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.

The Church of England and the First World War (first published in 1978) explores in depth the role of the church during the tragic circumstances of the First World War using biographies, newspapers, magazines, letters, poetry and other sources in a balanced evaluation. The myth that the war was fought by 'lions led by donkeys' powerfully endures turning heroes into victims. Alan Wilkinson demonstrates the sheer horror, moral ambiguity, and the interaction between religion, the church and war with a scholarly, and yet poetic, hand. The author creates a vivid image of the church and society, includes views of the Free Churches and Roman Catholics, portrays the pastoral problems and challenges to faith presented by war, and the pressures for reform of church and society. The Church of England and the First World War is written with compelling compassion and great historical understanding, making the book hard to put down. This expert and classic study will grip the religious and secular alike, the general reader or the student.

This book addresses controversial issues in contemporary church life using liturgical commentary, homiletical illustration, and theological reflection. Issues examined include: gender and sexuality, relation of lay and ordained ministries, the relation of biblical Israel and the modern state, the differences between the Hebrew Scriptures and the Old Testament, the need for careful expository preaching, and deference to tradition as well as openness to new ways. The focus here is on the Episcopal Church in America, yet the examples and pleadings have relevance to the wider Christian community.

John Jewel (1522-1571) has long been regarded as one of the key figures in the shaping of the Anglican Church. A Marian exile, he returned to England upon the accession of Elizabeth I, and was appointed bishop of Salisbury in 1560 and wrote his famous Apologia Ecclesiae Anglicanae two years later. The most recent monographs on Jewel, now over forty years old, focus largely on his theology, casting him as deft scholar, adept humanist, precursor to Hooker, arbiter of Anglican identity and seminal mind in the formation of Anglicanism. Yet in light of modern research it is clear that much of this does not stand up to closer examination. In this work, Gary Jenkins argues that, far from serving as the constructor of a positive Anglican identity, Jewel's real contribution pertains to the genesis of its divided and schizophrenic nature. Drawing on a variety of sources and scholarship, he paints a picture not of a theologian and humanist, but an orator and rhetorician, who persistently breached the rules of logic and the canons of Renaissance humanism in an effort to claim polemical victory over his traditionalist opponents such as Thomas Harding. By taking such an iconoclastic approach to Jewel, this work not only offers a radical reinterpretation of the man, but of the Church he did so much to shape. It provides a vivid insight into the intent and ends of Jewel with respect to what he saw the Church of England under the Elizabethan settlement to be, as well as into the unintended consequences of his work. In so doing, it demonstrates how he used his Patristic sources, often uncritically and faultily, as foils against his theological interlocutors, and without the least intention of creating a coherent theological system.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) has always inspired devotion. Newman has made disciples as leader of the Catholic revival in the Church of England, an inspiration to fellow converts to Roman Catholicism, a nationally admired preacher and prose-writer, and an internationally recognized saint of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, he has also provoked criticism. The church authorities, both Anglican and Catholic, were often troubled by his words and deeds, and scholars have disputed his arguments and his honesty. Written by a range of international experts, The Oxford Handbook of John Henry Newman shows how Newman remains important to the fields of education, history, literature, philosophy, and theology. Divided into four parts, part one grounds Newman's works in the places, cultures, and networks of relationships in which he lived. Part two looks at the thinkers who shaped his own thought, while the third part engages critically and appreciatively with themes in his writings. Part four examines how those themes have shaped conversations in the churches and the academy. This Handbook will serve as an important resource to critical and appreciative exploration of the person, writings, controversies, and legacy of Newman.

Ambassadors of Christ commemorates 150 years of theological education in Cuddesdon with a collection of substantial essays. It begins with a discussion by Mark Chapman of the revival of theology and education in the early years of the nineteenth century. This is followed by essays by Alastair Redfern on Samuel Wilberforce as a pastoral theologian and a revision by Andrew Atherstone of Owen Chadwick's Centenary History in the light of more recent historical research, bringing the discussion up to the 1880s. For the first time, Ripon Hall, which merged with Cuddesdon in 1975, receives a thorough and detailed historical treatment by Michael Brierley. Mark Chapman then discusses the 1960s under Robert Runcie, and a final chapter by Robert Jeffery deals with the theological and churchmanship issues which emerged from the merger. Two marvellous sermons preached at College Festivals by Michael Ramsey and Owen Chadwick are also reproduced in appendices. This special commemorative volume will appeal to past and present students as well as specialists in nineteenth and twentieth-century church history and all those interested in ministerial education and spiritual formation. A

