The Eucharistic Debate in Tudor England: Thomas Cranmer, Stephen Gardiner, and the English Reformation

In 1550–51, English Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer engaged in a debate with Bishop Stephen Gardiner. Archbishop Cranmer was asserting a new Reformed view for England's Eucharist theology, but he faced opposition from England's leading traditional theologian, Gardiner. Gardiner remained faithful to the traditional doctrine of transubstantiation, while Cranmer was formulating a Spiritual Presence theology. This book analyzes the debate, asking how both Cranmer and Gardiner arrived at opposing theologies despite being involved similarly in English religion and politics. To answer the question, the book examines each author's use of scripture, continental Reformers, and early Church Fathers. The book also argues that the personal and political context surrounding the two men shaped the nature of the theological debate. While trying to push Edward VI's England toward greater Reformation, Cranmer faced continued opposition from Gardiner who was imprisoned throughout Edward's reign. Gardiner sought release from prison and a return to authority, while Cranmer sought validation for his new theology and its associated legislation. To counter Gardiner's challenge, Cranmer had to create a clear Eucharistic theology. This political and personal climate therefore forced Cranmer to create England's Spiritual Presence theology by 1552 that was adopted in the 1558 Elizabethan Settlement and Anglican Church. It was this debate that set Anglicanism for England.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Planning a Debate Chapter 2: From the Continent to England Chapter 3: Challenging the Archbishop Chapter 4: Sola Scriptura Chapter 5: Turning to the Primitive Church Chapter 6: The Debate Lives

About the Author :
Amanda Wrenn Allen is assistant professor of history at Brewton–Parker College.

Review :
This is a very good. readable study and goes a long way to expanding our understanding of two important English Reformation leaders. Allen’s work successfully examines the three critical texts of the Eucharistic debate and properly places them in the theological and political world of Tudor England. Her most notable strength is the skill to extrapolate the arguments of Cranmer and Gardiner from the texts and to pinpoint the inconsistencies and ruptures in each of their arguments. She also successfully captures the political intrigue of Henry VIII’s court and persuasively demonstrates the connection between that and the personal ambitions even of religious, spiritual men. This work is an essential addition to the library of any scholar or student of theology or church history and is especially recommended for those interested in the intersection between religion and politics in the early modern period. Amanda Wrenn Allen’s narrative is driven by the life-and-death drama of Cranmer and Gardiner’s nemesis/foe relationship. She has wrested back a view of the creation of the Reformation’s English contours from one featuring secular politicians and continental reformers to one that highlights Convocation and that was the result of the crafting of English theologians. Allen’s argument makes the Eucharist central to the shape of the English church. This is not only overdue—it is vital in reflecting the theological concerns of the sixteenth-century reformers themselves. Amanda Wrenn Allen makes several crucial points regarding the neglect of both the English Eucharist debate and the reign of Edward VI, which played a much larger role in the English Reformation than has previously been acknowledged. The influence of Thomas Cranmer and Stephen Gardner is convincingly argued as she highlights the construct of the Eucharist debate and theological reforms that occurred before the Elizabethan settlement and ultimately laid the foundations for the English Reformation. Wrenn’s final conclusions, that the English Reformation was uniquely English and less shaped by European reformers, is a radical departure from the majority of scholars; however, based on her historiographical analysis of major works, one is hard placed to counter her arguments as she demonstrates the gaps in existing scholarship. Wrenn’s work thus provides important insight into how English Reformation theology evolved as well as into the political, personal, and religious ties that shaped its formation.