The Study of Anglicanism
Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 2:24PM PRIMARY SOURCES
Cranmer, Thomas. "A Homily of the Salvation of Mankind" in Faith & Works: Cranmer and Hooker on Justification (Philip Edgcumbe Hughes) [this may also be found in the Library of Christian Classics, vol. 26, English Reformers, T. H. L. Parker, ed.].
________. "Of Ceremonies: Why Some be Abolished and Some Reteined (see The First and Second Prayer Books of Edward VI, Everyman's Library pp. 324-326).
Hooker, Richard. Works (ed. John Keeble), 3 vols. (See especially: "A Learned Discourse of Justification" in Faith & Works (see above); "Preface to the Books of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity"; Laws, Book V, chp VIII, 2).
Fr. Gavin Dunbar writes: "It is a mark of the richness of Hooker's thought that he has been claimed for a wide range of competing theological positions: evangelical, catholic, liberal, Platonist, Thomist, reformed. Much invoked and rarely read, Hooker deserves better."
Jewel, John. An Apology of the Church of England.
GENERAL
Bede, J. F. Webb, and D. H. Farmer. The Age of Bede.
This selection of writings from the sixth and seventh century AD provides a powerful insight into the early history of the Christian Church in England and Ireland. From Bede's Life of Cuthbert and Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow to the anonymous Voyage of St Brendan a whimsical mixture of fact and fantasy that describes a quest for paradise on earth these are vivid accounts of the profoundly spiritual and passionately heroic lives of Christian pioneers and saints. Both vital religious writings and a revealing insight into the reality of life at a formative time for the church, they describe an era of heroism and bitter conflict, and the rapid spread of the Christian faith.
Daniell, David. William Tyndale: A Biography.
Dickens, A. G. The English Reformation.
Hughes, P. E. Theology of the English Reformers.
______. Faith and Works: Cranmer and Hooker on Justification.
Jewel, John. Apology for the Church of England. (First defense of the Reformed-Catholic Church of England).
MacCulloch, Diarmaid, Thomas Cranmer: A Life.
One of the best works of biography written, MacCulloch conveys the tenuous status of early English Protestantism through the life of Thomas Cranmer. Far from a revolutionary, Cranmer carefully and methodically moved to Protestant convictions.
Moorman, A History of the Church in England.
Neil, Stephen. Anglicanism.
From an online review: Stephen Neill writes as historian, theologian and Anglican Bishop. He provides a more than adequate narrative of the history of Anglicanism that includes fairly in-depth writing of the conflicts of the early history of the Reformation in England. He provides good but brief introductions to the major figures in Anglicanism. This is introductory writing of the whole general scope of Anglicanism.
Neill also provides introductions and summaries of the history of the globalization of Anglicanism. Through the book, readers will get a sense of the theology, structures and ongoing tensions within the Anglican Communion while also getting a flowing historical narrative.
Null, Ashley. Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance.
Ramsey, Michael. The Anglican Spirit.
Archbishop Michael Ramsey was one of the church's most remarkable twentieth-century saints--wise and humble, humorous and compassionate. These introductory lectures on Anglicanism reveal the breadth of Ramsey's theological understanding, his ecumenism, and his vision of the church and the Christian life. Informal and conversational in style, the lectures offer an overview of Anglican theology, spirituality, and history. Ramsey begins with Anglicanism's enduring characteristics, including its dependence on Scripture, tradition--the ancient writers of the church who guide us in interpreting the Bible--and reason, our God-given capacity for divine revelation. Next Ramsey explores its teachings on theology and the sacraments, Tractarianism and the Oxford Movement, the renaissance of Anglican religious communities, and the evolving doctrines of creation, incarnation, and the Holy Spirit. The final section presents Ramsey's theology of the church and Anglicanism's relationship to Rome and the Orthodox churches.
Ryle, J. C. Five English Reformers.
An online review: Originally part of a larger volume, Bishop Ryle's "Five English Reformers" is a sobering and ultimately inspiring account of some of the men who offered up their lives in defense of the biblical gospel in 16th century England. These wonderful biographical sketches will remind the reader of the courage and sacrifice required to uphold truth. This little book not only calls me to attention for the sake of the gospel but is a remedy for my impulses toward self-pity.
Sykes, Stephen. The Study of Anglicanism.
Description from Amazon.com: In this authoritative volume, thirty-one of the world's leading Anglican scholars present the first sustained and thorough account of the history and ethos of the Churches of the Anglican Communion from the anglican reform of the sixteenth century to its global witness today.
Thoroughly revised, augmented, and updated, this new edition of The Study of Anglicanism offers a comprehensive interpretation of the character of Anglicanism---including its history, theology, worship, standards and practices, and its future prospects worldwide. A fascinating and unique work, it remains the one indispensable key to this rich and pluriform heritage for both the general reader and the student.
Thomas, W. H. Griffith. The Catholic Faith: a Manual of Instruction for Members of the Church of England.
Trevor-Roper, H. R. Archbishop Laud.
The most powerful man in England during the so-called "Eleven Years Tyranny" from 1629-1640, archbishop of Canterbury William Laud was thrown from power in 1640 and executed on Tower Hill during the Civil War. He remains a controversial figure in English history, either denounced as a tyrant and bigot or extolled as a statesman and martyr. An esteemed scholar uncovers the social ideal that lay behind Laud's political and religious conservatism--an ideal fatally obscured by the archbishop's human limitations. "A book that is, by any standards, brilliant."--New Statesman.