While the murder of his wife devastated Anthony Thompson, he and three other relatives of victims chose to privately and publicly forgive the shooter. Years later, the church and community still struggle to understand the family members' deliberate choice to forgive the racist murderer. But as Charlestonians have witnessed these incredible acts of forgiveness, something significant has happened to the community--black and white leaders and residents have united, coming together peaceably and even showing acts of selfless love. This book is the account of Anthony's wife's murder, the grief he experienced, and how and why he made the radical choice to forgive the killer. But beyond that, Anthony goes on to teach what forgiveness can and should look like in each of our lives--both personally, in our communities, and even in our nation. After much pain, reflection, and study, Thompson shares how true biblical love and mercy differ from the way these ideas are reflected in our culture. Be inspired by this remarkable story and discover how the difficult decision to forgive can become the key to radical change.

Top voices highlight important changes in the role of bishop. Compelling essays, written by bishops, other clergy, and academics from across the Episcopal Church, reflect the breadth of thinking on the history, current state, and future of the role of leadership within the denomination and the wider Anglican Communion. Topics include the transformation of the role over the last fifty years, a review of historic documents on the episcopacy, issues of race and gender, and the definition of ministry and leadership. This volume will be of interest to leaders across denominations as well as scholars.

The Church of England still seemed an essential part of Englishness, and even of the British state, when Mrs Thatcher was elected in 1979. The decades which followed saw a seismic shift in the foundations of the C of E, leading to the loss of more than half its members and much of its influence. In England today `religion' has become a toxic brand, and Anglicanism something done by other people. How did this happen? Is there any way back? This `relentlessly honest' and surprisingly entertaining book tells the dramatic and contentious story of the disappearance of the Church of England from the centre of public life. The authors - religious correspondent Andrew Brown and academic Linda Woodhead - watched this closely, one from the inside and one from the outside. That Was the Church, That Was shows what happened and explains why.

It is hard to comprehend the last 500 years of England's history without understanding the Church of England. From its roots in Catholicism through to the present day, this is the extraordinary history of a familiar but much-misunderstood institution. The Church has frequently been divided between high and low, Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic. For its first 150 years people sacrificed their lives to defend it; the Anglican Church is and has always been defined by its complicated relationship to the state and power. As Jeremy Morris shows, the story of the Church - central to British life - has never been straightforward. Weaving social, political and religious context together with the significance of its music and architecture, A People's Church skilfully illuminates a complex and pre-eminent institution.

Richard Greenham was one of the most important and respected figures among the Elizabethan clergy. His contemporaries described him as the founder of a previously unknown pastoral art: the cure of cases of conscience. Despite his fame in the Elizabethan period as a model pastor, pioneer in reformed casuistry, and founder of one of the first rectory seminaries, scholars have made little use of his life and works in their study of Elizabethan religious life. This study restores Richard Greenham to the central place he held in the development of Elizabethan Reformed parochial ministry. The monograph-length introduction includes a biography, an analysis of his pastoral style, and a study of his approach to curing cases of conscience. The transcription of Rylands English Manuscript 524, cross-referenced with the published editions of the sayings, offers a useful source to scholars who wish to study the collecting and 'framing' process of the humanist pedagogical tradition. The selection of early published works includes Greenham's (unfinished) catechism, treatises on the Sabbath and marriage, and advice on reading scripture and educating children.

This book describes in detail the ways in which the life of the Church of England is affected by law. It deals with a great many topics including canonical jurisprudence, ecclesiastical government, the ministry of clergy and laity, faith, doctrine and liturgy, the churches' rites and the management of property and finance. Each of these subjects is studied and analyzed critically and where appropriate comparisons are made with the Roman Catholic Church.
Five general themes emerge: first is the degree to which the church can be said to be regulated; the second concerns the increasingly important use of administrative rules created executively at national and diocesian level to supplement the churches formal law; the third examines the relationship between the formal law and the pastoral values of clarity, certainty and flexibility; the fourth theme is the applicability of secular law; the final theme is the comparison with the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus the book provides for the first time a comprehensive, descriptive and critical analysis of the legal framework of the Church of England and the regulatory instruments which operate within this framework.

