After King Henry VIII’s break with England he seemed intent on creating an English Catholic Church, for instance the Statute of Six articles upheld many basic Catholic articles. Only two serious changes marked the new way within the Church of England. The first was the suppression of the monasteries; the second was the publication of the English Bible for use in the churches. In the latter years of William Tyndale’s life he produced translated portions of the Old Testament (including the Pentateuch) and an improved edition of the New. In 1536 he died, burned at the stake. Yet, during his imprisonment Miles Coverdale published an edition of the Bible which was essentially Tyndale’s work, supplemented by Latin and German versions. Then, a year after Tyndale’s death, the Matthew Bible appeared. It was the work of another English reformer named John Rogers, it was virtually a well-edited compilation of Tyndale and Coverdale’s work. At Cranmer’s request King Henry authorized that this Bible, revised by Coverdale and called the "Great Bible," be bought and read throughout the realm.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, Church-of-England, ChurchRodent, English-Bible, Henry-VIII, Reformation, history, John-Rogers, Matthew-Bible, Miles-Coverdale, William-Tyndale, Tyndale[/tags]