Arising out of consultations under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of the Christian Church, this book examines the Church of England's decision to ordain women to the priesthood and to make pastoral provision for those opposed. It attempts to discover and define the theological principles underlying both the ordination of women and the determination of the Church to maintain communion when these developments provoke fundamental disagreements. The book also considers the role of the so-called "flying Bishops", set in place by the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod (1993). All the contributors support, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, the Act of Synod, but they are divided in their view of the ordination of women.

The changing relationship between the church and its supporters is key to understanding changing religious and social attitudes in Victorian Britain. Using the records of the Anglican Church's home-missionary organizations, Flew charts the decline in Christian philanthropy and its connection to the growing secularization of society.

Offers a lively blend of liturgical history, sacramental theology, and practical hints to help parish altar guilds carry out their ministry.

During the Reformation, the Book of Psalms became one of the most well-known books of the Bible. This was particularly true in Britain, where people of all ages, social classes and educational abilities memorized and sang poetic versifications of the psalms. Those written by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins became the most popular, and the simple tunes developed and used by English and Scottish churches to accompany these texts were carried by soldiers, sailors and colonists throughout the English-speaking world. Among these tunes were a number that are still used today, including 'Old Hundredth', 'Martyrs', and 'French'. This book is the first to consider both English and Scottish metrical psalmody, comparing the two traditions in print and practice. It combines theological literary and musical analysis to reveal new and ground-breaking connections between the psalm texts and their tunes, which it traces in the English and Scottish psalters printed through 1640. Using this new analysis in combination with a more thorough evaluation of extant church records, Duguid contends that Britain developed and maintained two distinct psalm cultures, one in England and the other in Scotland.

It may seem unexpected to assert that controversy surrounds the introduction of hymns in religious life in England. Though many scholars have worked to catalog and index hymns, few have investigated the evolution of hymns, and their proposed meaning to religious celebration. A historical as well as a critical project, The Matter and Manner of Praise undermines the compulsion to assume that hymn-making and religion were always considered to coexist effortlessly. Most histories of hymnody and evangelical movements in England have elided the depth of feeling and concern that surrounded the debate over hymns and their use during liturgy. McCart uncovers, reexamines, and comments upon this debate. He illuminates a partly unexplored topic in English church history, by tracing the controversial shift from metrical psalms to hymnody, and also takes into account legal issues and litigation that developed over the introduction of hymns into church life. An insightful study that should be fascinating reading for anyone interested in teasing apart the historical nature of religious ceremonies and hymns.

Long out of print, John Jewel's classic defense of Reformation principles is again available in this specially re-issued edition with an introductory essay by John E. Booty. Written after Elizabeth's accession to the throne upon the death of Mary Tudor, Jewel's Apology was a major literary contribution toward England's struggle with the papacy and influenced the development of Anglicanism. John Booty's brilliant introduction places Jewel's work in its historical context and highlights its documentary importance in the English Reformation.

W. M. Jacob examines the concept of 'profession' during the later Stuart and Georgian period, with special reference to the clergy of the Church of England. He describes their social backgrounds, how they were recruited, selected, and educated, and obtained jobs; how they were paid, and their lifestyles and family life, as well as examining the evidence for what they did as leaders of worship, pastors and teachers, how their parishioners responded to them, and how they were supervised. Jacob concludes that, contrary to popular views, the clerical profession was much better organized, educated, and supervised than the medical and legal professions during this period. During the 'age of reform' from the 1780s to the 1830s, all the professions were criticized: Jacob suggests that the modest regulation and professional training introduced in the other learned professions in the 1830s only slowly brought them to the standard already achieved by the clerical profession.

The relationship between church and state, indeed between religion and politics, has been one of the most significant themes in early modern English history. While scores of specialized studies have greatly advanced scholars' understanding of particular aspects of this period, there is no general overview that takes into account current scholarship. This volume discharges that task. Solt seeks to provide the main contours of church-state connections in England from 1509 to 1640 through a selective narration of events interspersed with interpretive summaries. Since World War II, social and economic explanations have dominated the interpretation of events in Tudor and early Stuart England. While these explanations continue to be influential, religious and political explanations have once again come to the fore. Drawing extensively from both primary and secondary sources, Solt provides a scholarly synthesis that combines the findings of earlier research with the more recent emphasis on the impact of religion on political events and vice versa.

