This is a study of the 66 bishops of James I. Kenneth Fincham surveys the range of their activities and functions, including their part in central politics, their role in local society, their work as diocesan governors enforcing moral and spiritual discipline and their supervision of the parish clergy. Dr Fincham argues that the accession of James I marked the restoration of episcopal fortunes at court and in the localities, seen most clearly in the revival of the court prelate. The Jacobean episcopate as a group were active pastors, working under the watchful eye of an informed supreme governor. During these years, the image of the bishop as preaching pastor won widespread acceptance and evangelical churchmanship flourished, to be challenged in the second half of the reign by Arminian prelates. Dr Fincham's analysis of the early 17th-century episcopate, grounded in contemporary sources, reveals much about the church of James I, the doctrinal divisions of the period and the origins of Laudian government in the 1630s. "Prelate as Pastor" offers a new perspective on the controversies of early Stuart religious history.

Written with passion and understanding, Jail Bird explores how it is possible to reach out to those vilified in the press and by society at large, and to work for the good of all, recognising the humanity in those who commit crimes. Sharon Grenham-Thompson is an Anglican minister and former prison chaplain at Bedford Jail in the UK, where she was responsible for running a large multi-faith team. Jailbird explores her motivation to help those who are the least in society. "Totally gripping and extremely personal, this fluid biography comes gushing down the mountain like a raging floodwater. I literally couldn't put it down. In fact I read the whole thing in one session." Chris Evans - BBC Radio 2 Presenter

In very practical and helpful terms, Rosalind Brown explores what it means to be a deacon in today's church. All too often the time spent as a deacon is seen simply as the prelude to priestly ordination. Yet the Bible defines three orders of ministry -deacon, priest, and bishop - each with its own distinctive characteristics and responsibilities. In Being A Deacon Today, Brown explores the three places where deacons minister (the church, the world, and at the margins), the three strands of their ministry (in liturgy, in pastoral care, and as catechists), and the three actions of their ministry (praying, loving, and remembering). This book, excellent for classroom use and for transitional and permanent deacons, will restore a fuller understanding of the diaconal ministry and nurture deacons in their work and spiritual life."

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.

What is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularisation. While there are distinctive themes and emphases which emerge from its early history and theology, there is little sense of unity in Anglicanism today. In Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction, Mark Chapman highlights the diversity of contemporary Anglicanism by exploring its fascinating history, theology, and structures. Putting the history and development of the religion into context, Chapman reveals what it is that holds Anglicanism together despite the recent crises that threaten to tear it apart. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Andrew White is something of a legend: a man of great charm and energy, whose personal suffering has not deflected him from his important ministry of reconciliation. Andrew grew up in London, the son of strongly religious parents: by the age of five he could repeat the five points of Calvinism. As a child and young man he was frequently ill, but his considerable intelligence meant that his studies did not suffer. He set his heart on becoming an anaesthetist, an ambition he achieved, only to be redirected by God to Anglican ministry. Since ordination he has had a considerable role in the work of reconciliation, both between Christian and Jew and between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim. Often in danger, and always in pain, he has nevertheless been able to mediate between opposing extremes. A man of God, he is trusted by those who trust very few.

Barbara Brown Taylor is one of America's most renowned and beloved spiritual writers and author of the acclaimed An Altar in the World. Here she reflects on keeping faith and the relentless demands that characterise life for so many today. In this moving and memorable book she writes of her life and work as a priest and the burden of being one of the most celebrated preachers in America. She recalls with grace and wit what led her to priestly ministry, the privilege of exploring the mysteries of God with others, her growing fame, the crisis it provoked and the unexpected blessings that followed. Having been part of a team in a large urban church for ten years, she sought a parish of her own and it was love at first sight when she was invited to view a small rural parish in Georgia. Little did she imagine that here Jesus's words about losing one's life in order to find it would have such impact. She tells of the rapid growth of the church, the crowds who travelled miles to hear her preach, the tensions that arose - and the call to lay it all aside in order to rediscover the authentic heart of her faith.

What do the novelists Charlotte Bronte, Charlotte M. Yonge, Rose Macaulay, Dorothy L. Sayers, Barbara Pym, Iris Murdoch and P.D. James all have in common? These women, and others, were inspired to write fiction through their relationship with the Church of England. This field-defining collection of essays explores Anglicanism through their fiction and their fiction through their Anglicanism. These essays, by a set of distinguished contributors, cover a range of literary genres, from life-writing and whodunnits through social comedy, children's books and supernatural fiction. Spanning writers from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, they testify both to the developments in Anglicanism over the past two centuries and the changing roles of women within the Church of England and wider society.