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The Christian Priest Today
Of all Michael Ramsey's many books, The Christian Priest Today is perhaps the best loved and most enduring. The main part of the volume is composed of charges to ordination candidates, with an emphasis on the intellectual and devotional life of the minister in an increasingly self-sufficient world. Later chapters reflect on the ministry of the laity, the theology of priesthood and the roles of bishop and presbyter in the context of the practical meaning of divine vocation.
‘Michael Ramsay’s profound simplicity leaps off the page . . . The Christian Priest Today can be read with great and lasting benefit by anyone interested in this strange and magnificent vocation.’
John Pritchard, author of The Life and Work of a Priest
‘Michael Ramsay’s profound simplicity leaps off the page . . . The Christian Priest Today can be read with great and lasting benefit by anyone interested in this strange and magnificent vocation.’
John Pritchard, author of The Life and Work of a Priest
128 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 1985
31 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Michael Ramsey
96 books13 followersServed as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 - 1974.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 2, 2018
A magnificent meditation on the priesthood. This is truly an amazing little book.
June 3, 2019
This was an excellent read! The book is a series of lectures preparing folks for ordination to the priesthood, and his counsel and wisdom is relevant and timeless.
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April 3, 2025"You will remember that nothing that is human and nothing that is created lies outside of the compassion of God" (p.23)
"It is true that Jesus gave to his disciple a good deal of teaching about the meaning of his coming suffering and death, but this teaching did not apparently penetrate their minds. It baffled them, and when Jesus died the disciples had not learnt the secret; indeed the secret died with him. Something happened to create for the disciples a new doctrine of death as significant and victorious. I believe that thing was the Resurrection." (p.30)
"But consider: the glory of Christianity is its claim that small things really matter and that the small company, the very few, the one man, the one woman, the one child are of infinite worth to God." (p.42)
"Do not treat doctrines of the Creed as a string of impersonal items...Treat them as doctrines of Christ...Thus the Father Almighty declares his almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity—in the mercy and pity of Christ's incarnation" (p.56)
"he will not become a true priest until his heart is broken" (p.90)
I'm quite glad I read this. Even if it was mandated by the class I've not had the best attitude about. Archbishop Ramsey had a knack for particularizing Christ's gospel in practical ministry—in viewing Christ as meeting the many in the work of the priest. Which is nothing new I suppose, but his writing was lucid and helpful. I enjoyed it and will be returning to it.
"It is true that Jesus gave to his disciple a good deal of teaching about the meaning of his coming suffering and death, but this teaching did not apparently penetrate their minds. It baffled them, and when Jesus died the disciples had not learnt the secret; indeed the secret died with him. Something happened to create for the disciples a new doctrine of death as significant and victorious. I believe that thing was the Resurrection." (p.30)
"But consider: the glory of Christianity is its claim that small things really matter and that the small company, the very few, the one man, the one woman, the one child are of infinite worth to God." (p.42)
"Do not treat doctrines of the Creed as a string of impersonal items...Treat them as doctrines of Christ...Thus the Father Almighty declares his almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity—in the mercy and pity of Christ's incarnation" (p.56)
"he will not become a true priest until his heart is broken" (p.90)
I'm quite glad I read this. Even if it was mandated by the class I've not had the best attitude about. Archbishop Ramsey had a knack for particularizing Christ's gospel in practical ministry—in viewing Christ as meeting the many in the work of the priest. Which is nothing new I suppose, but his writing was lucid and helpful. I enjoyed it and will be returning to it.
February 6, 2021
Very valuable little book on the nature and work of ordained ministry, one worth re-reading regularly. You don't have to be an Anglican to benefit from this one!
May 2, 2021
A friend of mine gave me this book. He first read it when he was going through the ordination process (as I am now.) He returns to it every year. I see why. A thoughtful, wise, concise book.
December 22, 2025
Beautiful book by Archbishop Ramsey. Full of wisdom and humility from a seasoned priest and bishop for those to be ordained.
February 5, 2015
Archbishop Ramsey gives simple yet exceptional counsel infused with wisdom to those to be ordained in the Anglican tradition. My only request is that it be updated seeing as some of his examples date the text and detract from his timeless maxims. Still a glorious book for pre-ordination retreat.
July 10, 2019
This is my third time reading this little book and it won't be my last. Michael Ramsey wrote it for ordinands in the Church of England where he served as a Bishop. This is a neat little primer on the pastoral office for just about anyone, however. What does it mean to be a pastor other than "being with God with people on your heart"?