This volume completes the edition of the two earliest manuscript Chapter Act books of Westminster Abbey, which is now the first cathedral or collegiate church to have all its Chapter Acts fully in print from the Reformation to the Civil War. It records the formal decisions of the Abbey's governing authority, many involving grants of office and leases of the Abbey's large and widely-scattered estate, principally in the midlands and the south-east, and especially in Westminster itself. A full introduction brings out the value of the documents in placing the Abbey in the tumultuous history of the church under James I and Charles I.

'The publication of this book is an important event as much for literature as it is for theology.' - T.S. Eliot The seventeenth century was an era of unparalleled brilliance in English life and literature. Many of the greatest figures of the century contributed to the religious debates of the era: poets like John Donne, George Herbert and Thomas Traherne; scientists like Isaac Barrow, Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton; theologians like Lancelot Andrewes, Richard Hooker and the Cambridge Platonists; lawyers like Francis Bacon and John Selden; literary figures like Thomas Browne, John Evelyn and Izaak Walton. Anglicanism is an authoritative collection of passages from the writers of the seventeenth-century, illustrating the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England. First published in 1935, this classic volume provides a rich anthology of theological writing from the golden age of English literature. Its importance is the greater since England did not produce at any time a single theologian to whom appeal can be made for a final sentence in disputed questions, such as Aquinas or Calvin. Anglicanism brings together in a single volume the most important English writing on religion from a period of unparalled brilliance. Paul Elmer More was the outstanding American literary critic of his generation. He was editor of 'The Nation' and wrote many books, of which the best known is The Greek Tradition. F.L. Cross was Lady Margaret Professor of Theology at Oxford and Canon of Christ Church Cathedral. He founded the Oxford Patristics Conference and edited the 'Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'.

Anyone who finds solace in the words of the Book of Common Prayer will welcome this companion to its Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, to be used at the Ministration of the Holy Communion, throughout the Year.

Written for both the lay and ordained, this thought provoking commentary gives the words of Cranmer and his colleagues renewed meaning in our own time by providing historical context for their composition and reflection on their broader message. This book provides an excellent starting point for sermons or personal contemplation on the readings and prayers that comprise the liturgical year.

Carey s exposition of the biblical readings and Prayer Book collects is careful, thorough, and informed by a well-populated theological and cultural hinterland ... I wholeheartedly commend it and recommend it to every thoughtful Christian. - The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, Dean of Durham (from the foreword)

Kevin Carey is the Chairman of RNIB, the UK's leading blindness charity, and a Reader in his parish church. He has been a Member of General Synod, and is a chorister, published poet, and classical music critic.

Karen Favreau is a Generation X seeker who has run the spiritual gamut. Raised Catholic, she lapsed into atheism and began a long, strange journey back to Christian faith. In Ridiculous Packaging she chronicles her trip, offering a humorous, non-preachy, and heartfelt memoir in which she attempts to decipher why a cynical, thirty-three year old atheist would open her heart and accept God s love after having spent an entire lifetime running away from him.

Nathaniel Woodard founded an educational system 'firmly grounded in the Christian faith', and the establishment in 1874 of the first Woodard girls' school lies at the heart of his legacy. However, the role of one remarkable woman in securing this legacy has until now been obscured. Eliza Lowe and the Founding of Woodard Schools for Girls is her untold story. Drawing on scholarly articles, newspaper reports, letters from pupils, census records, and local and family archival material, Thompson describes life in Eliza Lowe's school, from swimming in the sea to politics at breakfast and competitions for an 'amiability' prize. While discussions of Nathaniel Woodard and 19th-century girls' education provide context, Eliza's own letters reveal a woman of wit, curiosity and humanitarian feeling. Her achievements will inspire students of women's history and girls' education, and encourage those who believe that religion enhances education, while her lasting legacy will interest both former pupils and those who continue in the Woodard tradition today.

Nathaniel Woodard founded an educational system 'firmly grounded in the Christian faith', and the establishment in 1874 of the first Woodard girls' school lies at the heart of his legacy. However, the role of one remarkable woman in securing this legacy has until now been obscured. Eliza Lowe and the Founding of Woodard Schools for Girls is her untold story. Drawing on scholarly articles, newspaper reports, letters from pupils, census records, and local and family archival material, Thompson describes life in Eliza Lowe's school, from swimming in the sea to politics at breakfast and competitions for an 'amiability' prize. While discussions of Nathaniel Woodard and 19th-century girls' education provide context, Eliza's own letters reveal a woman of wit, curiosity and humanitarian feeling. Her achievements will inspire students of women's history and girls' education, and encourage those who believe that religion enhances education, while her lasting legacy will interest both former pupils and those who continue in the Woodard tradition today.

