The Anglican Spirit Book

Archbishop Michael Ramsey was one of the church's most remarkable twentieth-century saints—wise and humble, humorous and compassionate. These introductory lectures on Anglicanism reveal the breadth of Ramsey's theological understanding, his ecumenism, and his vision of the church and the Christian life. Informal and conversational in style, the lectures offer an overview of Anglican theology, spirituality, and history.

Ramsey begins with Anglicanism's enduring characteristics, including its dependence on Scripture, tradition—the ancient writers of the church who guide us in interpreting the Bible—and reason, our God-given capacity for divine revelation. Next Ramsey explores its teachings on theology and the sacraments, Tractarianism and the Oxford Movement, the renaissance of Anglican religious communities, and the evolving doctrines of creation, incarnation, and the Holy Spirit. The final section presents Ramsey's theology of the church and Anglicanism's relationship to Rome and the Orthodox churches.

Library Journal

Ramsey, one of the greatest Archbishops of Canterbury, delivered these previously unpublished reflections on the ethos, historical tradition, and emphasis of Anglicanism to an American audience in 1979. Ramsey here stresses the catholicity, scriptural basis, and the use of reason and experience, as well as the openness to various interpretation and emphases within the Anglican tradition. His own evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of various trends within Anglicanism makes this book especially important. Highly recommended for seminary and large public and academic libraries.