July 26, 2020
I really loved this book. It has been my favourite so far that I have read on the priesthood. It was quoted from extensively in Being a Deacon Today by Rosalind Brown, and I can tell why - it is such an amazing book. I have lots of pithy quotes to take away about prayer and study and ultimately living as a priest such as this - "May it one day be said of you that you made God real to people."
It is the kind of book that I think you could re-read every year and find some new gem inside. It's just crammed full of wisdom.
It is the kind of book that I think you could re-read every year and find some new gem inside. It's just crammed full of wisdom.
July 5, 2025
And outstanding read for my sabbatical
Read it during my sabbatical and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was food for the soul, and even though it was written in the last century, it still is exceedingly applicable for today.
Read it during my sabbatical and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was food for the soul, and even though it was written in the last century, it still is exceedingly applicable for today.
June 8, 2018
Not a book to read lightly or quickly. I suspect I will be returning to this work in the future.
February 15, 2020
Again, an amazing read. One that I hope I’ll revisit at least once a year. Prophetic and timeless words are offered by former Archbishop Ramsey for the developing Priest. Wonderful!
March 16, 2022
Such an uneven book; the pastoral chapters are much better than the ones where Lord Ramsey ventured explicitly in to theology or sacramentology.
May 1, 2023
Great material for anyone working in ministry. Short and to the point.
November 21, 2023
An excellent overview of several areas of the vast life that is priesthood.
December 5, 2025
well written, much is still relevant from the time it was originally written. 3.7 stars.
September 21, 2024
Michael Ramsay, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 60s and 70s, expounds upon what it means to be a priest in modern times. From an Anglican perspective, he explores how the priesthood sits in a unique geographic space as a "gathering up of rolls which belong to the whole church." The priest, therefore, must display, enable and involve the whole of the church--teaching and preaching, reconciling differences, praying, and leading the eucharist.
If that's what a priest must do and what the priesthood is, who is a priest, as a person? A hymn of the Middle Ages answers "Quid es ergo? Nihil et omnia, O Sacerdos. / What are you then? Nothing and everything, O Priest." Ramsay agrees but gets a little more specific.
He speaks with great personal conviction about the unique sorrows and joys of life in ministry. How a priest's prayer must somehow carry the prayer of the church to God and God to the church. How important the person of Jesus in the life of a priest: a priest cannot simply teach the real presence in the Eucharist, but must teach and show whose real presence it is. How a priest cannot be a priest until their heart is broken, and how our sorrows are the door to Christ's sorrows. And Christ's sorrows are the door to all joy. How important that joy is. How wonderful it is to wonder at the sacraments and God's love, and how hard it is to hold on to that. He speaks of God's sovereignty, and what it's like, as a priest, to help foster a church and world that is not founded on our fears and our fretting, but on our faith.
If that's what a priest must do and what the priesthood is, who is a priest, as a person? A hymn of the Middle Ages answers "Quid es ergo? Nihil et omnia, O Sacerdos. / What are you then? Nothing and everything, O Priest." Ramsay agrees but gets a little more specific.
He speaks with great personal conviction about the unique sorrows and joys of life in ministry. How a priest's prayer must somehow carry the prayer of the church to God and God to the church. How important the person of Jesus in the life of a priest: a priest cannot simply teach the real presence in the Eucharist, but must teach and show whose real presence it is. How a priest cannot be a priest until their heart is broken, and how our sorrows are the door to Christ's sorrows. And Christ's sorrows are the door to all joy. How important that joy is. How wonderful it is to wonder at the sacraments and God's love, and how hard it is to hold on to that. He speaks of God's sovereignty, and what it's like, as a priest, to help foster a church and world that is not founded on our fears and our fretting, but on our faith.
November 19, 2014
At points this book was exceptional offering warm, honest and very practical guidance for those in pastoral ministry that is undoubtedly the result of experience, meditating on biblical truth, and prayerful reflection on the Christian life. But at other points certain chapters created questions because of scant theological grounding or solid exegesis. Obviously that wasn't the purpose of this book, which was immensely encouraging, so the criticism might be unwarranted. However the book did seem to run out of steam, with the first few chapters offering excellent insights into the pastorate and the last few degenerating into a meander. If you're interested but suspicious of the "priest" language, start with the last chapter
April 20, 2014
While generally aimed at the person seeking ordination to be a priest or deacon, this book would also be applicable for anyone wondering about ministry in general. Overall a good read, and short enough (112 pages) to be consumed in one sitting.
October 29, 2015
This book is now so many decades old and Christian ministry has changed so much, that it should possibly be retitled "The Christian Priest Yesterday". Even so, there are many truths in this little volume that remain unchanged, even in the world of Mission Action Planning and the Talent Pool.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews