Stained glass picture of an archbishop, Canterbury Cathedral

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Cranmer cautiously promoted reform during the reign of Henry VIII and more aggressively pursued this program during the reign of Edward VI which began in 1547. Among his first objectives as a reformer was to secure the use of the English Bible in worship. Cranmer was also the principal author and editor of The Book of Common Prayer which provided a vernacular liturgy for the Church of England. He was also the guiding hand behind the production of the Thirty-nine Articles which stated in mildly Calvinistic terms the doctrinal position of the Church of England over against the Roman Catholic Church. When Roman Catholicism was briefly restored to England during the reign of Mary Tudor, Cranmer was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1556.