Customer Reviews

A History of the Church in England

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The text, 'A History of the Church in England', by J.R.H. Moorman, is one of the important works of Anglican history of this generation. There aren't many one-volume treatments of the whole of Anglican history; while Anglicans as a rule give a good amount of attention and authority to history (the second of the three pillars of Anglicanism - Scripture, Tradition, and Reason - has much to do with history), it is surprising perhaps that this book is rare in nature.

As Moorman writes in the preface to the first edition, 'It is notoriously difficult to pour a gallon of water into a pint pot.' Moorman doesn't simply treat the period of time from Henry VIII to the present, a five-hundred year span that is also difficult to encompass in a single volume; he examines the history of the church IN England from the earliest Christian presence to the present time. Perhaps this explains the title more fully - this is not so much a history of the institution of the Church of England, but rather an exploration of the church as it continues from its earliest times to its current expression.

Moorman concedes that his is not an unbiased reporter - indeed, such a creature is unlikely to be found, particularly among those for whom English and England are native aspects. Moorman states that 'impartial history would be very dull', and thus makes no such pretension. He is one who does not see the Church of England as being created by Henry VIII, but rather sees the church in England (of which the Church of England is the primary institutional successor) as a continuous entity.

Moorman's text is an interesting read, but a bit dry by the standards of today's historical writing. I can tell by comparison to other works of the 1950s and 1960s (when the principal text was assembled) that this would have been an innovation in terms of accessibility and resistance to stodgy history (the kind that comes in dusty tomes residing on library shelves, doomed to never be read), but today reads as being a bit archaic at times. As every history is necessarily selective, this one suffers a time or two in the kinds of details left out, but generally hits all of the major events and issues of the development of Anglicanism in England, particularly from the Elizabethan time forward to the early part of the twentieth century.

One of the flaws of the book is that it does not take into account the increasingly global nature of the Anglican Communion over time. Moorman treats this only briefly in a few sections (four pages in one chapter, six pages in another). Moorman also only briefly touches on intercommunion and ecumenical actions, which are increasingly important in today's society (when he writes about other churches, it is overwhelmingly about the Roman Catholic church that he is writing).

However, Moorman is an excellent text for the topic its focus. It is well documented (nearly 800 other works are referenced here), has an excellent index (24 pages of small print), and a good table of contents with chapter annotations.

This is a must-read text for any Anglican, or any student of the history and culture of England.

I had to read the second half of this book for a class assignment. I found it so helpful, understandable, and enjoyable that I went back and read the first half as well, even though I could not spare the time.

This is an excellent summary of the development of the Church and much of the culture on the island we now know as England from Roman times to the 20th century.

This is the best book I have found on the history of the English Reformation and of the Church of England through the middle of the 20th C. I have read it twice and still refer to it often. It's definitely worth owning if you have any interest in this area.

John Moorman has written an excellent historical introduction to Anglicanism (or, more properly, the Church in England). Along with Neill's "Anglicanism," Moorman's book is one of the best places for the student of Anglicanism to begin his studies.

There are 2 main differences between Moorman's book and Neill's "Anglicanism". First, Moorman's emphasis is only on the Church in England, while Neill gives some attention to worldwide Anglicanism. Second, while Neill begins with the Reformation, Moorman begins with the Church in England from the first centuries until 1966.

By dealing with the entire history of the Church in England, Moorman gives an invaluable introduction not only to the Church of England but also to Anglicanism. By dividing his book up into 22 historical units, Moorman provides an excellent frame on which the student of Anglicanism can build his understanding. Moorman also subdivides each of his 22 sections into approximately 5 sections, so that it's always easy to see where you are in history. For each period Moorman also makes reference to what he considers the most useful works he's consulted, for which the reader ought to be grateful.

Moorman writes in a clear, narrative style, and the fact that he covers so much territory in one volume makes it possible for the reader to digest the most important aspects of each historical period, as well as to gain a vision for the whole. Moorman covers an enormous amount of material yet does it so gracefully that the reader never feels breathless or rushed. Through it all, Moorman comes across as unbiased and an accurate historian.

