History Commons^™

Flesh, Blood, And Puffed-Up Livers: The Theological, Political, And Social Contexts Behind The 1550-1551 Written Eucharistic Debate Between Thomas Cranmer And Stephen Gardiner, Amanda Wrenn Allen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In 1550 Thomas Cranmer wrote A Defence of the True and Catholike Doctrine of the body and bloud of our saviour Christ. This theological work sparked a written debate between him and leading English traditionalist Stephen Gardiner in 1551. This dissertation outlines the differences between Cranmer’s newly asserted Reformed understanding of a Spiritual Presence in the Eucharist and Gardiner’s traditional doctrine of Real Presence, more commonly termed transubstantiation. The dissertation analyzes the three-book exchange between these bishops and explains how each uses the same Scripture, writings of the early Church Fathers, and contemporary Continental Reformers to establish their very different …