This focused concentration and celebration of Anglican life could not be more timely. Debates on sexuality and gender (including women bishops), whether or not the church has a Covenant, or can be a Communion, and how it is ultimately led, are issues that have dominated the ecclesial horizon for several decades. No book on Anglicanism can ever claim to have all the answers to all the questions. However, Martyn Percy's work does offer significant new insights and illumination - highlighting just how rich and reflexive the Anglican tradition can be in living and proclaiming the gospel of Christ. These essays provide some sharply-focused snapshots of contemporary Anglicanism, and cover many of the crucial issues affecting Anglicans today, such as the nature of mission and ministry, theological training and formation, and ecclesial identity and leadership. Church culture is often prey to contemporary fads and fashion. Percy's work calls Anglicanism to deeper discipleship; to attend to its roots, identity and shape; and to inhabit the world with a faith rooted in commitment, confidence and Christ.

At an international level, Anglicanism has almost no mandating or juridical power. Stresses and threats of division over issues such as human sexuality have resulted in moves to enhance the Communion's central structures and instruments. However, it is becoming clear that there is little likelihood of substantial change in this direction succeeding, at least in the medium term. The challenge for Anglicanism is to make a 'polity of persuasion' work more effectively. This volume seeks to identify some trends and shifts of emphasis in Anglican ecclesiology to serve that end. Jeffrey W. Driver argues that there is more at stake in such an exercise than Anglican unity. In an ever-shrinking, pluralist, and conflicted world, where oneness is often forced by dominance, the people of God are called to model something different. The injunction of Jesus, 'it is not so among you', challenged his followers to use power and live in community in a way that contrasted with what occurred 'among the Gentiles' (Mark 10:41-45). This is why the sometimes tedious debates about authority and structure in the Anglican Communion could actually matter - because they might have something to say about being human in community, about sharing power and coexisting, about living interdependently on a tiny and increasingly stressed planet. The Anglican experiment in dispersed authority, for all its grief, could be a powerful gift.

The first two archbishops of Canterbury after the Norman Conquest, Lanfranc and Anselm, were towering figures in the medieval church and the sixth archbishop, the martyred Thomas Becket, is perhaps the most famous figure ever to hold the office. In between these giants of the ecclesiastical world came three less noteworthy men: Ralph d'Escures, William of Corbeil, and Theobald of Bec. Jean Truax's volume in the Ashgate Archbishops of Canterbury Series uniquely examines the pontificates of these three minor archbishops. Presenting their biographies, careers, thought and works as a unified period, Truax highlights crucial developments in the English church during the period of the pontificates of these three archbishops, from the death of Anselm to Becket. The resurgent power of the papacy, a changed relationship between church and state and the expansion of archiepiscopal scope and power ensured that in 1162 Becket faced a very different world from the one that Anselm had left in 1109. Selected correspondence, newly translated chronicle accounts and the text and a discussion of the Canterbury forgeries complete the volume.

The first two archbishops of Canterbury after the Norman Conquest, Lanfranc and Anselm, were towering figures in the medieval church and the sixth archbishop, the martyred Thomas Becket, is perhaps the most famous figure ever to hold the office. In between these giants of the ecclesiastical world came three less noteworthy men: Ralph d'Escures, William of Corbeil, and Theobald of Bec. Jean Truax's volume in the Ashgate Archbishops of Canterbury Series uniquely examines the pontificates of these three minor archbishops. Presenting their biographies, careers, thought and works as a unified period, Truax highlights crucial developments in the English church during the period of the pontificates of these three archbishops, from the death of Anselm to Becket. The resurgent power of the papacy, a changed relationship between church and state and the expansion of archiepiscopal scope and power ensured that in 1162 Becket faced a very different world from the one that Anselm had left in 1109. Selected correspondence, newly translated chronicle accounts and the text and a discussion of the Canterbury forgeries complete the volume.

