Biography
John Frith was born around 1503, in Westerham, Kent, England. His father was an innkeeper. The family was of modest means, but John was a gifted boy. He was sent to Eton College and then to King's College, Cambridge, where he studied. He was a brilliant student, and he became known for his skill in languages and in mathematics. He was influenced at Cambridge by the group that met at the White Horse Inn and that discussed the new ideas of the Reformation. He was a friend of Thomas Bilney and William Tyndale and joined the movement for reform.
In 1525, Cardinal Wolsey invited him to be a fellow of his new college at Oxford, Cardinal College, which later became Christ Church. He went there, but his reformed views soon attracted attention. In 1528, he was arrested for possessing forbidden books and spent several months in prison. He and others were held in a fish cellar, in a damp and foul room, and several of his fellow prisoners died. He survived and was released in 1529. He fled to the Continent, where he joined Tyndale in Antwerp. He worked with him on the translation of the Scriptures.
He wrote a number of works in defense of the Reformation. His treatise A Disputation of Purgatory, published in 1531, answered the arguments of Sir Thomas More and others in favor of the doctrine of purgatory. He argued from Scripture that there was no such place, and that Christ had made full atonement for sin. He also wrote on the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and he denied that the bread and wine were turned into the body and blood of Christ. He held to a view that the sacrament was a memorial, and he stood against the doctrine of transubstantiation. His works were widely read.
In 1532, he returned to England in secret, probably to visit his family and to help the cause. He was recognized and arrested in Essex, and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Sir Thomas More examined him. He was kept in prison for several months. His friends sent him letters, and he wrote to encourage the believers outside. He was offered his freedom if he would recant his views about the sacrament. He refused. He said that he could not go against his conscience.
He was brought before the bishops, including the bishop of London, and condemned. He was tried in June 1533 and found guilty of heresy. On July 4, 1533, he was taken to Smithfield, in London, and burned at the stake with a tailor named Andrew Hewet. It is said that the fire burned slowly because the wind blew the flames away. He was calm throughout and said that he was glad to die for the truth. He was about thirty years old.
His death was an early blow to the cause in England. His writing helped to shape the thought of the English reformers who came after. He is remembered as a man of exceptional ability who might have lived a long life of scholarship. He gave it up for the sake of the gospel. His life shows that conviction can be held at the cost of one's life, and that a young man who is faithful may help a cause for generations.