Boucher, Joan, was a lady of Kent, England, whose position in society was so exalted that she had access to the court of Henry VIII.

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Boucher, Joan, was a lady of Kent, England, whose position in society was so exalted that she had access to the court of Henry VIII., and for a time held an honorable position in it. This lady was accustomed to take Bibles into the palace for distribution, concealed under her apparel. She visited the persecuted in prison, and contributed to their support and encouragement. She loved Christ, and she received such courageous grace from him that she feared nothing human and nothing painful. She would defy a dozen bishops, or as many executioners, if they attempted to com- pel her to deny her faith. Her talents made her a serious Opponent in any discussion, even though Cranmer or Ridley took the other side. Joan was a.firm Baptist, and she held a peculiar opinion about the origin of the Saviour’s body. ‘‘You believe,” said Cranmer to her, “that the Word was made flesh in the virgin, but that Christ took flesh of the virgin you believe not, because the flesh of the virgin being the outward man [was] sinfully gotten, and born in sin, but the Word, by the consent of the inward man of the vir- gin, was made flesh.” This conceit held by Joan did not impugn the divinity or humanity of Christ, or the maternal relations of Mary to Jesus, and Cranmer might have safely passed it by. (NOTE: The transcripts of these trials were recorded by their enemies so I am always a bit cynical as to accuracy and especially their interpretation of what was said. These were Cramer’s words in accusation of her. Indeed many were accused of similar things for denying the sinlessness of Mary or also rejecting the title imposed on her as the “mother of God.” ) But she was an Anabaptist, and she must recant or be burned. She defended her doctrine of Christ’s purity of nature with great power and persever- ance, and the protracted efforts of two of the ablest prelates in the Church of England failed to make any impression upon her. She was then de- livered up to the secular power for punishment. Cranmer had much trouble in persuading the youthful king Edward VI. to sign her death-war- rant. He told him with tears in his eyes that if he did wrong, since it was in submission to his au- thority, the archbishop should answer for it before God. ‘This struck him with much horror, so that he was very unwilling to have the sentence exe- cuted.” But other attempts to make Joan re- nounce her opinions were made with provoking results ; and this distinguished Baptist was burned to ashes almost exclusively through the efforts of Archbishop Cranmer. She passed through the flames to paradise May 2, 1550, in Smithfield, London. Her death was marked by perfect fear- lessness and by the full peace of God. In Mary’s time poor Cranmer had to drink the cup he forced on Joan Boucher, and the lady’s courage far sur- passed the archbishop’s when the time of trial first approached. From the Baptist Encyclopedia by William Cathcart (Note illustration is not of her specifically)