Tractarians and Evangelicals, the extremists of the nineteenth-century church, have successfully imposed their propaganda on posterity. Every text assumes that these militants saved the Church of England from the slough of complacency and corruption that their most powerful enemies - 'high and dry' dignitaries - had created.
This book rehabilitates the bishops and deans who are commonly supposed to have lavished preferment on unworthy friends and relations. It shows how members of the Hackney Phalanx, the high-church equivalent of the Clapham Sect, used their patronage to co-opt the able and energetic sons of rising business and professional families: ordinands with the talent and ambition to make a substantial contribution to the church from families that might have otherwise been lost to dissent. A single clerical connection, of nine related clergymen revolving round a mid nineteenth-century Dean of Canterbury, William Rowe Lyall (1788-1857), illuminates a number of central features of church and society: patronage; the co-option of new men; and the attraction of the church as a professional career.
This exceptionally readable book contains vivid pen-portraits of Dean Lyall and his clients, rigorous economic analysis of the financial returns of a clerical career.

Described by Pope Pius XII as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas, the Swiss pastor and theologian, Karl Barth, continues to be a major influence on students, scholars and preachers today.
Barth's theology found its expression mainly through his closely reasoned fourteen-part magnum opus, Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. Having taken over 30 years to write, the Church Dogmatics is regarded as one of the most important theological works of all time, and represents the pinnacle of Barth's achievement as a theologian.

Open the ancient door of an old church, says Ronald Blythe, and framed in the silence is a house of words where everything has been said: centuries of birth, marriage and death words, gossip, poetry, philosophy, rant, eloquence, learning, nonsense, the language of hymn writers and Bible translators - all of it spoken in one place. This work contains words spoken by Ronald Blythe in the churches he serves as a Reader in the Church of England, and as the local writer expected to add his own distinctive voice. Originating as addresses given at Matins or Evensong, they follow various paths into old and new liturgies, literature and the local countryside. They bring together the author's delight in language, his recollections of farming, his recognition of friends and neighbours, and the hopes he has found in faith.

In a revised and expanded edition, this simple pamphlet continues to guide us in dealing with death and arranging in advance for funerals. All content is as up-to-date as possible and an extra signature of new material has been added, increasing the page count to 48 from 40. Sales history indicates that these booklets are often purchased in bulk by institutions to distribute to people of all ages to help them plan final arrangements, or to families of the deceased immediately after a death. The original edition was prompted by the death of the author's father: upon his passing and pending funeral, no one knew his plans or directives. Since then, scores of clergy, funeral directors, and parishioners have used this guide to address what needs to be done."

IVP Readers' Choice Award The Book of Common Prayer (1662) is one of the most beloved liturgical texts in the Christian church, and remains a definitive expression of Anglican identity today. It is still widely used around the world, in public worship and private devotion, and is revered for both its linguistic and theological virtues. But the classic text of the 1662 prayer book presents several difficulties for contemporary users, especially those outside the Church of England. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition gently updates the text for contemporary use. State prayers of England have been replaced with prayers that can be used regardless of nation or polity. Obscure words and phrases have been modestly revised--but always with a view towards preserving the prayer book's own cadence. Finally, a selection of treasured prayers from later Anglican tradition has been appended. The 1662 prayer book remains a vital resource today, both in the Anglican Communion and for Christians everywhere. Here it is presented for continued use for today's Christians throughout the world.

'No better way could have been found to mark the end of the long unchallenged reign of Cranmer's Prayer Book than Dr Cuming's superb charting of its history.' Journal of Theological Studies

Richard Hooker (1554-1600) is often credited with being the founding father of Anglican moral theology. This book is the first major study to examine in depth the extent to which this claim is justified, and to evaluate the nature of Hooker's contribution to this aspect of Anglican tradition. The study roots Hooker firmly within his own historical context and considers his text principally on its own terms; thus it avoids many of the problems that have bedevilled modern Hooker scholarship, particularly where attempts have been made to 'claim' him for one particular theological tradition over another, or to approach his work primarily with an eye to its continued relevance to contemporary debate within Anglicanism, both of which can lead to significant distortions in the way in which Hooker is read and interpreted. What emerges amounts to a significant re-evaluation of much of the conventional wisdom about Hooker's place within Anglicanism, as well as a range of original insights into the nature, content, and style of his work and its wider significance.

Scottish Episcopalianism has been neglected by historians. This new work looks at the various groups of Episcopalians in the nineteenth century, showing how their beliefs and attitudes responded to the new industrial and urban society. Never before have these groups been subject to historical examination. They include Highland Gaels; North-East crofters, farmers, and fisherfolk; urban Episcopalians; Episcopalian aristocrats; Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic Episcopalians. Rowan Strong examines also the place of Episcopalians in Scottish identity in the nineteenth century, an issue which is topical today.

Described by Pope Pius XII as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas, the Swiss pastor and theologian, Karl Barth, continues to be a major influence on students, scholars and preachers today.
Barth's theology found its expression mainly through his closely reasoned fourteen-part magnum opus, Die Kirchliche Dogmatik. Having taken over 30 years to write, the Church Dogmatics is regarded as one of the most important theological works of all time, and represents the pinnacle of Barth's achievement as a theologian.

'...essential reading for all students of the English Church.' Patrick Collinson Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) is arguably the most controversial figure of the English Reformation. The sixteenth century was a period of fierce theological controversy and no doctrine concerned contemporaries more than the vexed issue of the Eucharist. Scholars have always found it notoriously difficult to determine Cranmer's conviction on this central matter of the Christian faith. This and many other questions that have long troubled Cranmer scholars receive fair and full treatment in this absorbing study. This book re-establishes itself as the definitive exposition of Cranmer's doctrine of the Eucharist.

Scientific and historical studies in the Nineteenth-century challenged Christian believers to restate their faith in ways which took account of new knowledge. An example of this is the influence of philosophical idealism on a generation of writers and theologians, principally centred around the University of Oxford. However, these optimistic and socially-privileged men and women failed to come to terms with the mass movements and rapid changes in fin-de-siecle England. The Church moved out of touch with national life and is reaping the consequences today.

Anti-Catholicism forms part of the dynamics to Northern Ireland's conflict and is critical to the self-defining identity of certain Protestants. However, anti-Catholicism is as much a sociology process as a theological dispute. It was given a Scriptural underpinning in the history of Protestant-Catholic relations in Ireland, and wider British-Irish relations, in order to reinforce social divisions between the religious communities and to offer a deterministic belief system to justify them. The book examines the socio-economic and political processes that have led to theology being used in social closure and stratification between the seventeenth century and the present day.

Given their rhetoric on safeguarding, the response of religious organisations to abuse by the clergy - sexual, physical and spiritual - has been inept, thoughtless, mean, and without any sense of urgency. Sex, Power, Control explores the underlying reasons for the mishandling of recent abuse cases. Using psychoanalytical and sociological insights, and including her own experiences as shown in the BBC documentary Exposed: The Church's Darkest Secret, Gardner asks why the Churches find themselves in such a crisis, and how issues of power and control have contributed to secrecy, deception and heartache. Drawing on survivor accounts and delving into the psychology of clergy abusers, she reveals a culture of avoidance and denial, while an examination of power dynamics highlights institutional narcissism and a hierarchical structure based on deference, with defensive assumptions linked to sex, gender and class. Sex, Power, Control is an invaluable resource for all those in the church or similar institutions, and for anyone concerned about child abuse.