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John Kater, as priest and scholar with extensive worldwide knowledge and experience of ministry in the Anglican Communion, is eminently prepared to write this volume on the history of ministry in the Anglican Communion. Historical narrative brings this volume to life around the inspiration and perils of the Church of England’s founding vision: the imperial state’s binding of civic and spiritual wellbeing of its people in a single vocation. As this model, and the ethos supporting it, leave the shores of England, Kater judiciously and candidly exposes the challenges for ministry under these conditions. The reader feels Kater’s passion for his subject and his pursuit of truth as this history of the Anglican Communion unfolds.

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W. Mark Richardson, president and dean, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA

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Dr. John Kater engages his readers with a thoughtful, colorful, and accessible history of the formation and development of the Anglican Communion. His unfolding narrative gives a balanced description starting with the fledgling inception of the Church of England and moving through the complexities and contexts of religious and secular life in the often controversial and violent missionary movement. In describing the challenges of today’s Anglican Communion, Dr. Kater poetically notes, it is “diverse beyond the most extravagant dreams of our ancestors.” This inspiring, scholarly work should be on the required list for seminarians, and on the list for continued reading as a refresher for all Episcopal and Anglican clergy.

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Lucinda Ashby, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, California

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This study is a magisterial achievement, with Kater drawing together theological subtlety, a lifetime of teaching experience, and deep understanding of text and context. Just as importantly, however, there is also a historical wisdom here that recognizes what generations of Anglican priests and writers were trying to express, and which shows how they built churches around the world through that same vision. It’s a wisdom in which Kater finally offers us a compassionate vision of the Church as the responsibility, as well as the reward, for our lives together - a sacrament of genuine sharing, in God and in one another. A truly lovely book.

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Gareth Jones, Principal, Ming Hua Theological College