An accessible Q&A introduction to the Episcopal Church Use with new members, as a confirmation resource, and in youth and adult study groups Written by two established and well-recognized figures in the Episcopal Church Everybody enjoys a simple Q&A: it provides a quick, easy, and non-threatening way to learn perfect for today s busy lifestyle. Yet, with Episcopal Questions, Episcopal Answers, we re also dealing with some of the most central and compelling elements of the faith. Sample questions of the new work include: What do Episcopalians believe about the Bible? Why do Episcopalians practice infant baptism? Why does God permit evil and suffering? What are the sacraments of the Episcopal Church? Is it acceptable for a Bishop to question the Virgin Birth? Why is the Prayer Book so important to Episcopalians? What is the relationship between the Prayer Book and the Bible? What is the Anglican Communion? How did the Episcopal Church come to be? How are decisions made in the Episcopal Church? "

A study of the impact of urbanisation on organised religion in Croydon in the Victorian and Edwardian era. Drawing upon detailed local sources, Dr Morris's study of the town and suburbs of Croydon concentrates on the impact of urbanisation upon the development of Victorian and Edwardian organised religion. The book addresses in particular the origins and form of what has been described as the decline of organised religion in England, pinpointing the difficulties inherent in previous attempts to account for this phenomenon. In his search for an explanation, Dr Morris argues that it is appropriate to study the local tensions and conflicts which engrossed the attention of the churches in this period, the religious beliefs and activities of the middle classes who composed the broad mass ofchurch membership, and the activities and divisions of the urban elites who were most influential in the churches' management. Finally he examines the role of reformed local government in redefining the sphere within which churchaction was deemed to be effective.

A leading expert shares important benchmarks for leading liturgy. Grounded in Christian liturgical theology and how ritual forms the people who practice it, this book offers the principles at work in good liturgical practice, guidance for making liturgical choices, and best practices in leading and presiding over liturgical worship. Topics include curating liturgy and leading with excellence, principles for liturgical planning and presiding, and best practices for the Eucharist and Baptism. The author draws on his wide-ranging work in ritual theory to provide a practical guide that clergy and lay leaders in the Episcopal Church will find to be an essential resource. Those in other denominations will also find this book to be a useful reference in standard setting.

The book explores the twenty-first novel from the perspective that it is more concerned with theological debate than we might like to think. It reads five twentieth-century writers who have written the equivalent of sermons, from the perspective of a man who was denied access to the Anglican clergy because of his homosexuality, and finds a parallel tradition of exasperation at the church's obduracy against homosexuals and determination that the church must recognize its homosexual ministers.

Sydney Anglicans, always ultra-conservative in terms of liturgy, theology and personal morality, have increasingly modelled themselves on sixteenth century English Puritanism. Over the past few decades, they have added radical congregationalism to the mix. They have altered church services, challenged church order, and relentlessly opposed all attempts to ordain women as priests, let alone bishops. Muriel Porter unpacks how Australia's largest and, until recently, richest diocese developed its ideological fervour, and explores the impact it is having both in Australia and the Anglican Communion.

Sydney Anglicans, always ultra-conservative in terms of liturgy, theology and personal morality, have increasingly modelled themselves on sixteenth century English Puritanism. Over the past few decades, they have added radical congregationalism to the mix. They have altered church services, challenged church order, and relentlessly opposed all attempts to ordain women as priests, let alone bishops. Muriel Porter unpacks how Australia's largest and, until recently, richest diocese developed its ideological fervour, and explores the impact it is having both in Australia and the Anglican Communion.

This book seeks to bring coherence to two of the most studied periods in British history, Caroline non-conformity (pre-1640) and the British revolution (post-1642). It does so by focusing on the pivotal years of 1638-44 where debates around non-conformity within the Church of England morphed into a revolution between Parliament and its king. Parliament, saddled with the responsibility of re-defining England's church, called its Westminster assembly of divines to debate and define the content and boundaries of that new church. Typically this period has been studied as either an ecclesiastical power struggle between Presbyterians and independents, or as the harbinger of modern religious toleration. This book challenges those assumptions and provides an entirely new framework for understanding one of the most important moments in British history. -- .

The role of bishops in the process of Reformation in the 16th century, studied from their surviving writings and contemporary discussion. The English bishops played a crucial role in the process of Reformation in the sixteenth century, from the first arrival of continental Reformed thought to the virtual extinction of the office in 1559. This work has at its core the bishops' own understanding of the episcopate, drawn from their surviving writings and other contemporary discussions; such a study is key to understanding what became of the English Church of the middle ages and what it was to become under Elizabeth. Carleton examines the interplay between bishop and king, the episcopate in the context of other orders, and the social context of the office; he studies episcopal activity in key areas such as preaching, ordaining, and opposing heresy; and he notes the influence of the models which the bishops themselves set up as ideals, most notably Christ himself as the ideal bishop. The backgrounds of the bishops are set out in the appendix.

