Matthew's+Bible



John Rogers is remembered and venerated as a devout reformationist, a friend and follower of William Tyndale and a Martyr during the reign of Bloody Mary from 1553--1558.
 * John Rogers and Matthew's Bible**

He was born in Astin, Birmingham around 1500. Unlike most we have record of his parentage and youth. He was educated at the Guild School of St. John the Baptist, then went to Cambridge where he recieved his degree in 1526. He entered the priesthood and was made Rector of Holy Trinity Church in London where he served from 1532 to 1534. In 1534 he accepted the post of Chaplain to the society of English merchants living in Antwerp. Here he met William Tyndale who was living in exile with the merchants, hiding from the wrath of King and church. Rogers befriended Tyndale, and was heavily influenced by him. He soon renounced his position in the Catholic Church, abandoned the faith and married a young woman from Antwerp. Rogers was impressed by Tyndale's work, and felt it needed the recognition both the church and the state had forbidden.

**Matthew's Bible** In 1536 William Tyndale was martyred in the courtyard of Vilvoorde Castle. Rogers took it upon himself to make certain that Tyndale's work was given to the English people. He edited and annotated Tyndale's full translation of the New Testament and what portions of the Old Testament Tyndale had finished--at this point everything from Genesis to 2 Chronicles and the Book of Jonah. He edited and annotated the remainder directly from Coverdale's Bible of 1535. He actually did do one bit of original work for the Bible he was preparing, translating the apocryphal Song of Manasses from a French text he had discovered. When the manuscript was ready he entitled the work "Matthew's Bible," making the name a pseudonym for William Tyndale.

While Rogers' motives were pure and altruistic, being driven by his loyalty and devotion to Tyndale, the publication of Matthew's Bible was another story. While the initial printing was financed by Rogers' Uncle-in-Law and was printed in Antwerp, the Bible was destined to go to England in the name of big business. Richard Grafton, a London printer saw the great underground success of Tyndale's New Testament. It had instantly become a big seller (even though most of the copies were purchased by Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall so that the church could burn them). The government sanctioned and legitimized sale of the Coverdale Bible was just as great. There was money to be made in the Bible printing business. Grafton obtained the Matthew's Bible, received the royal licensure and in 1537 printed one thousand five hundred officially recognized and legitimate copies of what was, ultimately, Tyndale's outlaw Bible translation. This, and his contribution to Coverdale's Bible assured that Tyndale's influence would be felt on just about every version of the Bible to follow up to and including the King James Version of 1611.

In 1540 Rogers entered the University at Wittenberg where he met and worked with some of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. He stayed for several years, performing ecclesiastial works throughout Germany. In 1548 he returned to England where, under the reign of Edward VI he was made an administrator and lecturer at St. Pauls Cathedral.

Queen Mary assumed the throne on July 19, 1553. Less than one month later, August 6, 1553, Rogers openly defied the Queen's authority. Preaching from the open pulpit at St Paul's he condemned the Catholic Church, accusing them of idolatry, papacy and superstition. He commended the reformed Christian doctrines the people enjoyed under the reigns of Henry and Edward. On August 16, he was placed under house arrest for five months then was incarcerated at Newgate Prison by order of the now very Catholic Bishop of London. He reamined imprisoned with other reformers for a full year while the Queen and Parliament reinstated the laws needed to try them. On January 29, 1555 Rogers was brought before a tribunal, found guilty of Heresy and condemned to die. The sentence was executed on February 4, 1555. Rogers was taken to Smithfield and was burned at the stake, a martyr for the reformation.