This Manual represents an endeavour to answer two questions: (1) What is the Church of England? (2) What does the Church of England teach? The answers to these questions are found, first, in the Prayer Book and Articles considered in their plain and obvious meaning. An attempt is then made to indicate the fundamental principles of the Church of England, to show how those principles are expressed in the formularies of doctrine and worship, and to point out what the principles imply and involve in the life of those who are bound by them. It is also shown that the Prayer Book and Articles need consideration in the light of their origin and compilation, and in view of the circumstances which gave birth to their present form. The Church of England formularies are thus seen to be the direct outcome of great movements of thought and life in the English nation." —from the author's Introduction