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Shaping the fabric of Australian life and culture

Broughton presents with pleasure a national history of the church - The Place of Anglicanism in Australia: Church, Society and Nation by Emeritus Professor Brian H Fletcher.

Archbishop Keith Rayner commented on things national, ‘A perceptive observer soon becomes aware of certain characteristics of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is for example, strongly diocesan in structure, with the national church marked by a corresponding degree of decentralisation.’ (B Porter, (ed.) Melbourne Anglicans, The Diocese of Melbourne 1847-1997, Mitre Books, Melbourne, 1997, iv) He goes on to explain that to understand Anglicanism the flavour of the various dioceses need consideration.

While Professor Fletcher is likely to agree with these comments his revisionist history contends that The Place of Anglicanism in Australia finds itself at the national level and in the Australian nation in ways far more creative and positive than previously acknowledged.

Fletcher’s historical narrative based on primary sources shows how significant diocesan and synod decisions had long term ramifications that impacted not only the church and its potential for achievement in a post colonial world but the very fabric of Australian life.

It invites readers to ask – do we really understand the place of the church in history as best we may and how do we value a National Anglican identity? Brian Fletcher draws attention to these questions in wide ranging presentation spanning the creative achievement of the church in the Twentieth Century.

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Grace and Peace
The Editor