Along with the Thirty-nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal, the two books of Homilies form part of the constitutive documents of the Church of England and are therefore of considerable importance for understanding both its history and its doctrine. This guide aims to provide modern readers and students with a bridge that will help them gain access to what the Homilies teach and adapt them to modern usage and circumstances. Each homily is outlined according to its own internal divisions and themes, and extracts from them are provided in italics.
