John Foxe AND HIS TURBULENT TIMES

Foxe Completes His Work

Back in England, Foxe embarked on an enlarged edition of his account, details of which may have been witnessed in person by some of his readers.  His first English edition-with some 1,800 pages and a number of woodcut illustrations-appeared in 1563 and became an immediate best seller.

The second edition  followed seven years later. Its two volumes had over 2,300 pages and 153 illustrations.   The following year, the Church of England decreed that a copy of Foxe's book be installed alongside the Bible in all English cathedrals and in the homes of church dignitaries for the benefit of servants and visitors. Parish churches soon followed this example.  Even the illiterate could benefit, thanks to the illustrations, which may a deep and lasting impression. 

By this time, Foxe had joined the Puritans, Protestants who felt that mere separation from the church of Rome was not enough. They taught that every vestige  of Catholicism had to be removed-a stance that, ironically brought them into conflict with the Protestant Church in England, which retained many Catholic customs and doctrines.  

Because his work exposed many  of the religious atrocities that took place in  his turbulent times, John Foxe shaped the way people viewed religion and  politics in England for centuries to come. 

Next time: Who Will Protect the Web of Life? -Man Against Nature

From the Awake! magazine