The Legal History of the Church of England: From the Reformation to the Present

The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the principal legal landmarks in the evolution of the Church of England's law from the Reformation to the present day, exploring its foundations, role in political and theological controversies, and significance for church law and English society.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The book offers the first comprehensive analysis of the principal legal landmarks in the evolution of the law of the established Church of England from the Reformation to the present day. It explores the foundations of ecclesiastical law and considers its crucial role in the development of the Church of England over the centuries. The law has often been the site of major political and theological controversies, within and outside the church, including the Reformation itself, the English civil war, the Restoration and rise of religious toleration, the impact of the industrial revolution, the ritualist disputes of the 19th century, and the rise of secularisation in the twentieth. The book examines key statutes, canons, case-law, and other instruments in fields such as church governance and ministry, doctrine and liturgy, rites of passage (from baptism to burial) and church property. Each chapter studies a broadly 50-year period, analysing it in terms of continuity and change, explaining the laws by reference to politics and theology, and evaluating the significance of the legal landmarks for the development of church law and its place in wider English society.

Weight: 580g
Dimension: 234 x 155 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509973194