Maiden, Mother and Queen

Anglican veneration of Mary has its roots in the warm devotion of the Middle Ages, typified by the carol 'I Sing of a Maiden', but the Reformation left only vestiges in the Prayer Book: daily recitation of the Magnificat, and the feasts of Lady Day and Candlemas. The seventeenth century saw green shoots of renewed devotion, but for the most part Mary remained, in John Keble's words, a 'Mother out of sight'. The Anglo-Catholic, Liturgical and Ecumenical Movements all contributed to a revival, crowned in 1997 when Common Worship restored August 15 as Mary's primary festival, when many honour her as 'Queen of heaven'. In Maiden, Mother and Queen, Roger Greenacre sheds light on the historical, liturgical and ecumenical aspects of this story. As Chancellor of Chichester Cathedral, Roger Greenacre had a teaching ministry, offering his scholarship in an accessible way to Anglicans and to a wider ecumenical audience. First and foremost a priest, in Maiden, Mother and Queen we see him teaching his congregations about Mary in homilies that were simple, engaging, thoroughly Anglican and impeccable catholic. Maiden, Mother and Queen sets Roger Greenacre's Marian homilies, articles and lecturers in the context of his life and ministry, with tributes by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Bishop John Hind and Canon Jeremy Haselock and a biographical appreciation by Colin Podmore. It thus serves also as a celebration of a much-loved priest and friend. Book jacket.