By: Bishop John W. Howe

Originally published in 1977, I read the 1993 reprint, a small book with 176 pages. Billed as an introduction to Anglicanism it is a fast-paced retelling of the history of the Anglican Church and basic Anglican beliefs and practices. It also has questions at the end of each short chapter.

A couple of quick observations: Bishop Howe’s version of Anglican history is pretty narrow. For instance, he never mentions the “three-legged stool” based on Hooker and instead opts for a simple Sola Scriptura view of authority. He also has a very negative view of Roman Catholicism and requotes many Reformation ideas about the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist. He also really tries to make the 39 Articles the primary source of authority for The Episcopal Church, playing loose with the reality that the whole of TEC has “never required subscription to the Articles¹“. Finally, rather than quote directly from primary sources he will quote from summaries that are sympathetic to his understanding – meaning that nuance is often ignored in favor of a simple narrative.

This is a quick read and gives a basic understanding of the conservative view of Anglicanism.

176 Pages

2.5 out of 5.

1. https://episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/thirty-nine-articles-or-articles-religion