Translator of the first printed English bible. Educated in philosophy and theology at Cambridge University, his studies culminated with a Bachelor of Canon Law. Coverdale was ordained into the priesthood in 1519, and joined the Augustinian friars. His prior, Robert Barnes, had developed sympathetic leanings toward the Reformation which influenced Coverdale. Coverdale's disillusion with the Catholic Church led him to abandon the Augustines and speak out against transubstantiation and other tenets. To avoid violence against such speech, he fled England, finally settling in Hamburg, Germany by 1529. Here he met William Tyndale, another exile from England. Tyndale had completed his English translation of the New Testament in 1526 despite widespread condemnation from the Church. During Tyndale's subsequent arrest, trial and execution for heresy, Coverdale continued to work and produced the first complete English Bible known as the Coverdale Bible published in 1535. This version was a compilation of Tyndale's New Testament translation, some Old Testament books translated by Martin Luther and Coverdale's own work. His translation of the Psalter is still in use today in the Book of Common Prayer. Obtaining the blessing of King Henry VIII and support from Thomas Cromwell, Coverdale went to France to oversee the printing of the "Great Bible." Once again, the Catholic Church condemned the publication and ordered all copies burned. Coverdale rescued the type and returned to London. Finally published in April 1539, the editions showed the Latin Vulgate text with his own English translation parallel on each page. When religious reform was halted with the execution of Thomas Cromwell in 1540, Coverdale was forced to flee to Strasbourg. Prior to his relocation, he married Elizabeth Macheson. He continued to translate books from Latin and German and eventually learned Hebrew. When religious policy relaxed towards Protestantism, he returned to England, and was appointed Bishop of Exeter in 1551. He was forced to flee again for six years to Geneva prompted by the succession battle after the death of Edward VI, where he assisted with the publication of the Geneva Bible. He returned to London in 1559 where he later served as rector for two years. He remarried after the death of his first wife to Katherine in 1566. He died in relative poverty and was originally buried at Saint Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange. His remains were moved to St. Magnus in 1840. Coverdale exhibited a sensitivity and responsibility in his translation efforts, prompting many beautiful expressions and passages that remain in present Bibles. His feast day on the Episcopal liturgical calendar is October 6.