Biography
John Hooper was born around 1495, in Somerset, England. He was educated at Oxford and entered the Cistercian order, becoming a monk. He studied the Scriptures and became attracted to the Reformation. In the 1530s, he left the monastery, after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, and he turned to the study of the writings of the Swiss reformers. He was an able scholar and was drawn to the teaching of Zwingli and Bullinger. He had to flee England in 1539 because of the Six Articles, a law that reaffirmed traditional doctrine.
He went to Strasbourg and then to Zurich, where he lived for several years. He became a friend of the Reformer Heinrich Bullinger, who encouraged him in his views. He also married a Flemish woman, Anna de Tserclaes, and the two had a daughter and a son. When Edward VI became king in 1547, he returned to England and began to preach in London. He was popular and drew crowds. He became a chaplain to the Duke of Somerset, a leading figure at the court. In 1550, he was offered the bishopric of Gloucester.
He refused to be consecrated at first because of the vestments that the bishops were required to wear. He objected to the rochet and chimere, which he thought were relics of the Roman church. This led to a famous dispute with Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer. He was imprisoned for a time and finally consented to wear the vestments on the day of his consecration. He was made Bishop of Gloucester in 1551 and then also of Worcester. He was a strict and careful bishop. He visited his diocese and examined the clergy. He found that many of them did not know the Ten Commandments or the Lord's Prayer, and he set about a program of education. He was known for his generosity to the poor. He also took a keen interest in the moral state of his people.
When Mary became queen in 1553, he was one of the first to be arrested. He was thrown into the Fleet prison, where he was held in a cell with filth and bad treatment. He was in prison for a year and a half. He was examined in January 1555 and refused to recant. He was condemned as a heretic. He was degraded from his office and sent to Gloucester to be burned.
On February 9, 1555, he was taken to a place near the cathedral in Gloucester, where a stake had been set up. A crowd of thousands came to watch. He prayed and then was bound to the stake. The wood was green, and the fire was slow. He suffered a long and terrible death. He is said to have prayed for mercy and to have said that he was ready to die. It took him about three quarters of an hour to die. He was about sixty years old.
His death was an example of the courage of the martyrs, and it was recorded by John Foxe. He is remembered as a man who held to his convictions about the Word of God, even about minor points of ceremony, with an unyielding firmness. He also had a harsh side and was sometimes severe in his dealings. Yet he showed his faith in his last hours. His life shows the cost of the Reformation and the perseverance of those who died for it.