- Topical and practical analysis of some current troubling developments in the CofE.- Taps into a groundswell of discontent with prevailing notions and practices of leadership, which on the ground affect people in parishes.- Provides solid theological grounding for its analysis and recommendations.- Clear, accessible, engaging and convincing arguments from a leading ecclesial thinker.
In Shaping a Church of Ethical Integrity, Paul Avis offers a bold and incisive critique of the current state and future direction of the Church of England under its national and diocesan leadership. It explores how power and authority are distributed and exercised, deconstructing the shallow rhetoric of “leadership” that dominates the church’s management today. While critically assessing these prevailing tendencies, the book also seeks to preserve the enduring values and practices found in grassroots parishes. Through a scholarly yet accessible analysis, the author delves into key ethical-political concepts like subsidiarity, solidarity, and synodality, examining how authority operates at every level of the church’s structure. Engaging, rigorous, and deeply theological, this work challenges the Church of England to confront its internal dynamics and rediscover authentic leadership and authority.
Arvustused
A deep, sobering, passionate analysis of where the Church of England has gone so wrong in recent decades and a call to a fundamental renewal of its faith and values. This book is written in fire and anger, but also in unwavering belief in the faithfulness of God to restore the Church and renew its purpose to be a blessing to the whole of society. -- Angela Tilby Few people are as well placed as Paul Avis to help the Church of England address its current anxieties about its failures of character and identity. Drawing together ecclesiological and moral understandings of authenticity, he offers a resource for bishops, clergy and church members who are bewildered about where the church has got to. -- Oliver ODonovan The ripe full fruits of a lifetime of labour, devotion and critical reflection in the councils of the Christian Church, Paul Avis has now chosen to confront the state of the Church of England at large today. He has produced a tract for our times; free from conventional illusions, erudite and unsparingly honest, deeply anxious and still resolutely hopeful. Everybody who looks to the future of Anglicanism should read this eloquent, sincerely provocative book. -- Andrew Chandler
Preface
1. Ecclesial Authenticity and Identity
2. The Good Church
3. A Church of Virtuous Practice
4. The Responsible Church
5. The Integrity of Place and Parish
6. Bishops, priests and people in sacramental communion
7. Establishment with Ethical Integrity
Index
Paul Avis is a priest in the Church of England, Honorary Professor in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, and the Editor-in-Chief of Ecclesiology.
He is the author of many books on Anglicanism, ecumenical theology, mission and ministry and fundamental theology, including Reconciling Theology (2022).
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