St Peter's Bookroom St Peter's Bookroom header

Anglican & Anglo-Catholic Literature

A selection from our wide range of Anglican and Anglo-Catholic titles. We recommend these books. Some of them are now out of print, however we are fortunate enough to hold stock.


Anglican

Anglican: Introducing the Faith, History and Practice of the Anglican Church
by Graeme A. Brady (Genesis Publications 2006).
Our Price $23.00

A series of studies that can be used by adult confirmation candidates, by those enquiring about the Anglican Church, or by practising Anglicans who want to understand more about the teaching and history of their Church. They can be used for group study or by individuals.

The author writes:
"We have no doctrine of our own. We have only the doctrine of the Universal Chrsitian Church as it is enshrined in the Scriptures and the Creeds. Consequently there are those who say we are wishy-washy, neither one thing nor the other. But if the practice of tolerance and a willingness to allow people to be unique and different is to be wishy-washy, then I'm all for it. For we manage to hold together in one Church two seemingly opposed styles of faith and worship, one Catholic and the other Pretestant. These two styles exist together as part of an on-going debate and each represents an important part of our common faith. The Protestant element provides an emphasis on faith, conversion and atonement. The Catholic element provides its emphasis on grace, sacrament and incarnation. By living together in tension they point up the wide differences of opinion which exist within the Christian Church. At the same time they prove that the highest unity is never a bare numerical unity but one which embraces a wealth of diversity. It's untidy. But the Anglican Church is not for those who like their truth tied up in neat packages."

A History of St Peter's Eastern Hill

From Tories at Prayer to Socialists at Mass: A History of St Peter's Eastern Hill
by Colin Holden (MUP 1996).
RRP $55.00, Our Price $35.00

A comprehensive and handsomely produced hard back history of the parish of St Peters, East Melbourne.

This probing study by Colin Holden firmly places the history of the parish in the broader context of Melbourne and national history, as well as in the context of the appeal of socialism to a number of 'high church' Anglicans involved in social justice issues. It documents the doctrinal emphasis and changing styles of worship that led some nineteenth-century Anglicans to describe Anglo-Catholics as the 'enemy in disguise.'
from the Publisher

Australian Anglicans and their Constitution

Australian Anglicans and their Constitution
by John Davis (Acorn Press, 1993).
RRP $24.95, Our Price $16.50

A first-class contribution to our understanding of the history and development of Church government in Australia during the twentieth century...It will hold a high place both as a work of reference and as a very readable narrative.
from Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane

The Archbishops of Railway Square

The Archbishops of Railway Square: A History of Christ Church, St Laurence, Sydney
by John Spooner (Hardback. Halstead Press, 2002).
Our Price $46.45

Holding a steady course through evolutions, social change, wars, depressions and ideological development, Christ Church in John Spooner's treatment is a useful mirror of Australian history. And for the light it sheds on the religious history of a parish, a capital city and a large country, this book, and the research around it, are invaluable.
from the Publishers

The New Puritans

The New Puritans: The Rise of Fundamentalism in the Anglican Church
by Muriel Porter (MUP 2006).
RRP $29.95, Our Price $28.45

Religious fundamentalism is a growing force in Australian society, but it is not confined to conservative Islam or to fringe denominations. In The New Puritans, Muriel Porter explains how the mainstream Anglican Church in this country is influenced by the ideological agenda of its largest and richest diocese, Sydney.

Over the past few decades, Sydney Anglicans have increasingly modelled themselves on the sixteenth-century English Puritans.They have radically altered church services, relentlessly opposed all attempts to extend full equality to women in the Church, and joined forces with conservative Anglicans worldwide to prevent the blessing of same-sex partnerships and the ordination of gay people. Under the leadership of the charismatic Jensen brothers – Peter, the Archbishop of Sydney, and his brother Phillip, the Dean – the Diocese poses a growing threat to mainstream Anglicanism. The New Puritans explores the impact of Sydney Anglicans on the Church in Australia and internationally.
from the Publisher

The New Puritans was launched at St Peter's on March 29, 2006. Click here for Charles Sherlock's address to launch the book, and click here for Muriel Porter's speech on the same occasion.

