The Identity of Anglicanism: Essentials of Anglican Ecclesiology
Avis, Paul
T & T Clark International, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-5670-3204-1

Anglicanism can be wonderful, mystifying and infuriating. For some it is an expression of the Church catholic, going back to the early Church and the apostles. For others it is a pragmatic compromise dating from Henry VIII's dynastic ambitions. Some see Anglicanism today as self-destructing, torn apart by internal pressures.

Paul Avis expounds an Anglicanism that is both catholic and reformed and open to fresh insight. On this interpretation, what is distinctive about Anglicanism is its understanding of the Church and of authority. These issues are addressed in relation to the origins of Anglican ecclesiology, the diversity and coherence of the worldwide Anglican Communion, its understanding of baptism and the Eucharist, the question of women priests and bishops, its ecumenical engagement and the internal conflicts of the early twenty-first century. This is a authoritive and passionate vindication of classical Anglicanism, evolving to respond to contemporary challenges.

Table of Contents

Preface
1 Keeping Faith with Anglicanism
2 What is Anglicanism?
3 The Distinctiveness of Anglicanism
4 The Identity of the Anglican Communion
5 Anglicanism and Eucharistic Ecclesiology
6 Anglicanism and Baptismal Ecclesiology
7 Reforming the Ministry – Ordaining Women
8 Anglican Orders – From Apostolicae Curae to Women Bishops
9 Anglican Ecclesiology in the Twenty-first Century
10 Jesus Christ and Anglicanism
11 Anglicanism in Memory and Hope