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Early Modern Britain - Evaluation of Ann Askew, Examination by the Church of England

Early Modern Britain - evaluation of Ann Askew, examination by the Church of England


The process of reformation for the Church of England has been the long and painful one. Number of people, some of them prominent religious activists have been accused of heresy and persecuted accordingly, before the Church could complete the transition from the Medieval Catholic towards the Reformed Protestant.

Among such people has been Ann Askew, a woman of bright mind and very strong faith, who has set her heart to follow the Scriptures and has been held under the torturous examination of the Church of England for being accused in heresy.

The trial and examination of Anne Askew is a perfect example of the long and difficult process of the Reformation of the Church of England and the stubbornness of Church officials in their determination to put off the inevitable changes in the religious doctrines and practices (which naturally threatened their position), along with the little concern they have had for the real faith and rightful interpretation of the Scriptures.
Thus, during her rigorous and painful examination an Askew has been evaluated in the presence of numerous Church officials and was examined for such issues as the sacraments of the Catholic Church, in particular, whether or not she believes that the if the corrupted priest administers the communion the people houseled by him receive the blood and body of Christ in substance, etc. (p. 539)

Basically the priests and bishops have examined her in order to prove her heresy because some of her convictions clearly disagreed with the official teachings of the Catholic Church. Their questions were somewhat tricky, since they have tried in numerous ways to provoke her for an open debate or confrontation which would display those details of her true beliefs that were not to their liking. Ann knew that she has been brought in for that specific matter, in order to be convicted and prosecuted as a heretic. That is why she has requested the presence of some religious scholars that have sympathized with her cause (p. 539). Clearly, she has been hoping to make an appeal to the faith of Church officials, as well as their reason. Unfortunately, they were determined to make her case a demonstration and cared little for her true convictions and beliefs. That is why during her first examinations she has been presented with false charges clearly indicating the heresy of the one capable of such deeds and statements, which she has bravely rejected (p. 540). Another proof of their real intentions has been the testimony of the priest which has been sent to counsel her in prison and pretended to sympathize her, only to ask her provocative questions and make false accusations presented to her during the official hearings (p. 538, 539). Thus, Church officials have used rather morally dubious methods in order to accuse Ann while publicly ensuring her that she must confess her true beliefs openly because there is nothing she should be really afraid of in their presence (p. 540).

In turn, Ann has been wise enough to provide her accusers with short and ambiguous answers, formulating them in such a manner that Church officials would have no reason for accusing her in heresy at the same time making sure that she herself does not compromise her faith by the way she speaks about her beliefs. Her frequent tactic has been quoting the Scriptures, which presented the safest possible way to reply to her accusers (p. 538, 539, 541). Ann has also taken refuge in the way Bible treats women, frequently pointing out her limited authority to make statements of scholastic nature, especially concerning religion (p. 541). However, this has not been Ann's original intention and she has only employed such technique to escape lengthy discussion which would surely bring her a death sentence. In addition, Ann has publicly confessed and has been recorded to accept core Christian beliefs which were also central in the Catholic Church (p. 541). Naturally, her accusers have been quite unnerved by her wise answers and the way she skillfully avoided any confrontation and, consequently, their anger towards Ann Askew has only increased as the examination process continued. For instance, according to the law, Ann must have been released to bail right after her confession; however, instead she has been put back in prison (p. 543).

Finally, completely annoyed with Anne's answers, her accusers have threatened her to reply openly to their questions or she would suffer (p. 546). Anne has argued that they were more than familiar with her arguments and would not accept them because of their stubbornness and dedication to the old doctrines (p. 544). Consequently, she has been condemned for heresy, which automatically gave her persecutors the right to administer all kinds of tortures on her and finally burn her at stake as a heretic. It must be added that during her trial Anne Askew has been exceptionally brave to defend her cause and to avoid the ways in which she could have escaped the sentence, which proves that she has strongly believed in her cause and has been determined to die for her faith. From the religious perspective, it can be said that Anne has had a very strong faith and had sacrifices her life in order to help transform the Church for which she has had deep concern and affection (p. 544, 545).

This case proves that even a person with a great faith like Ann Askew would not be spared in the last and failing attempts of the Church of England to escape the inevitable changes in the religious attitudes and beliefs of its parishioners and the society as a whole.




Works cited

The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe. Vol. V. New York: AMS Press Inc., 1965.
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Posted by: Natalie Saturday

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