Anglicanism in Australia

Anglicanism in Australia: A History
General Editor: Bruce Kaye
Associate Editors: Tom Frame, Colin Holden, Geoff Treloar (Hardback. MUP, 2002).
RRP $65.95, Our Price $61.35

List of Contributors:
Brian Fletcher
Patricia Curthoys
Brian Dickey
Ruth Frappell
Tom Frame
David Hilliard
Bruce Kaye
Bill Lawton
Stuart Piggin
John Harris
Colin Holden
Anne O'Brien

Anglicanism in Australia is an important contribution to our social history. Its authors have moved beyond biography and histories of individual congregations to create a broad, complex, layered history. They assess Anglicanism's contribution to Australian social, political and cultural life. They explore the processes by which a highly centralised English institution has been reshaped by the environment and experience of this country.
from the Publishers

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation: Anglicans, Controversy and the Bible
Edited by Scott Cowdell and Muriel Porter (Desbooks, 2004).
RRP $24.95, Our Price $23.70

How do we read Scripture? Is there an agreed 'Anglican' way of interpreting the Bible? Are there any established principles that guide us in how we may understand the meaning of texts that currently divide Anglicans, especially in areas of sexuality and authority? And how may we respond to those who accuse the churches of frustrating the proclamation of the good news by the contradictions in their teaching about the Bible?

The papers collected under the sub-title Perspectives from the Doctrine Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia are written by members of that Commission. The writers do not claim to have all the answers to these questions. They do seek, however, to encourage the continuing exploration of some basic relevant questions from a variety of different perspectives.
from the Publishers

Reflections in Glass

Reflections in Glass
by Archbishop Peter Carnley (Harper Collins, 2004).
RRP $35.00, Our Price $33.25

Now with signature candour, (Archbishop Peter Carnley) shares his opinions on some of the key ideological questions facing the Church and society as a whole today. These include the phenomenon of 'Sydney Anglicanism', his own position of 'progressive orthodoxy', lay presidency at the Eucharist, women's ordination, genetics and stem cell research, and religious tolerance both inside and outside the Christian Church.
from the Publishers

See the Review by Rev'd John Davis in our reviews section for further information.

Bishop of Magnetic Power

Bishop of Magnetic Power: James Moorhouse in Melbourne
by Morna Sturrock (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2005).
RRP $44.00, Our Price $41.20

James Moorhose, the second Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, was one of the great public figures in the city during the 1870s and 80s. His oratorical skills were unsurpassed, and he provided an authoritative and stabilizing voice, week in, week out, before thousands of citzens whether gathered in city or country.

Moorhouse was a keen and constructive participant in many of the major social issues of his day, including education, race relations, prostitution, slums, and the irrigation of the Victorian hinterland. His private character lent authenticity to his public role, for he was a man with a passionate sense of vocation, derived from a powerful mystical experience in his young adulthood. Yet he was also tolerant and worldly, a man who supported temperance while continuing to enjoy his pipe and a glass of wine; indeed, Moorhouse was the very embodiement of muscular Christianity.

Drawing heavily on the ample reportage that Moorhouse received in the contemporary press, this book acknowledges the central role he played in the public life of Marvellous Melbourne, while showing how he earned the title 'bishop of magnetic power.'
from the Publisher

Grace and Necessity Grace and Necessity: Reflections on Art and Love
by Rowan Williams (Hardback. Moorhouse Publishing, 2005)
RRP $37.95, Our Price $36.00

This most original new book by Rowan Williams sketches out a new theological aesthetic or, put more simply, a new understanding of how human beings open themselves to transcendence. In describing an aesthetic of transcendence, Dr Williams draws on three key influences: the French Catholic philosopher Jacque Maritain, the Welsh poet and painter David Jones, and the American novelits and short-story writer, Mary Flannery O'Connor. The influence is as broad as Dr Williams' perception is deep. Through the poetic and creative imagination of these three influences, we read of a new doctrine of God that puts gift and dispossession at the foundation of everything.

