What is Anglo-Catholicism? What are its origins? Are Anglo-Catholics real Anglicans/Episcopalians? What is their relationship with Roman Catholics? Has Anglo-Catholicism betrayed Anglicanism's Protestant roots? The Sacramental Church answers these and many other questions. Addressed to the general reader, it explores the history, practices, beliefs, and attitudes of Anglo-Catholicism. While Anglo-Catholicism has deep roots in English Christianity, it attained its modern form through the nineteenth-century Catholic Revival--a movement that aroused strong passions among proponents and opponents alike. The revival, its proponents declared, reclaimed for the Anglican faith its heritage as an authentic branch of the --one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.-- Anglo-Catholicism gave Anglicans/Episcopalians options to embrace ceremonial forms of worship, affirm the objective real presence and sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, venerate Mary the Mother of God, or join a monastery without abandoning their Anglican tradition. With an extensive bibliography and numerous direct quotes, The Sacramental Church provides a valuable reference source as well as a very readable story of Anglo-Catholicism--the expression of sacramental Christianity with special relevance to the English-speaking people. John Francis Nash, PhD, is an independent scholar and committed Anglo-Catholic. He has published numerous articles, authored the two-volume Christianity: the One, the Many (2007), and founded The Esoteric Quarterly.
