Growing in Newness of Life: Christian Initiation in Anglicanism Today

A.J. Pell is the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of New
Westminster, British Columbia.

This volume consists of 26 essays that were prepared for the 1991
International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, held in Toronto; the
text of the Consultation’s statement, “Walk in Newness of Life”;
and recommendations on “Principles of Christian Initiation.” The
editor, David Holeton, is professor of Liturgics and Dean of the Faculty
of Divinity at Trinity College, University of Toronto. The contributors
are from England, Australia, the United States, Cuba, New Zealand, Sri
Lanka, Fiji, South Africa, and Canada.

A technical book for liturgical scholars, clergy, and theologically
articulate laypersons, Growing in Newness of Life explores the history
of baptism and confirmation in Anglican practice and thinking, provides
comparative studies of liturgical texts, and offers glimpses into the
differing practices and problems of baptism in different areas of the
Anglican Communion. Sometimes the writing is defensive (Francis
Wickremesinghe’s account of syncretist baptismal practices in Sri
Lanka) or angry (Elizabeth Smith’s “Initiation in Anglicanism: Where
the Women Are”). Most papers are written with great clarity. From all
the different viewpoints emerges a common ground for approaching the
relationship of baptism and eucharist, and for letting go of the
late–19th-century idea of confirmation that has dominated Anglicanism
in this century.

The longest two papers are the most important for the nonscholar who
tackles this book. David Holeton’s “Christian Initiation: An Ongoing
Agenda for Anglicanism” and Bishop Colin Buchanan’s
“Confirmation” together provide a scholarly yet accessible overview
of the changes that Anglicans have been wrestling with, the dynamics
that propel various individuals and groups to act as they do, and the
issues that must be dealt with in the foreseeable future. Circulated to
the lay leadership of parishes, these two papers alone could contribute
much to the reform and renewal of baptism in the Anglican church.