The theology of the leading 19th century theologian and social thinker F.D. Maurice was rooted firmly in the communal action of the Book of Common Prayer. For him the Prayer Book is the key to any understanding of Anglican ecclesiology, and also provides the grounding for his social views. His practical and traditional approach was in keeping with the general spirit of English society.

Maurice was a fearless thinker, educationalist and social reformer, who made a profound impression upon his contemporaries, but it is mainly as a man of religion that he is remembered. Maurice came to his theological beliefs only after painful inward struggle. He was more than a man of brilliant intellect - he was utterly dedicated - and his religious beliefs were ground out in the mill of his own experience. He was never afraid to look unpleasant facts in the face, and his intellectual honesty challenges modern man as much as it did his own generation. Maurice's magnum opus was The Kingdom of Christ, published in 1838, and its relevance is clear at a time when the relationship between Church and State is being discussed. One can find in these pages Maurice's eager quest for a firm foundation for his own faith, and its expression in the Anglican church. Yet his ideas transcend his churchmanship, and he is regarded as the most significant influence in the religious life and thought of England during the nineteenth century, combining prophetic witness, systematic thought, and creative endeavour, unified and inspired by the ceaseless aspiration of a life consecrated to sanctity. Not for nothing did Gladstone describe him as 'a spiritual splendour'.

The correspondence of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estatein the three kingdoms. William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, is a central figure in the history of seventeenth-century Britain. Laud's correspondence provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estate in the three kingdoms. The Further Correspondence of William Laud prints 223 letters, drawn from thirty-eight libraries and archives, which were not included in the nineteenth-century edition of his Works. It has real importance for our perception of Laud and the early Stuart church, greatly increasing the number of his letters for the 1620s and providing significant new information, such as the three earliest letters to his closest political ally, Thomas Wentworth, in 1630. Other correspondents include politicians such as Sir John Coke and Lord Keeper Coventry, the diplomat Sir William Boswell, numerous heads of colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge, and churchmen such as Bishops John Bridgeman of Chester and John Bramhall of Derry as well as Cyril Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople. A lengthy introduction assesses the waysin which these letters deepen our knowledge, broaden our understanding and refine our views of Laud's various roles, as chief ecclesiastical counsellor to Charles I, court politician and administrator, chancellor of Oxford University, and overseer of religious reformation in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. An appendix lists all of Laud's correspondence in chronological order. Collectively, the letters attest to his extraordinary energy andtireless commitment to reform and point to the indelible impact that Laud made on his contemporaries. KENNETH FINCHAM is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Kent. He has written extensively on religion and politics in early modern Britain, including two monographs, Prelate as Pastor: the Episcopate of James I (1990) and, with Nicholas Tyacke, Altars Restored: the Changing Face of English Religious Worship 1547-c.1700 (2007); edited two collections of essays, The Early Stuart Church 1603-1642 (1993) and, with Peter Lake, Religious Politics in post-Reformation England (2006); and edited two volumes of Articles and Injunctions of the Early Stuart Church (1994-8) for the Church of England Record Society.

All are made in the image and likeness of God. If this is what we believe, then trans people, like all people, reflect something of God, and not just in the ways that they share in common with others, but also in the ways that they are different. They remind us that God is beyond all of our categories, even gender. In this book, Tara Soughers explores theology from the position of a trans ally-a parent of a trans young adult as well as priest. What does it mean about God and about humans, that there is not a strict gender binary? How can we affirm and include what we have learned about the permeability of boundaries to affirm those whose path does not follow traditional cultural stereotypes, and how might the broadening help us to understand the God who is never two for Christians, but both one and three? What gifts does this broader understanding bring to the church?

Professor Rupp looks at the consequences of the Revolution of 1688, including the Toleration Act and the schism created by those who felt bound in conscience not to accept the new monarchy. He asks how the alliance between Church and State affected the Establishment, and how party politics modified its attitudes and sought to silence its independent voice. He describes the life and worship of the Churches; the survival of intolerance despite the principle of toleration; the growth of the dissenting Churches, and the predicament of the Roman Catholics.