# Event Details - **Event Name**: The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon - **Event Start and End Date**: Sat, 06 Dec, 2025 at 07:30 pm – Sat, 06 Dec, 2025 at 09:00 pm - **Event Description**: Join us for a lecture with Prof. Alec Ryrie on Barnes' midnight Mass sermon that kindled the fire of the English Reformation.About this Event'Casting the First Stone of England’s Reformation: Christmas Eve 1525 in St Edward’s, Cambridge'On Christmas Eve 1525, an Augustinian friar named Robert Barnes preached a sermon in St Edward’s Church. What he said was provocative, but it was the context that made it explosive. It not only led to his arrest and imprisonment, a dramatic escape after faking suicide, setting him on the road that would end with burning at the stake fifteen years later. It also set in train a sequence of events that made it possible for Henry VIII to break Catholic England and begin to build something new in its place, eventually taking England’s religion somewhere that would have appalled both the friar and the king.Alec Ryrie is Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University and a Fellow of the British Academy. Since reading History at Trinity Hall (1990-3), he studied at St Andrews and Oxford, taught at the University of Birmingham, and has been Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London and President of the Ecclesiastical History Society. He is author of a series of books on the Reformation in England and Scotland and on the history of Christianity up to modern times, including Being Protestant in Reformation Britain (2013), Protestants (2017), Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt (2019) and The Age of Hitler and How We Will Survive It (2025).[NB There may be photography at this event for use in in digital and print communications. If you do not wish to have your photograph taken please contact communications@trinhall.cam.ac.uk in advance or on the day.] https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/9fdc97b0-bcd7-11f0-9774-53901ea914e5-rimg-w1200-h424-dc000000-gmir.png - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/cambridge/the-spark-of-the-reformation-500th-anniversary-of-robert-barnes-sermon/100001702813564209 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, christmas, performances, theatre, entertainment, christmas-services - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Cambridge - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: St Edward King & Martyr C Of E Church - **lat**: 52.2046533 - **long**: 0.11855420000006234 - **full address**: St Edward King & Martyr C Of E Church, Peas Hill, Cambridge, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/5372779f6d493093e0a5d7eeb3717c36f90cd942a555ea1fd9d72196fbcb5d5d-rimg-w900-h602-dc474747-gmir.jpg?v=1762629499 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon being held? - **A:** The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon takes place on Sat, 06 Dec, 2025 at 07:30 pm to Sat, 06 Dec, 2025 at 09:00 pm at St Edward King & Martyr C Of E Church, Peas Hill, Cambridge, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon? - **A:** The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon is organized by St Edward King and Martyr. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** The Spark of the Reformation: 500th anniversary of Robert Barnes' Sermon is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Cambridge, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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