The result is a book which combines innovation with clarity, and certainly breathes fresh air into a theological enterprise which often seems turgid, or which may seem to amount at times to little more than emotional pirouetting. In a real sense, Rowan Williams fulfils his stated ambition for Christianity to engage with contemporary culture, at least in its more imaginative aspects. That a man who holds highest office in the Church has the time and intellectual energy to write such original theology is encouraging for all of us.
from the Publisher

Why Study the Past?

Why Study the Past? The Quest for Historical Church
by Rowan Williams (Sarum Theological Lectures, Darton Longman and Todd, 2005)
RRP $28.95, Our Price $27.50

'Good history makes us think again about the definition of things we thought we understood pretty well, because it engages not just with what is familiar but with what is strange. It recognises that "the past is a foreign country" as well as being our past.'

The old chestnut about being condemned to repeat the history we do not know applies to Church history as much as to any other kind. But just how are we to approach it? Much of what passed once for Church history was propagandist; and much of the best now written is brilliantly done but apparently detached from the Church's present needs.

In seeking to explore this need, Rowan Williams offers some reflection on how we think about the past in general and considers how Church history has been used by theologians not just to prove points, but to clarify what we are as human beings. Emerging from this is a sense of the importance of history as something that deepens our present thinking and obliges us to think with more varied and resourceful analogies about who we are and the world we live in.
from the Publisher

How to be an Anglican

How to be an Anglican: A Beginner's Guide to Anglican Life and Thought
by Kevin Giles (Canterbury Press, 2003).
RRP $28.95, Our Price $27.50

(This work) is an excellent introduction to Anglican beliefs and practices. Down-to-earth and good humoured throughout, it explains the essential Anglican approach to worship, the scriptures, spirituality, doctrine, authority social and moral questions, dialogue with people of other faiths and much more.
from the Publishers

 

What Anglicans Believe in the Twenty-First Century
by David L Edwards (Continuum, 2002)
RRP $32.95, Our Price $30.65

David Edwards purpose is to present a straightforward account of what many Anglicans believe. He writes honest answers to the questions that many are asking of their faith and the church. He aims to help Anglicans all over the world to understand their own tradition and what it can offer them. A list of questions for discussion make this an ideal book for study groups as well as for individual consideration.
from the Publishers

Anglicanism and the Christian Church

Anglicanism and the Christian Church: Revised and expanded edition
by Paul Avis (T & T Clark, 2002).
RRP $55.95, Our Price $52.25

Paul Avis describes and interprets the Anglican understanding of the Christian Church from the Reformation to the present day. He presents the development of Anglican identity and ecclesiology in its historical context, focussing in particular on Anglican engagement with the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. This book also provides substantial accounts of the major Anglican theologians, from Richard Hooker to modern writers. In this new edition, Avis includes discussion of the influence of evangelical theology and reflects on the integrity of Anglicanism for the future.
from the Publishers

A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality
by Stephen Bates (I.B. Tauris books, Hardback).
Our Price $50.00

Bates manages to turn the minutiae of church politics into an engrossing and exciting narrative. He takes a pitiless scalpel to the poverty of conservative evangelical thinking on sexuality, and reveals plenty of evidence of a determined conservative minority bidding to seize power in worldwide Anglicanism. He poses a challenge to the Anglican Communion to fight its way out of its current mess through the exercise of a good deal more generosity and imagination than has so far generally been the case.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church
University of Oxford

Creating Uncommon Worship

Creating Uncommon Worship: transforming the liturgy of the Eucharist
by Richard Giles (Canterbury Press, 2004).
Our Price $65.00

The term 'groundbreaking' can be applied to Creating Uncommon Worship without any fear of exaggeration. Taking the familiar elements of the liturgy of the Eucharist, is shows how the sensory and spiritual dimensions of worship can be fused to create an all-embracing experience of beauty that has the power to engage, inspire and transform....an essential guide for all who are seeking to bring the liturgy to vivid life.
from the Publisher

The Book of Occasional Services 2003
(Church Publishing, NY).
Our Price $39.95

Young Adult and Children's Books

A selection of children's books with an Anglican emphasis can be found on the
"Children's Corner" page.



Manager: Carol O'Connor

Located at St Peter's Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Australia
Phone: (03) 9663 7487, Fax: (03) 9662 2400
Email: bookroom@stpeters.org.au