A short guide to the origins, structure and values of the Churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion.Paul Avis explains and clarifies the history and theology involved, and introduces concepts in a structured way, making the book clear to those who may be coming to these issues for the first time. It is also an invaluable aide-memoire and reference tool for the specialist, presenting a clear outline of the structure, form, function, disposition and beliefs of the...

'A mere metaphor', 'only symbolic', 'just a myth' - these tell tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In God and the Creative Imagination, Paul Avis argues the contrary: we see that actually, metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a real knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets Blake, Wordsworth and Keats and drawing ...

The emergence of a sense of the past in Renaissance humanism gave rise to a new historical consciousness about the meaning of history and methods of historical enquiry. This book, originally published in 1986, provides an in-depth critical introduction to the historical thought of some of the most influential thinkers of Western culture, from Machiavelli’s reflections on history and power to the revolutionary intuitions of Giambattista Vico’s New Science of historical understanding, taking...

Paul Avis charts a pathway of theological integrity through the serious challenges facing the Anglican Communion in the first quarter of the 21st century. He asks whether there is a special calling for Anglicanism as an expression of the Christian Church and expounds the Anglican theological tradition to shed light on current controversies. He argues in conclusion that Anglicanism is called, like all the churches, to reflect the nature of the Church that we confess in the Creed to be one, ...

Why Bishops? What's so special about Bishops? What are Bishops called to and how best can they do it? This book is the single resource of answers to all the questions one could conceivably have about what a Bishop is and their function and purpose in the Church.Paul Avis offers a fascinating account of the ministerial identity of the bishop, and in particular the tasks and roles of episcopal ministry. Placing the Bishop within his wider ecclesiological framework, Avis illuminates t...

What is church's true foundation? Was the Christian church founded by Jesus, or does 'the Eucharist make the church'? Paul Avis sets out his own answer to these questions. Gathering a wide range of critical scholarship, he argues that there is something solid and dependable at the foundation of the church's life and mission.Avis argues that Jesus wanted a church in a sense, but not as we know it. Christ proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom and his disciples proclaimed the gospel wh...

In this new three-part book series, Avis tackles a series of issues relevant to Anglicanism in the current day.The first book, In Search of Authority, seeks to examine Anglican Theology in relation to questions of authority. Anglican theology has been a hotbed of debate about the issue of authority since the Reformation. What do we really appeal to when attempting to decide matters of doctrine, worship, ministry or ethics? The debate is very much alive today, between Evangelical, L...

A unique work of Fundamental Theology, Revelation and the Word of God explores key issues of divine revelation as open questions. They include: Why is revelation so elusive? Existential and philosophical problems of revelation in the context of apologetics. The self-revelation of God in mystery. What does it mean to say, as the Bible does, that God 'speaks' and 'acts'? How does revelation relate to the Bible, history, religious experience and the church? The relat...

Challenging the common assumption that the Enlightenment of the late seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries was an essentially secular, irreligious and atheistic movement, this book critiques this standard interpretation as based on a narrow view of Enlightenment sources.Building on the work of revisionist historians, this volume takes the argument squarely into the theological domain, whether Anglican, Dissenting, Lutheran or deistic, whilst also noting that the Enlightenment de...

Theology and Human Flourishing is a forward-looking review of the life and work of a place with a gentle Christian ethos that has provided sanctuary and healing for many over the past 31 years under the leadership of Elizabeth Baxter. It consists of 18 essays, each written in their own distinctive style by experts from a range of relevant disciplines who are supporters of Holy Rood House.The essays cover the variety of provision at Holy Rood House and its theoretical and t...

Originating in 1867 under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference has proactively shaped the modern world by influencing areas as diverse as the ecumenical movement, post-war international relations, and the spiritual lives of hundreds of millions. A team of distinguished scholars from around the world now detail the historical legacy, theological meaning, and pastoral purpose of the Anglican Communion's decennial councils.The next Lambeth Conference ...

In the trembling town of Magnolia Hill, where silence blossoms alongside sorrow, a haunted ballerina and a broken ex-detective collide under a sky lined with magnolia trees and secrets.Celine Hale vanished from the spotlight after her twin sister's unsolved murder. Now she lives quietly, tending a flower shop steeped in ritual and memory. Marcus Cain arrives wearing a past wrapped in betrayal and jazz, drawn to a crime buried beneath the town’s porcelain charm.As a string o...