ANGELA TILBY obviously needs no introduction for readers of the Church Times. Her weekly column commenting on Church of England affairs alternately inspires and infuriates, to judge from readers’ letters. But her opinions are never bland and are always thought-provoking. Here, she has put her years of observation of the quirks of the Church of England, and her own theological and historical learning, to good use in a new book that is both history and comment, retrieving the past in order to illuminate the present.

At first glance, it reads much like an introductory history. There is a broadly chronological survey of the Church of England from Augustine’s mission (but not neglecting the Celtic churches) right up to the present. The history is simply but deftly related. Key characters and events are described well. The narrative flows smoothly and is remarkably readable. The author has a gift for presenting complex ideas accessibly.

But this is much more than a straightforward historical account. Opinion leaps out at you from almost every page. For a start, there is the evident love for the traditional liturgy of the Church of England, and the glories of its musical heritage. Almost every chapter begins with a collect from the Book of Common Prayer, adroitly chosen to reflect one of the dominant themes of the chapter. Then, there is the appreciation of local Anglicanism, with each parish’s deep roots in the knotty history of England.

A certain suspicion of bureaucracy, of centralising tendencies, of managerialism, surfaces too. Tilby is even-handed in her treatment of different parties in the Church, until she comes to the present, perhaps, when she quietly bemoans the progressive abandonment of a recognisable liturgical and musical core, particularly by churches — mostly, it has to be said, Charismatic — that sit loosely to the structures and culture of historic Anglicanism.

This is partisan history, then, but of the best kind. Tilby’s sympathies lie with parish Anglicanism, not because it offers a cosy familiarity, but because parish churches and cathedrals are, she says, “precious places of heritage where people experience themselves as being continuous with earlier generations”. It offers belonging, identity, and community.

The liturgy of the Church of England balances the discipline of public prayer with sustained engagement with scripture. It helps people to follow Jesus and to live out the gospel in their lives by giving structure, and resonance with history and the local community. It protects the faithful from the whims of over-mighty personalities. This is why, as her subtitle asserts, we need the Church of England.

This vision of what the Church of England stands for is under threat, and it is good to be reminded of that. Not everyone will agree with all the judgements here, but for a stimulating, heartening and also challenging review of where the Church of England has come from, and where it is now, it would be difficult to better this.

The Revd Dr Jeremy Morris is a former Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Good Faith: Why England needs its Church
Angela Tilby
Hodder & Stoughton £25
(978-1-399-80163-8)
Church Times Bookshop £22.50

Listen to an interview with Angela Tilby about the book here