Frederick Denison Maurice

The formal and mature statement of the theology underlying the social beliefs of the influential 19th-century English liberal thinker. F. D. Maurice is now recognised as the most influential nineteenth-century English liberal thinker. Theological Essays, first published in 1853, is the formal and mature statement of the theological beliefs that underlie his social thinking. He was more than a man of brilliant intellect he was utterly dedicated and his religious beliefs were ground in the mill of his own experience. Maurice was never afraid to look unpleasant facts in the face, and his intellectual honesty challenges modern man no less than it did his own generation. His theology remains relevant, for he was always painfully conscious of the stresses and strains, failures and anxieties that make up day-to-day human experience.

A major work on the Book of Common Prayer by the leading 19th-century theologian and social thinker. The theology of the leading 19th century theologian and social thinker F. D. Maurice was rooted firmly in the communal action of the Book of Common Prayer. For him the Prayer Book is the key to any understanding of Anglican ecclesiology, and also provides the grounding for his social views. His practical and traditional approach was in keeping with the general spirit of English society.