Recommended Anglican Resources: The Ultimate Anglican Reading List

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Essential Anglican Resources

If you’re new to the Anglican tradition (or you’d just like to learn more about it), you should read an introduction to Anglicanism and purchase a copy of the Book of Common Prayer.

Note: Links to books below are Amazon affiliate links. Also, check out the Anglican Compass bookstore page for all Anglican Compass titles!

First, read an introduction to Anglicanism.

You should start with Anglican Compass’s very own Simply Anglican, by Winfield Bevins!

Here are other introductions to Anglicanism:

• Anglicanism: A Reformed Catholic Tradition, by Gerald Bray.
• Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction, by Mark Chapman.
• Our Anglican Heritage, Second Edition: Can an Ancient Church be a Church of the Future?, by John W. Howe.
• The Anglican Way: A Guidebook, by Thomas McKenzie.
• Anglicanism, by Stephen Neill.
• The Heritage of Anglican Theology, by J.I. Packer.
• Unashamed Anglicanism, by Stephen Sykes.
• An Outline of an Anglican Life, by Louis Tarsitano (order a copy from the Reformed Episcopal Church).

(Keep in mind that the Anglican Compass website is an introduction to Anglicanism as well! Take a look at our “FAQ: Frequent Anglican Questions” as a starting point.)

Then, buy a Book of Common Prayer.

If you’d like to learn more about the Book of Common Prayer (AKA, the “BCP” or “Prayer Book”), click here to read our Rookie Anglican Guide to the BCP. As you’ll learn, you’ve got some options when it comes to the BCP.

• If you’d like to read the closest thing that global Anglicanism has to an “official” Book of Common Prayer, you should buy a copy of the 1662 BCP:
  • The “International Edition” of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer from IVP (Get this to use/pray.)
  • Cambridge’s edition of the 1662 BCP (Get this to use/pray. Warning: small type! The “Enlarged Edition” is easier to read and still a manageable size, roughly 7×5” trim size, just over 1” thick.)
  • The Oxford World’s Classics edition of the first “classic” BCPS, the 1549, 1559, and 1662 (Get this more for learning/research purposes.)
• The official Prayer Book of the Anglican Church in North America is the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.
  • Click here to read a Rookie Anglican Guide to the 2019 BCP.
• The official Prayer Book of The Episcopal Church (USA) is the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
  • Our Rookie Anglican Guide to the BCP gives an overview of the 1979 BCP.
• The previous official Prayer Book of The Episcopal Church (USA) was the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, still widely used and often regarded as the last of the “classic” Prayer Books.

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The Ultimate Anglican Reading List

OK, now that we’ve covered the essentials, here is the rest of our Ultimate Anglican Reading List, arranged first by topic and then alphabetically by author last name

Anglican Reference Works

• “Glossary of Terms – The Episcopal Church,” a free online version of An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church.
• Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism, by Colin Buchanan (expensive, but contains an astonishing amount of information, including a very thorough annotated bibliography).
• The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies, by Chapman, Clarke, and Percy, eds.
• The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, by Cross and Livingstone, eds.
• The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion, by Markham, Hawkins, Terry, and Steffensen, eds.
• The Study of Anglicanism, by Sykes, Booty, and Knight, eds. (extremely helpful and quite affordable, compared to many other reference works).

The Book of Common Prayer

• The Prayer Book Dictionary, by Harford, Stevenson, and Tyrer.
• Commentary on the American Prayer Book, by Marion J. Hatchett (a commentary on the 1979 BCP).
• The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey, by Hefling and Shattuck, eds.
• The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography, by Alan Jacobs.
• The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr. (a commentary on the 1928 BCP).
• The Prayer Book Through the Ages, by William Sydnor (a history of the 1979 BCP).
• The Book of Common Prayer (online BCP resources provided by the Society of Archbishop Justus).
• The Online Book of Common Prayer (full text of the 1979 BCP available online).
• The Book of Common Prayer 2019 (full text of the 2019 BCP available online).

Anglican History

• The Oxford History of Anglicanism (5 vols).
• Everyman’s History of the English Church, by Percy Dearmer.
• Everyman’s History of the Prayer Book, by Percy Dearmer.
• The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400–1580, by Eamon Duffy.
• An Introduction to World Anglicanism, by Bruce Kaye.
• English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, by C.S. Lewis.
• The SPCK Handbook of Anglican Theologians, by Alister E. McGrath, ed. (contains both geographical overviews of global Anglicanism and historical portraits of significant Anglicans).
• A History of the Church in England, by J.R.H. Moorman.
• The Panther and the Hind: A Theological History of Anglicanism, by Aidan Nichols, O.P.
• Love’s Redeeming Work: The Anglican Quest for Holiness, by Geoffrey Rowell, Kenneth Stevenson, and Rowan Williams.
• Glorious Companions: Five Centuries of Anglican Spirituality, by Richard H. Schmidt, ed.
• A Little History of the English Country Church, by Roy Strong.
• A History of Global Anglicanism, by Kevin Ward.
• Anglican Timeline (an online Anglican timeline, provided by the Society of Archbishop Justus)
• Project Canterbury (a free online archive of out-of-print Anglican texts and related modern documents)
• Anglican Reality Check (a GAFCON timeline of recent Anglican history since Lambeth 1998)

