Atkins, Richard

Atkins, Richard a Christian martyr, was born in Hertfordshire, England. He was often known to rebuke the popish priests, and to advise the young of the Romish Church not to worship idols, but to pray to the true God. On one occasion, at the celebration of mass in a church, he threw down the chalice with. the wine and snatched the cake from the priest's hand, for which some worshippers rose and beat him sorely. He was taken and sent to prison; while there, he was often visited by many Englishmen, who tried to persuade him to recant; but he told them they were in the wrong way, and not he, and he wished that they would, instead of trying to get him to forsake his faith, pray for the salvation of their own souls. While on his way to the place of execution, being almost naked, he was often burned with torches by four men who walked on either side of him. When he reached the place, they burned his legs off first. Although his sufferings were great, he did not cease to exhort the people to come to Christ. He was burned at Rome in 1581. See Fox, Acts and Monuments, 8:742.--