A Clear Vision for What It Means to Be Anglican Today Conceived under the conviction that the future of the global Anglican Communion hinges on a clear, welldefined, and theologically rich vision, the Reformation Anglicanism Essential Library was created to serve as a go-to resource aimed at helping clergy and educated laity grasp the coherence of the Reformation Anglican tradition. With contributions from Michael Jensen, Ben Kwashi, Michael Nazir-Ali, Ashley Null, and John W. Yates III, the first volume in the Reformation Anglicanism Essential Library examines the rich heritage of the Anglican Communion, introducing its foundational doctrines rooted in the solas of the Reformation and drawing out the implications of this tradition for life and ministry in the twenty-first century.

The first in a six-volume series, Reformation Anglicanism seeks to be the go-to resource outlining the rich Reformation heritage undergirding Anglicanism, casting a clear vision for what it means to be an Anglican today.

Uncover the Deep Roots of the Reformation in Anglican Worship Conceived under the conviction that the future of the global Anglican Communion hinges on a clear, welldefined, and theologically rich vision, the Reformation Anglicanism Essential Library was created to serve as a go-to resource aimed at helping clergy and educated laity grasp the coherence of the Reformation Anglican tradition. In this addition to the Reformation Anglicanism Essential Library, Anglican scholar Michael P. Jensen showcases how the reading and preaching of the Scriptures, the sacraments, prayer, and singing inform not only Anglican worship, but worship as it is prescribed in the Bible.

Paul F.M. Zahl attempts to show - contrary to the opinion of many present-day "Anglican" writers - that Anglicanism is not just a via media (between Rome and Geneva, for example) but has been stamped decisively by classic Protestant insights and concerns. He also discusses the implications of Anglicanism's Protestant history for our own age, suggesting that this dimension of Anglicanism has an important contribution to make to the worldwide Christian community in the new millennium. Zahl opens his work by highlighting the Protestant influences in Anglican history and tradition, beginning with the Reformation in England. A short, popular recounting of the crucial Reformation decades is followed by the story of the Protestant tradition within the Church of England from 1688 to the present. Zahl then outlines the Protestant contribution to the American Episcopal Church, from nineteenth-century figures like Bishops Richard Channing Moore of Virginia and Gregory Thurston Bedell of Ohio, through the rise of the "liberal Evangelicals" in the early 1900s, to the Prayer Book of 1979, which effectively neutralized the "Morning Prayer" tradition in the Church. In the final chapter Zahl sketches a four-part theology of Protestant-Anglican identity as well as the Protestant-Anglican opportunity to speak both to the wider church and to the world at large.

In early Victorian England there was intense interest in understanding the early Church as an inspiration for contemporary sanctity. This was manifested in a surge in archaeological inquiry and also in the construction of new churches using medieval models. Some Anglicans began to use a much more complicated form of ritual involving vestments, candles, and incense. This "Anglo-Catholic" movement was vehemently opposed by evangelicals and dissenters, who saw this as the vanguard of full-blown "popery." The disputed buildings, objects, and art works were regarded by one side as idolatrous and by the other as sacred and beautiful expressions of devotion. Dominic Janes seeks to understand the fierce passions that were unleashed by the contended practices and artifacts - passions that found expression in litigation, in rowdy demonstrations, and even in physical violence. During this period, Janes observes, the wider culture was preoccupied with the idea of pollution caused by improper sexuality. The Anglo-Catholics had formulated a spiritual ethic that linked goodness and beauty. Their opponents saw this visual worship as dangerously sensual. In effect, this sacred material culture was seen as a sexual fetish. The origins of this understanding, Janes shows, lay in radical circles, often in the context of the production of anti-Catholic pornography which titillated with the contemplation of images of licentious priests, nuns, and monks.

"A fascinating read about a future fraught with challenges and buoyed by hopes." –Michael F. Bird Anglicanism is currently the fastest-growing Christian communion in the world. Evangelicals hungry for connection to the early church's mystery, sacraments, and liturgy are being drawn to this historic Protestant denomination. But what sets today's Anglicanism apart from its own history as well as that of other Christian denominations? Eleven essays by prominent Anglican scholars and leaders representing diverse perspectives from East Africa, North Africa, and North America explore the rich legacy of the Anglican Church—grounding readers in the past in preparation for the future.