Important Anglican Primary Sources

• The Anglican Tradition: A Handbook of Sources.
• Documents of the English Reformation.
• Parker Society Volumes (1840s–1850s). Available here from Project Canterbury.
• Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology (1840s). Available here from Project Canterbury.
• Tracts for the Times (6 vols.). Available here from Project Canterbury.
• Lancelot Andrewes
  • The Private Prayers of Lancelot Andrewes.
  • Selected Writings, by Lancelot Andrewes.
• Thomas Cranmer
• Richard Hooker
  • Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, by Richard Hooker.
  • Hooker’s Laws in Modern English, published by The Davenant Institute.
• John Jewel
  • Apology of the Church of England, by John Jewel.
• John Henry Newman
  • An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, by John Henry Newman.
  • Parochial and Plain Sermons, by John Henry Newman.

Anglican Theology

Commentaries on the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion

This is an important subset of works on Anglican theology. For many more resources and free PDFs available online, see Resources on the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion at the Prydain blog. Thanks to Prydain for many of the linked PDFs below.

For excellent editions of Browne, Griffith Thomas, Litton, and Rodgers, order from the Reformed Episcopal Church.

• An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by William Beveridge.
• An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by T.P. Boultbee.
• The Faith We Confess: An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by Gerald Bray.
• An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, Historical and Doctrinal, by Edward Harold Browne.
• An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by Gilbert Burnet.
• Our Inheritance of Faith: A Commentary on the Thirty Nine Articles, by Martin Davie.
• The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by Edgar C.S. Gibson.
• The Principles of Theology: An Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles, by W.H. Griffith Thomas.
• Introduction to Dogmatic Theology on the Basis of the XXXIX Articles, by E.A. Litton.
• On the Thirty-nine Articles: A Conversation with Tudor Christianity, by Oliver O’Donovan.
• The Thirty-Nine Articles: Their Place and Use Today, by J.I. Packer
• The 39 Articles of Religion: A Commentary With Introduction to Systematic Theology, by John H. Rodgers.
• The Catholic Doctrine of the Church of England: An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by Thomas Rogers.
• Who is the true Churchman? Or, the Thirty-nine Articles examined, by J.C. Ryle.

Other Works on/of Anglican Theology

• The Anglican Understanding of the Church, by Paul Avis.
• Anglicanism and the Christian Church, by Paul Avis.
• The Identity of Anglicanism: Essentials of Anglican Ecclesiology, by Paul Avis.
• In Search of Authority: Anglican Theological Method from the Reformation to the Enlightenment, by Paul Avis.
• The Vocation of Anglicanism, by Paul Avis.
• Anglican Theology, by Mark Chapman.
• Dogmatic Theology, by Francis J. Hall (10 vols.).
• Christ, the Christian and the Church: A Study of the Incarnation and Its Consequences, by E.L. Mascall.
• The Vocation of Anglican Theology: Sources and Essays, by Ralph McMichael, ed.
• Thomas Cranmer’s Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power to Love, by Ashley Null.
• The Catholic Religion: A Manual of Instruction for Members of the Anglican Church, by Vernon Stanley.
• English Spirituality : An Outline of Ascetical Theology according to the English Pastoral Tradition, by Martin Thornton.

Anglican Liturgy

• Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation, by Winfield Bevins.
• The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship, by Paul Bradshaw, ed.
• Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshipping Community, by Simon Chan.
• A History of Anglican Liturgy, by G.J. Cuming.
• Bible and the Liturgy, by Jean Daniélou.
• The Parson’s Handbook, by Percy Dearmer. (Available here from Project Canterbury.)
• The Shape of the Liturgy, by Dom Gregory Dix.
• The Liturgy Explained: New Edition, by James W. Farwell.
• The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church, by Todd Hunter.
• Ceremonies of the Eucharist: A guide to Celebration, by Howard E. Galley.
• The Study of Liturgy, by Jones, Yarnold, Wainwright, and Bradshaw, eds.
• A Priest’s Handbook: The Ceremonies of the Church, by Dennis G. Michno.
• Introduction to Christian Liturgy, by Frank C. Senn.
• Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, by Tish Harrison Warren.
• Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church, by Robert Webber.

Daily Office Resources

• The Daily Office (1979 BCP, Mission St. Clare)
• The Daily Office (2019 BCP)
• Daily Office for All (an online version of the Anglican Compass Daily Office Booklet!)
• The Lectionary Page (uses the 1979/Revised Common Lectionary; very useful for looking up liturgical dates)
• Satucket Lectionary (lectionary resources for The Episcopal Church)

(Looking for some modern music to accompany the Daily Office? Check out Sunrise: Songs for the Morning by Elise Massa and Matins & Vespers by Liturgical Folk!)

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Other Anglican Resources

• The Anglican Communion Home Page
• The Anglican Church in North America
• The Church of England
• The Episcopal Church
• GAFCON Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans