This book offers a detailed analysis of one of the key episodes of twentieth-century ecumenism, focusing on the efforts made to reconcile the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain in the years since the First World War.
Drawing on newly available archives as well as on a broad range of historical, theological, and liturgical expertise, the contributions explore what was attempted, why success proved elusive, and how the quest for unity was reconfigured into the twenty-first century. The volume sets contemporary ecumenical ambitions in historical context, explains the origins, course, and aftermath of the Anglican–Methodist ‘Conversations’ of 1955–72, retrieves their enduring global legacy, and explores the fraught nature of the ecumenical quest.
It will be of key interest to scholars with an interest in ecumenism, Methodist studies, and church history.
1. Introduction: Jane Platt and Martin Wellings. 2. The Long View of Anglican–Methodist Unity: Martin Wellings. 3. Anglican Ecumenism and the Problems of the ‘Historic Episcopate’: Mark D. Chapman. 4. Church, Episcopacy and Ecumenism: Debates about order, authority and ambiguity in the Anglican–Methodist Conversations: Pippa Catterall. 5. The Major Participants and their Actions in the Anglican–Methodist Conversations: The First Stage 1956–63: John Lenton. 6. Theology, Providence and Anglican–Methodist Reunion: The case of Michael Ramsey and E.L. Mascall: Peter Webster. 7. Evangelical Dissentients and the Defeat of the Anglican–Methodist Unity Scheme: Andrew Atherstone. 8. Fighting for Methodism’s Soul: The Voice of Methodism Association, 1963–72: Claire Surry. 9. ‘An Umbrella for all Dissenters’?: The National Liaison Committee, 1965–82: Martin Wellings. 10. Grassroots Methodism and the Anglican–Methodist Conversations: Jane Platt. 11. Anglican–Methodist Relations in the Context of the British Army: Peter Howson. 12. The Anglican-Methodist Service of Reconciliation and the Ordinal of 1968: Phillip Tovey. 13. Developments since 1972: David M. Chapman.
Jane Platt is an archivist at the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, where she listed its Anglican–Methodist Union collection. She is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the author of several books and articles on church history, and a member of the editorial team of CWAAS Transactions. Martin Wellings is Superintendent of the Barnet and Queensbury Circuit of the Methodist Church. He is an Ecumenical Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and Chair of the Methodist Church’s Faith and Order Committee.
Reviews for Anglican-Methodist Ecumenism: The Search for Church Unity, 1920-2020
"""These essays are of consistently good quality, combining sound research with sharp theological assessment."" - Paul Avis in The Church Times"
