1st Edition

Anglicanism Confidence, Commitment and Communion

By Martyn Percy Copyright 2013
    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    Introduction Contexts, Challenges and the Church; Part 1 Confidence in Formation; Chapter 1 A Flight of Starlings; Chapter 2 Sacred Sagacity; Chapter 3 Yeast and Salt; Chapter 4 Pitching Tents; Part 2 Commitment and Mission; Chapter 5 Many Rooms in My Father’s House; Chapter 6 Mind the Gap; Chapter 7 Opportunity Knocks; Chapter 8 Old Tricks for New Dogs; Part 3 Communion and Polity; Chapter 9 Herding Cats; Chapter 10 Context and Catholicity; Chapter 11 Know Surrender; Chapter 12 After Lambeth; Chapter 101 Conclusion The Nature of the Body and the Blessing of Leadership;

    Biography

    Martyn Percy was Principal of Ripon College, Cuddesdon, from 20104-14. He is a Professor of Theological Education at King’s College London and Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He writes on Christianity and contemporary culture, modern ecclesiology and practical theology. His recent books include Thirty-Nine Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith (Canterbury Press, 2013) and Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion (Ashgate, 2013). He was recently described in the journal Theology as the British Theologian who is closest to being a ’missionary anthropologist’. In 2014, he was appointed Dean of Christ Church, Oxford.

    ’In a world in which reaction frequently overwhelms reflection, and information trumps wisdom, Martyn Percy's perceptive reflections provide fresh and challenging ways in which to consider the life and mission of the church.’ Frank Griswold, former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, USA 'This is one of the best books I have ever read on Anglican identity and mission. It is a wonderfully inclusive book that is a challenge to all sections of the church.’ George Carey, Lord Carey of Clifton, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1991-2002

    'Many have much to learn from the style of faith that Martyn Percy offers. He shows readers ways of making peace between competing communities of conviction, and provides salutary warnings to those who imagine that slight from the earthen vessels of institutional religion is the way out of such conflict.' Times Literary Supplement '[Percy is] shrewd, witty, and always constructive...' Church Times

    ’Percy’s book deserves to be read for its mature and (in many ways) compelling insights. Readers will learn a lot and be driven to contemplation by a generally winsome voice. The book is especially valuable to those in the Church of England who desire to better understand, and be challenged, in their own context.’ Themelios

    'There is much to be gained by engaging with these well-informed studies of the present trajectory of the Anglican Church.' Journal of Contemporary Religion