Anglican Confirmation 1820-1945: From ’Renewing the Baptismal Covenant’ to ’The Sacramental Principle’

This book focuses on Anglican Confirmation in theology, liturgy, and practice from 1820 to 1945. This was a period of great change in the ways Anglicans approached Confirmation. The Tractarian movement transformed the Communion, and its ideas were carried overseas with the missionary movement. The study examines the development of a two-stage theology and its reception. It analyses the wave of liturgical revision expressed in England in the 1928 Prayer Book. It explores the episcopal changes in practice from the eighteenth-century paradigm to a new way of confirming. The revolution of the time has left a legacy that still informs practice, while doubts about theology and its liturgical application have left an existential crisis. The author reflects on how the current situation in various provinces has its roots in this period and the diffusion of ideas in the Communion. The book offers a fresh systematic examination of the neglected ecclesial practice of Confirmation, providing a more holistic view and clarifying developments to help us better understand the present. It will be of particular interest to scholars of Christian theology, liturgy, ecclesiology, and church history.

Phillip Tovey is former Principal of the Diocese of Oxford Local Ministry Pathway and Warden of Readers. Before retirement, he worked in theological education for many years and has written extensively on liturgical issues, including a previous book on Anglican Confirmation 1662-1820. He has lectured on liturgical issues, in Uganda, South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, as Selwyn Lecturer. He is a member of Societas Liturgica, the Society for Liturgical Study, and the Inter-Anglican Liturgical Consultation.