The Legal Framework of the Church of England
A Critical Study in a Comparative Context
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:18th Jul '96
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This book describes in detail the ways in which the life of the Church of England is affected by law. It deals with a great many topics including canonical jurisprudence, ecclesiastical government, the ministry of clergy and laity, faith, doctrine and liturgy, the churches' rites and the management of property and finance. Each of these subjects is studied and analysed critically and where appropriate comparisons are made with the Roman Catholic Church. Five general themes emerge:first is the degree to which the church can be said to be regulated; the second concerns the increasingly important use of administrative rules created executively at national and diocesian level to supplement the churches formal law; the third examines the relationship between the formal law and the pastoral values of clarity, certainty and flexibility; the fourth theme is the applicability of secular law; the final theme is the comparison with the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus the book provides for the first time a comprehensive, descriptive and critical analysis of the legal framework of the Church of England and the regulatory instruments which operate within this framework.
'a systematic presentation, with detailed discussion of sources and cases.'
'An eye-opener..Written by an author..who is actually an accomplished scholar and a leader in the renewal of the study of ecclesiastical law in the English Church, the book succeeds admirably...The principal readership of "The Legal Framework of the Church of England" will undoubtedly be lawyers and administrators within the Church of England. It will provide them with food for thought, as well as useful information about the legal problems they encounter...This book is a "thought inducing" work. Perusing it may upset longheld and apparently self-evident views, it has upset some of mine. That is one of its values...I am grateful to the author's efforts in writing this excellent account. The book (and the law it describes) contain many informative surprises.' Texas Law Review 1997
'I only wish that this book had been available in the 1960s when I first started to study ecclesiastical law. Even today there is no other book that addresses in such detail the legal framework of the Church of England. This study will quickly become a standard work and is thoroughly to be recommended.' * Theology *
'there is no other book that addresses in such detail the legal framework of the Church of England. This study will quickly become a standard work and is thoroughly to be recommended.'
'an eye-opener...written by an author who is actually an accomplished scholar and a leader in the renewal of the study of ecclesiastical law in the English Church, the book succeeds admirably...The principal readership of The Legal Framework of the Church of England. It will provide them with food for thought, as well as useful information about the legal problems they encounter...For several kinds of readers, therefore, The Legal Framework of the Church of England is well worth consulting...The book is a 'thought inducing' work. Perusing it may upset longheld and apparently self-evident views, as it has upset some of mine. That is one its values...I am grateful to the author's efforts in writing this excellent account. The book (and the law it describes) contain many informative surprises.'
'the book contains much that is of interest and gives a good picture of the organisation of the Church of England and the multifarious bodies which operate within it...a book which all can read with profit but particularly, perhaps, those who find the untidyness of the Church of England puzzling if not indeed irritating. Dr Doe shows how the whole thing hangs together and makes sense...Members of the General Synod would be helped to get their activities into perspective by reading this book.'
... I am able to commend, in the very warmest terms, Norman Doe's masterly work on the Canon Law of the Church of England.../ ... the depth and breadth of his knowledge is encapsulated in this book in a fashion that is readable as well as informative, and, where sensible, a little provocative./ This reviewer, in his daily work, already has cause to celebrate Norman Doe's publication, and it comes with a wholehearted recommendation./ Geoffrey Smith, Law and Justice, (journal undated)
ISBN: 9780198262206
Dimensions: 243mm x 163mm x 39mm
Weight: 1018g
618 pages