In this book a veteran country parson emerges from obscurity to focus upon the root causes and a possible long term solution of the most intractable problem facing today's Christianity, and especially his own Anglican Communion - its crippling and deep-seated disunity in the face of relentless secularist attack. John Fitch's "eirenicon," defined as "a proposal tending to make peace," while explicitly disclaiming the slick or superficial, offers a distinctive long-term approach to this issue with a touch of originality. His intriguing diagram on the front cover hints at the line taken - a no-holds-barred analysis of the uniquely Anglican concept of "churchmanship." The book, though deadly serious, is by no means devoid of humour; at the very least it deserves a patient reading from all who share the author's concerns. Born in June 1922, John Fitch read History and Theology at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. After preparing for ordination at Wells Theological College in Somerset, he served for forty years in various Suffolk parishes, retiring in 1987. He was appointed an Honorary Canon of St Edmundsbury in 1975 and was a co-founder of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust. Now living in Essex, he has one son, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. His previous areas of publication have been antiquarian and genealogical.

The Oxford Movement was the beginning of a re-formation of Anglican theology, ministries, congregational and religious life revivals, and ritualism, with its theological basis a retrieval of the patristic and medieval eras, reconstructed around a deep christological incarnationalism. Does it merit its description by Eamon Duffy as the single most significant force in the formation of modern Anglicanism? In Grace and Incarnation, Bruce D. Griffith and Jason R. Radcliff explore this theological richness with unparalleled clarity. They interrogate the potential link between Robert Isaac Wilberforce and Charles Gore and the Liberal Catholics, and examine the interrelation between Tractarian theology and the rise of what was to become 'modernism', with its new canons of authentication. In doing so, they not only offer a mirror to the past, but shed new light on what Anglicanism today.

This book considers the work of Charles Taylor from a theological perspective, specifically relating to the topic of ecclesiology. It argues that Taylor and related thinkers such as John Milbank and Rowan Williams point towards an "Aesthetic Ecclesiology," an ecclesiology that values highly and utilizes the aesthetic in its self-understanding and practice. Jamie Franklin argues that Taylor's work provides an account of the breakdown in Modernity of the conceptual relationship of the immanent and the transcendent, and that the work of John Milbank and radical orthodoxy give a complementary account of the secular from a more metaphysical angle. Franklin also incorporates the work of Rowan Williams, which provides us a way of thinking about the Church that is rooted in a material and historical legacy. The central argument is that the reconnection of the transcendent and the immanent coheres with an understanding of the Church that incorporates the material reality of the sacraments, the importance of artistic beauty and craftsmanship, and the Church's status as historical, global, and eschatological. Secondly, the aesthetic provides the Church with a powerful apologetic: beauty cannot be reduced to the presuppositions of secular materialism, and so must be accounted for by recourse to transcendent categories.

What defines the Church of England? Are the Thirty-nine Articles of any relevance today? Anglicanism, according to Jim Packer, possesses "the truest, wisest and potentially richest heritage in all Christendom" with the Thirty-nine Articles at its heart. They catch the substance and spirit of biblical Christianity superbly well, and also provide and excellent model of how to confess the faith in a divided Christendom. In this Latimer Study, Packer aims to show how the sixteenth century Articles should be viewed in the twenty-first century, and how they can enrich the faith of Anglicans in general and of Anglican evangelicals in particular. He demonstrates why the Articles must once again be given a voice within the church, not merely as an historical curiosity but an authoritative doctrinal statement. A thought-provoking appendix by Roger Beckwith offers seventeen Supplementary Articles, addressing theological issues which have come into prominence since the original Articles were composed. This booklet, first published more than twenty years ago, remains much in demand and as timely as ever. It has proved on of the most popular and enduring Latimer Studies, and is now issued in a second edition. Jim Packer is Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College, Vancouver. Amongst his many best-selling books are 'Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God' (1961), 'Knowing God' (1973), 'Keep in Step with the Spirit' (1984), and 'Among God's Giants' (1991). Roger Beckwith was librarian and warden of Latimer House, Oxford, for more than thirty years. His recent books include 'Elders in Every City' (2003) and 'Calendar, Chronology and Worship' (2005).

The changing relationship between the church and its supporters is key to understanding changing religious and social attitudes in Victorian Britain. Using the records of the Anglican Church's home-missionary organizations, Flew charts the decline in Christian philanthropy and its connection to the growing secularization of society.