Read about the meaning of martyrdom in a woman who refused to back down in her belief in the truth of God’s Word.

Testimony

Joan Boucher was distinctly a Baptist. This trait was evidenced both by her beliefs and by her faithful attendance and membership at the Baptist church at Canterbury.  She worked in the court of King Henry VIII and often witnessed to those she came into contact with in the palace.  Unlike many previous Baptist martyrs, Joan did not fall prey to the Catholic church, but a Protestan inquisition tried and convicted her.  This board of inquisitors was established in 1547, and she was one of the first that they pursued.  Only eighteen days after establishment, the inquisitors sought her out and brought her to trial.  The zeal in which they sought her out was most likely due to her strong testimony. She often handed out small portions of the Tyndale New Testament.  According to Foxe, she also spent much of her time visiting her imprisoned brothers and sisters in Christ.

Persecution

As they brought her before the inquisition board, two of the principal founders of the board, Cranmer and Latimer, questioned her.  Ironically, these two protestants would later be tried and martyred by this same court that they had formed.  The crime that Joan was tried for was her belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an ordinary woman with a sin nature.  When questioned about this, the panel simply wanted her to change her position but were not particularly desirous to see her condemned. 

In as much, they asked questions in such a way that she could word her answers to get out of the court.  Instead, she encouraged them to consider their ignorance in the matter and to read the Bible for themselves, having confidence in her position.  She also reminded them that this same group had led the charge to have another woman executed for not believing in the mass, a position that they now took as well.

Martyrdom

After much threatening and bribery, Joan Boucher stood firm in her convictions, thus they sentenced her to be burned alive.  They executed her sentence on May 2, 1550.  We may never know fully, to what degree her martyrdom impacted her judges, but at least three of them, Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer, later gave their lives at the same stake for their faith and Biblical positions.

We hope you enjoyed this piece of history authored by our pastor, Dr. Jim Willoughby, Temple Baptist Church in Kokomo, IN. For more articles like this, we invite you to visit our blog. For more information about our church, visit our homepage.