Review Roundup: Deep Anglicanism
Recently, theologian and frequent Anglican Compass contributor The Rev. Dr. Gerald McDermott released Deep Anglicanism: A Brief Guide, his accessible but not lightweight introduction to the Anglican tradition. We were excited to get our hands on this new volume, released by Nashotah House Press, written by one of modern Anglicanism’s most prolific writers. Our ministry president, Peter Johnston, was eager to review it. In addition, we received an outside review submitted by Fr Calvin Robinson, who, as a public commentator on the Catholic and Anglican world from a British perspective, lends a broadening voice to the American Anglican context of McDermott and our team.
While not without criticism, our reviewers found McDermott’s volume to be both accessible and deep. It brings the richness of Anglicanism’s deep history, including its ancient pre-Reformation roots, to bear on our beliefs and practices. While it may, at times, try too hard to cover all bases, it very capably fills a gap, providing a depth of historical and theological richness to our understanding of the Anglican tradition.
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(Editor’s Note, February 2025: Fr Calvin Robinson’s license for ministry was revoked by ACC Archbishop Mark Haverland, and Fr Calvin responded here. The controversy notwithstanding, we believe his contribution to this piece is insightful and worth preserving.)
The Depth of the Anglo-Saxon Church
by The Ven. Dr. Peter Johnston, president of Anglican Compass
Deep Anglicanism is premised on the view that the Anglican tradition, properly conceived, runs deeper than any of our normal categories of churchmanship. In other words, the low church and high church will find, when they dig deeper into the tradition, a more fundamental commonality between them. This deeper Anglicanism, one indeed grounded upon Christ and the common liturgical life of the Church under the guidance of his Spirit, is the substratum that can hold us together in the midst of our apparent differences. “Deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7).
I agree with this idea and commend Dr. McDermott for using his historical and theological erudition to advance our common understanding. This approach to our tradition holds great promise.
The Missing Anglo-Saxon Church
One important aspect of this promise goes unfulfilled in McDermott’s otherwise excellent book. I speak especially of the Anglo-Saxon church, which ran roughly from 597 to 1066, from the mission of Augustine to the Norman Conquest. To my mind, the development of the church at that time constitutes the deepest substratum of the distinctly Anglican tradition, and it is regrettable that Dr. McDermott devotes little attention to this period of the church.
To be sure, Dr. McDermott pays special attention to the scriptures and the early church Fathers who constitute the common inheritance of the whole catholic tradition, including our Anglican faith. Deep Anglicanism certainly does not miss what makes our tradition deeply and decidedly Christian.
That said, a more thorough discussion of Anglicanism as a unique strand of Christianity would benefit from the depiction of that era and its exemplary figures. For example, I want to read more about Augustine’s journey, Hilda’s diplomacy, Caedmon’s poetry, Bede’s scholarship, Aidan’s devotion, Boniface’s evangelism, Alfred’s reform, and Wulfstan’s warnings.
A Future Project
Of course, Deep Anglicanism is already somewhat long for an introductory guide, so such a treatment of the Anglo-Saxon church might not fit within the book’s contours. Moreover, its structure is devotional rather than historical, in contrast to Dr. McDermott’s recent theological history, A New History of Redemption.
Perhaps there is an opening for a future project in the genre of Anglican guidebooks. A guide fully committed to the Catholic and Reformed faith hammered out in the 16th century is needed, but one that unfolds chronologically and covers the full history of the distinctly Anglican way.
An Update to Lewis & Staley
by Calvin Robinson, British commentator on the Anglican and Catholic traditions
The Reverend Dr. Gerald R. McDermott’s latest book is one that many of us have been waiting for for some time. It is an Anglican guidebook of sorts. What Fr. McDermott manages to do with Deep Anglicanism is pick up where C. S. Lewis left off with Mere Christianity. Adopting Lewis’ lexicon, McDermott attempts to provide a catch-all book for Anglicans and those considering Anglicanism, presenting somewhat of a guidebook for the faith.
