Worship and the Parish Church in Early Modern Britain

Worship and the Parish Church in Early Modern Britain
Author: Alec Ryrie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-02-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134785771

The Parish Church was the primary site of religious practice throughout the early modern period. This was particularly so for the silent majority of the English population, who conformed outwardly to the successive religious upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. What such public conformity might have meant has attracted less attention - and, ironically, is sometimes less well documented - than the non-conformity or semi-conformity of recusants, church-papists, Puritan conventiclers or separatists. In this volume, ten leading scholars of early modern religion explore the experience of parish worship in England during the Reformation and the century that followed it. As the contributors argue, parish worship in this period was of critical theological, cultural and even political importance. The volume's key themes are the interlocking importance of liturgy, music, the sermon and the parishioners' own bodies; the ways in which religious change was received, initiated, negotiated, embraced or subverted in local contexts; and the dialectic between practice and belief which helped to make both so contentious. The contributors - historians, historical theologians and literary scholars - through their commitment to an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, provide fruitful and revealing insights into this intersection of private and public worship. This collection is a sister volume to Martin and Ryrie (eds), Private and Domestic Devotion in Early Modern Britain. Together these two volumes focus and drive forward scholarship on the lived experience of early modern religion, as it was practised in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Living in Love and Faith

Living in Love and Faith
Author: The Church of England
Publisher: Church House Publishing
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2020-11-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0715111671

Issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsic to people’s experience: their sense of identity, their lives and the loving relationships that shape and sustain them. The life and mission of the Church of England – and of the worldwide Anglican Communion – are affected by the deep, and sometimes painful, disagreements about these matters, divisions brought into sharper focus because of society’s changing perspectives and practices, especially in relation to LGTBI+ people. Living in Love and Faith sets out to inspire people to think more deeply both about what it means to be human, and to live in love and faith with one another. It tackles the tough questions and the divisions among Christians about what it means to be holy in a society in which understandings and practices of gender, sexuality and marriage continue to change. Commissioned and led by the Bishops of the Church of England, the Living in Love and Faith project has involved many people across the Church and beyond, bringing together a great diversity and depth of expertise, conviction and experience to explore these matters by studying what the Bible, theology, history and the social and biological sciences have to say. After a Foreword from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the book opens with an invitation from the Bishops of the Church of England to embark on a learning journey in five parts: Part One sets current questions about human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage in the context of God’s gift of life. Part Two takes a careful and dispassionate look at what is happening in the world with regard to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Part Three explores current Christian thinking and discussions about human identity, sexuality, and marriage. In the light of the good news of Jesus Christ, how do Christians understand and respond to the trends observed in Part Two? Part Four considers what it means for us as individuals and as a church to be Christ-like when it comes to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Part Five invites the reader into a conversation between some of the people who have been involved in writing this book who, having engaged with and written Parts One to Four, nevertheless come to different conclusions. Amid the biblical, theological, historical and scientific exploration, each part includes Encounters with real, contemporary disciples of Christ whose stories raise questions which ask us to discern where God is active in human lives. The book ends with an appeal from the Bishops to join them in a period of discernment and decision-making following the publication of Living in Love and Faith. The Living in Love and Faith book is accompanied by a range of free digital resources including films, podcasts and an online library, together with Living in Love and Faith: The Course, a 5-session course which is designed to help local groups engage with the resources, also published by Church House Publishing.

Going to Church in Medieval England

Going to Church in Medieval England
Author: Nicholas Orme
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2021-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300256507

An engaging, richly illustrated account of parish churches and churchgoers in England, from the Anglo-Saxons to the mid-sixteenth century Parish churches were at the heart of English religious and social life in the Middle Ages and the sixteenth century. In this comprehensive study, Nicholas Orme shows how they came into existence, who staffed them, and how their buildings were used. He explains who went to church, who did not attend, how people behaved there, and how they--not merely the clergy--affected how worship was staged. The book provides an accessible account of what happened in the daily and weekly services, and how churches marked the seasons of Christmas, Lent, Easter, and summer. It describes how they celebrated the great events of life: birth, coming of age, and marriage, and gave comfort in sickness and death. A final chapter covers the English Reformation in the sixteenth century and shows how, alongside its changes, much that went on in parish churches remained as before.

