study will be required, however. All are welcome to simply come enjoy the talks and engage in Q&A.