Robert Ferrar (died 30 March 1555) was a

Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the St Davids, city of ...

in Wales. He was prior of

Nostell Priory Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, England, near Crofton on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733, and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its contents w ...

, embraced the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, and was made Bishop of St. David's by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. He suffered

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom during the

Marian persecutions Protestants were executed in England under heresy laws during the reigns of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and Mary I (1553–1558). Radical Christians also were executed, though in much smaller numbers, during the reigns of Edward VI (1547–155 ...

Early life

There is no specific information on the date and place of Robert Ferrar's birth, but he did state to

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip. Early life Gardiner was b ...

that he was born in the reign of King Henry VII. It is assumed he was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

because of his later connections with the county: He was found first living at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire in the 1520s. On 24 May 1524, Ferrar was ordained successively as acolyte and subdeacon. On 24 September, four months later, he was ordained as deacon. After being ordained as a deacon all students participated in a profession, a promise to lead a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Ferrar argued that to live chastely entailed a life of celibacy. From among the canons of Nostell he was chosen to receive the benefit of a university education sponsored by the priory. From c.1525–1534 Ferrar was a student at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he became a Bachelor of Theology.

Influences

In 1526, while Ferrar was in Cambridge, a number of students took an interest in the teachings of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

, and were later to become prominent as reformers and martyrs of the English church. These included

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the s ...

Thomas Bilney Thomas Bilney ( 149519 August 1531) was an English Christian martyr. Early life Thomas Bilney was born around 1495 in Norfolk, most likely in Norwich. Nothing is known of his parents except that they outlived him. He entered Trinity Hall, ...

and Robert Barnes. They were bold enough to preach new doctrines publicly, but were accused of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

and forced to conform with the traditional teaching. Also in 1528 the prior of St. Mary's college at Oxford was John Ramsey. Among his books was a copy of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

's ''

Enchiridion militis Christiani The ''Handbook of a Christian Knight'' ( lat, Enchiridion militis Christiani), sometimes translated as ''The Manual of a Christian Knight'' or ''The Handbook of the Christian Soldier'', is a work written by Dutch scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam in ...

'' or "Handbook of the Christian Soldier." A group of scholars of New Cardinal College spread the teachings of the reformer among Oxford students. Because

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

was suspected within the college, a purge and search was ordered, and illegal reformist books were found. Ferrar was on

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...

's list as possessing forbidden books, leading to his first arrest. Ferrar formally applied for his degree in theology in May 1533, which was granted. After receiving his licence, Ferrar preached in the towns and villages near Nostell Priory where he was based. In June 1538

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

appointed Ferrar as Prior of St. Oswald. Ferrar left the priorship by 1539 and there is little record of him for the next seven years. According to sources, he did not preach during this time. When

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

passed the Act of Six Articles Ferrar was a target for attack by those who sought to enforce it. He was summoned on 10 September 1540 for the safety of his soul and heretical views. When he failed to appear he was excommunicated. He bought land in 1545 for agricultural and business purposes.

Ferrar as bishop

In 1547

took the throne, and Ferrar was released from prison following the repeal of the Six Articles. He was then appointed as a preacher to represent Edward during the royal visitation of 1547. Ferrar worked to bring reforms, such as the addition of the

English Bible Partial Bible translations into languages of the English people can be traced back to the late 7th century, including translations into Old and Middle English. More than 100 complete translations into English have been written. In the United S ...

, the exposure of idolatry and other "superstitious" activities, throughout several dioceses in England and Wales. Soon after, Ferrar was appointed as the Bishop of St. David's diocese by Edward VI on Sunday 9 September 1548. It is unclear why, but several months passed between Ferrar's consecration and his arrival at St. David's. Upon his arrival, however, he moved for serious reforms. Ferrar pursued religious reform in his short term as bishop through

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

legislation, administration of

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