Vernon Staley is another credited influence on this book. Staley’s The Catholic Religion has been my go-to recommendation for those interested in Anglo-Catholic theology ever since my good friend Clinton Colister asked me to review it for the Holy CofE Podcast. Staley’s 19th-century work is mostly out of print and quite old-fashioned now in style, but it contains everything one needs to know about the Catholic faith from an Anglo perspective. McDermott provides a 21st-century update to that great work.
Incorporating Lewis’s breadth and Staley’s accuracy, McDermott provides a one-size-fits-all approach to the Anglican tradition of the Catholic faith, covering an array of topics.
Overview
The first half of the book broaches the via media of Anglicanism, filling the gap between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. It also discusses Crazy King Henry and the question of the roots of Anglicanism, liturgy and the Book of Common Prayer, and spirituality and the Anglican divines.
For me, though, the book really comes into its own in the latter half, with the Sacraments, the Church, Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition—or, as McDermott calls it, the Great Tradition. The book ends with fascinating chapters exploring why not the other major traditions of the Christian faith: “Why not the way of Geneva? Why not Wittenberg? Why not Rome or Constantinople?”
If anything, this book does too good a job. It almost feels like it should be two separate books or perhaps three. And herein lies this reviewer’s major criticism of the book; its strength is also its weakness, in that it tries to be all things to perhaps too many people.
Anglicanism for Protestants
The first half of the book is an explanation of Anglicanism, but particularly from an American perspective. Perhaps this is helpful, as Anglicanism in England is part of our blood; it is our inherited faith, whereas, in the United States, it is a choice. And McDermott understands this well. He writes the first chapters, it seems, for the eyes of Protestants. The Anglican expression of the faith is explained in a way that will help those exploring the tradition. Baptists, Methodists, Evangelicals, and people of other Low Church denominations will benefit from these first few chapters, which teach about common misconceptions. They will help evangelicals gain more appreciation for the traditions of the Church and attain a better understanding of the fullness of the faith. After reading this first half, they will want to become Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Anglican, as is right and proper.
For Anglicans, this first half will help them better understand their tradition as adherents to the English expression of the Catholic faith. McDermott talks of the Reformation as a process to heal the Church of error and superstition while redirecting back to the teachings of the Church Fathers. The Reformers did not aim to create a new Church, which is a falsehood many modern-day Protestants often fall into.
Anglicanism as a Catholic Faith
Where the first half of the book is primarily historical and ecclesiological, the latter half of the book is mostly theological. If, in the first half, McDermott covers what it means to be Anglican. In the second, he addresses what it means to be Catholic.
Rome has made this a juridical matter. McDermott presents it as theological: Catholic refers to the Church of the whole or the beliefs and practices of the whole Church around the world, from the Latin catholicus, which is from the Greek katholikos. The Greek word combines kata (according to) and holos (the whole). Catholic means not just the Universal Church but the Whole Church. It certainly does not mean one particular Church or one particular institution or jurisdiction.
He does not shy away from hard truths, either. He discusses marriage being a lifelong union between one man and one woman and why women cannot become priests. McDermott touches on other interesting topics, such as why it is appropriate to call priests ‘Father’ and the importance of Apostolic Succession. He even delves into that favorite topic of Protestants: the definition of Justification and the means of Salvation.
In Conclusion
This book does not need to be read cover to cover. Think of it as more of a guidebook to dip into for particular topics. It would make for great reading as part of a study group or catechism class. The chapters are all written in bite-size chunks, making them incredibly accessible. One would imagine McDermott had reading groups in mind as he was writing it.
Deep Anglicanism is the religion of C. S. Lewis. It is a contemporary supplement to, although not a replacement for, Vernon Staley’s The Catholic Religion, which, along with Mere Christianity, Deep Anglicanism is undoubtedly among the top five books every Anglican should read, following, of course, the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.
Photo of Wells Cathedral by Kristian Thomas from Pexels.
Review: Deep Anglicanism by Gerald McDermott
Despite being a primarily theological text, Deep Anglicanism captivates the reader’s attention, making it a page-turner in the truest sense. It also has a devotional quality in its writing, being as much food for the heart as the mind.
The Future of Orthodox Anglicanism (Review)
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