The Culture of the English People

The Culture of the English People
Author: N. J. G. Pounds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 1994-05-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521466714

This wide-ranging book, first published in 1994, traces the development of popular culture in England from the Iron Age to the eighteenth century.

Church Music and Protestantism in Post-Reformation England

Church Music and Protestantism in Post-Reformation England
Author: Dr Jonathan Willis
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2013-06-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 140948081X

'Church Music and Protestantism in Post-Reformation England' breaks new ground in the religious history of Elizabethan England, through a closely focused study of the relationship between the practice of religious music and the complex process of Protestant identity formation. Hearing was of vital importance in the early modern period, and music was one of the most prominent, powerful and emotive elements of religious worship. But in large part, traditional historical narratives of the English Reformation have been distinctly tone deaf. Recent scholarship has begun to take increasing notice of some elements of Reformed musical practice, such as the congregational singing of psalms in meter. This book marks a significant advance in that area, combining an understanding of theory as expressed in contemporary religious and musical discourse, with a detailed study of the practice of church music in key sites of religious worship. Divided into three sections - 'Discourses', 'Sites', and 'Identities' - the book begins with an exploration of the classical and religious discourses which underpinned sixteenth-century understandings of music, and its use in religious worship. It then moves on to an investigation of the actual practice of church music in parish and cathedral churches, before shifting its attention to the people of Elizabethan England, and the ways in which music both served and shaped the difficult process of Protestantisation. Through an exploration of these issues, and by reintegrating music back into the Elizabethan church, we gain an expanded and enriched understanding of the complex evolution of religious identities, and of what it actually meant to be Protestant in post-Reformation England.

Wesley and the Anglicans

Wesley and the Anglicans
Author: Ryan Nicholas Danker
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2016-04-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830899642

Why did the Wesleyan Methodists and the Anglican evangelicals divide during the middle of the eighteenth century? Many say it was based narrowly on theological matters. Ryan Nicholas Danker suggests that politics was a major factor driving them apart. Rich in detail, this study offers deep insight into a critical juncture in evangelicalism and early Methodism.

Church and People in Interregnum Britain

Church and People in Interregnum Britain
Author: Fiona Mccall
Publisher:
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2021-05-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9781912702640

The English Civil War was followed by a period of unprecedented religious tolerance and the spread of new religious ideas and practices. Britain experienced a period of so-called "Godly religious rule" and a breakdown of religious uniformity that was perceived as a threat to social order by some and a welcome innovation to others. The period of Godly religious rule has been significantly neglected by historians--we know remarkably little about religious organization or experience at a parochial level in the 1640s and 1650s. This volume addresses these issues by investigating important questions concerning the relationship between religion and society in the years between the first Civil War and the Restoration. How did ordinary people experience this period of dramatic upheaval? How did religious imperatives change and develop? Did people resist Godly imperatives?With its nuanced analysis of Cromwell's England, Church and People in Interregnum Britain will interest religious scholars, enthusiasts of military history, and public historians.

The Church of England and British Politics Since 1900

The Church of England and British Politics Since 1900
Author: Thomas Rodger
Publisher: Boydell Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2020-04-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781783274680

Bringing together researchers in modern British religious, political, intellectual and social history, this volume considers the persistence of the Church's public significance, despite its falling membership.

Common Worship: Festivals

Common Worship: Festivals
Author: Church of England
Publisher: Canterbury Press
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2014-08-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 071512241X

Contains everything needed to celebrate the Saints' days, principal holy days and special occasions in the Church of England calendar. It brings together all the prayers and Collects needed for these days with Eucharistic material and music, plus Holy Communion Order One in the centre of the book for easy access.