Book of Homilies by The Church of England

Book of Homilies Reviews

• 
  Andy Dollahite

  This is generally top shelf stuff. Richly theological. Soaked in scripture. Hard hitting with the best of manners. Richly pragmatic and doxological. Better than probably 99.8% of “exegetical” sermons preached today. I wouldn’t object one iota if most pastors “plagiarized” these.
• 
  Brittany Petruzzi

  If every pastor and rector in the English-seaking west would take a break from writing their own sermons and preach these—word for word, even—the church would find herself blessed by necessary words, long avoided. Cranmer even gives us an entire homily on why beating your wife is a wicked offense to Christ. These are all topical sermons, so it might give the Presbyterians the willies, but they should get over it. Lots of succinct and boldly-worded declarations about justification, sanctification, and your own favorite doctines, I'm sure. Bonus points: the series on civil obedience ends with a homily naming the Pope as the most terrible rebel of them all.
• 
  Ben Lansing

  Faith alone. Christ alone. Authentic, historic Anglican doctrine. “Saint Hilary saith these words plainly in the ninth canon upon Matthew: ‘Faith only justifieth.’ And Saint Basil, a Greek author, writeth thus: ‘This is a perfect and whole rejoicing in God when a man avaunteth not himself for his own righteousness, but knowledgeth himself to lack true justice and righteousness, and to be justified by the only faith in Christ.”