Cambridge University 1209 CMJ 1809

Cambridge University is celebrating its 800th anniversary this year. One of its distinguished professors in the 16th century was Erasmus of Rotterdam, who produced the first printed edition of the Greek New Testament, which was used by Martin Luther for his German translation of the NT and by William Tyndale, also a Cambridge man, who was the first to translate the New Testament into English from the original Greek rather than Latin.

Another Cambridge man was Thomas Cranmer, who became Archbishop of Canterbury on this day in 1533. He was the archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of the English kings Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was the author of the Book of Common Prayer, and was martyred on 21st March 1556 during the reign of Queen ("Bloody") Mary. His last words were "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

Another anniversary this year is that of CMJ (The Church's Mission to the Jews, now The Church's Ministry to the Jews).

From the CMJ website:

Investing in the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish people since 1809

CMJ has been ministering to Jewish people since 1809. Started in London by visionaries such as William Wilberforce, Charles Simeon and Lord Shaftesbury to share the Gospel with Jewish people, CMJ now has a worldwide ministry to share with Jewish people our belief that not only is Jesus (Yeshua) the Saviour of the world, he is the Jewish Messiah. http://www.cmj.org.uk

Charles Simeon was a leader of the Evangelical movement at Cambridge. He was a graduate of the famous King's College.

I took these photos last month.