I highly recommend this work, which is divided up into the following 22 Sections:

I. The Church in Britain Before 597
II. The Conversion of England (597-664)
III. Consolidation and Advance (664-793)
IV. Chaos and Reconstruction (793-988)
V. The Eve of the Conquest (988-1066)
VI. England Under the Normans (1066-1109)
VII. The Struggle for Power (1109-1216)
VIII. The Thirteenth Century (1212-1307)
IX. The Age of Wyclif (1307-1400)
X. The Close of the Middle Ages (1400-1509)
XI. Henry VIII (1509-1547)
XII. Action and Reaction (1547-1558)
XIII. Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
XIV. The Early Stuarts (1603-1649)
XV. Commonwealth, Restoration and Revolution (1649-1702)
XVI. The Early Eighteenth Century (1702-1738)
XVII. The Age of Wesley (1738-1791)
XVIII. From Wesley to Keble (1791-1833)
XIX. The Oxford Movement and After (1833-1854)
XX. The Mid- Victorians (1854-1882)
XXI. The Turn of the Century (1882-1914)
XXII. The Modern Church (1914-1966)

Reading Moorman was a delight because I did not find myself bogged down in the political intricacies and machinations of the English Reformation. He did a fair job of portraying the Edwardian Reformation and the age of Elizabeth and the Evangelical revivals of the 1700s. He also demonstrated sympathy for the Broad Churchmen and the role of reason and the challenges of modern science to a literal reading of Genesis. He was less sympathetic to the Oxford Movement and the efforts to re-catholicize the English Church, but not so much that an Anglo-Catholic reader would be overly offended. Overall a great read, but one that is still a very brief introduction to the complexities and nuances of that magnificent thing called Anglicanism as it has unfolded over the centuries.

This book was a required text for a seminary class I'm taking on (duh) English Church History. Compared with previous Church History texts I've had to use, this one is absolutely outstanding. It will at times leave you wondering a little about the political or social context, because the focus is heavily on the Church. I find this to actually be a plus, as the secular side of things could probably double or triple the length of the book. Moorman reads very easily compared with other history texts, especially considering it's age. History is not my favorite subject, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this text (and the class).

I learned a lot from reading this book, which is actually a seminary text. The prose is somewhat pedantic at times, but still readable. It is a good history of Christanity in England and surrounding lands. I learned a lot about the balance between church and state, and how Angicanism has gotten to the point that it has. I would recommend it for anyone interesting in the history of England as it is more than just a text about the Church in England. For Episcopalians, it helps in an understanding of the current crisis in the Anglican community.

This is one of those rare books showing the long and current history of the church at work in England before Augustine's mission there and onwards. It gives a fine section on the involvement of the church in social concerns, forming of guilds and of education for workers.
The book was new and well bound. A pleasure to read.
John A Simpson

The book is only 459 pages, so it obviously cannot go into a lot of detail in covering almost 2000 years of history. The author has, however, done a pretty good job of providing a good overview of the entire history along with more extensive details for those periods when events of significance were happening -- either in England or on the Continent -- that affected the church and the direction it eventually would take in getting to where is is today. Likewise, the author has provided significant information of the men behind those events -- their backgrounds and their reasoning for what they believed and for what they did.

Moorman has made the story of the church in England an interesting and intriguing read in addition to writing an informative history. He begins in the begining with the initial arrival of Christianity to the British Islands. These chapters are perhaps the most amazing, as we see early Christians courageous and sacrificial in their mission of sharing the gospel.

Moorman moves through the ages discussing the changes in the religious landscape and the political landscape. This is a pattern he follows throughout the book, as he addresses the changes in politics that affect or are due to religion. He provides important details at all stages of the history and highlights all of the key figures.

I think his explanations of the English Reformation and the development of the Church of England are exceptionally well done and simple. He provides writing on the different interests that led to the Church of England's break with Rome and all of the tensions between interested parties in the formation of Anglicanism.

He writes with enthusiam and an apparent passion for the Church of England and its history. The book is very well balanced covering all the time periods with as much writing as is needed. This is a book that would be good for readers who have little familiarity with the subject or for readers who hope to enhance their already adequate knowledge of the church in England.