Liturgical Spirituality: Anglican Reflections on the Church's Prayer

by Stephen Burns (Editor)

Of particular interest to scholars and practitioners across the Anglican Communion with contributions from a wide breadth of scholars. Liturgical Spirituality is a collection of Anglican reflections on the spirituality of the liturgy, inviting readers into the Church's patterns of prayer, seasons of the year, and sacramental action. With contributions from all over the world, from the North Atlantic to Australia, the collection helps develop a comprehensive understanding of contemporary Anglican spirituality.

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Burns is Professor of Liturgical And Practical Theology, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of non-academic reflections on Christian worship. I appreciated the down-to-earth nature of the chapters, though they did not shy from drawing from the long tradition of the church. There is more of a global aspect than other books of this type, since the contributors come from several continents, bound by one tradition.

Being just over 10 years old, it is a bit dated in places (for being on such a timeless subject!), notably quoting heavily from "pastors" who pastured themselves on their sheep (to use Michael Card and John Michael Talbot's phrase) like Jean Vanier, whose darkness had not yet come to light at the time of publication. It was genuinely sorrowful to read Vanier's words on brokenness (in the context of the Eucharist, bread/body being broken) when he broke so many souls through his evil deeds, especially when better theologians could have taken his place (James Cone, off the top of my head). However, that does not diminish the worth of the book as a whole, and most of the chapters do not quote such predators. Perhaps it was reading this as an Anglican in November 2024 that made me particularly sensitive, but "the Lord is an avenger in all these things" (1 Thessalonians 4:6 NRSVUE) and the suffering Christ in the Eucharist is also the victorious Christ and eschatological Judge.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I loved the contributors' tendencies to quote extensively from the Anglican tradition and other traditions, the amount of poetry especially, and the personal touch in each chapter that reminded me why it is so good to worship in person each week. It does not take much to get me hype about the Eucharist but this book was especially enlightening. It could have done with a chapter on the Virgin Mary and how her role in the Incarnation shapes our participation in the Eucharist.