To the still-meager historiography of the Anglican Communion, William Sachs makes a notable contribution. The Transformation of Anglicanism moves beyond such standard works as Moorman's A History of the Church in England and Neill's Anglicanism by tracing the progression, within the context of global forces, of a national church into a worldwide communion. His effort is impressive in scope and important in implications.

A parish priest and professor, Sachs turns one basic question in a variety of ways: What does it mean to be an Anglican Christian? Reviewing the Reformation and the Restoration eras and then concentrating upon the church of the past two centuries, he perceives two abiding, related tensions Anglicans have faced. The first is that of establishment, not only in the church's ties with the state, but also with a culture: "Often Christianity seemed to be the gateway not so much to the Kingdom of Heaven as to terrestrial sophistication." Yet as the church moved beyond England and outlasted its empire, it had to move beyond its cultural origins too - and in the process rediscover its apostolic foundations.

The second is what he terms "modernity," meaning the incessant confrontation of church and faith by ever-changing circumstances and ever-challenging views. These two tensions have forced a recurrent - and very current - quandary: On what basis can one be faithful to Christ and his church while living in, and proclaiming the gospel to, a world of constant change?

Answers varied with the eras, movements and parties, from high churchmen to evangelicals, Tractarians to "liberal Catholics," and on. This variety shows Anglican identity to have been fluid from the start. Sachs offers no solutions, but his historical survey makes clear that what we face today is not utterly new after all.

For all its importance, this is a daunting book. Its price tag will faze the casual reader. So will its content. Densely written, it is tightly packed with names and movements, not all of them familiar. Although it is heavily documented, the lack of a bibliography makes following the endnotes difficult.

Those who wring their hands over the state of the church will not come away reassured. "[T]he Church which prized its ability to incorporate diversity could find no definitive means to encompass modern experience while retaining a sense of itself," Sachs concludes. They will, though, close it with a wider perspective and deeper understanding of the paradoxes we face.

Alister McGrath picks up where William Sachs leaves off. Sachs, though not unmindful of the future, looks back with an eye toward the present. McGrath, reviewing recent developments and drawing on teaching experience at Oxford, in Canada and in the U.S., focuses on Anglicanism's current travails but foresees some genuine possibilities for a renewed Anglican contribution to world Christianity - if Anglicanism can find the power to revitalize itself.

He cites four significant changes over the past three decades. First, he alleges, "The Enlightenment is over." Then he notes the impact of Asian and African Anglicans, a new emphasis on evangelism and the emergence of evangelicalism. The latter three are clearly related. Non-Western bishops pushed the concept of the Decade of Evangelism, for instance, betokening too a rise in evangelicalism as a growing force within Christianity at large as well as within the communion.

McGrath suggests a new via media, not between catholic and protestant but between "liberal" and "fundamentalist." Accepting the constructive in each, Anglicans can moderate the excesses of both. Yet forging a vital "middle way," as well as reinvigorating mission which is genuinely evangelistic, demands a renewal of Anglican theology.

This theology is one which must address experience while being based on something more substantive; and so he appeals for a "constant return to [the church's] sources in the New Testament." To lead this theological renewal, McGrath looks to seminaries.

After awhile, the book begins to resemble a sermon which glitters in generalities that dazzle a congregation by voicing well what many wish to hear, but which upon reflection not entirely satisfies. Too many typos and even misnumbered endnotes give a slap-dash appearance. But so does the content. McGrath lauds such figures as Keble, Gore, Sayers, Temple and Ramsey, yet none of these was associated primarily with seminary. So can we really expect these schools to lead us forth? Challenge to Parochialism

Though some may read The Renewal of Anglicanism as an attack on decaying liberalism, I find in it a challenge to parochialism - especially in light of The Transformation of Anglicanism. These two works, taken together, make at least one common declaration: That Anglicans belong to a world-wide body. We cannot presume that all think alike (e.g. in Anglo-Saxon, Enlightenment terms), but as McGrath exemplifies in his lauding of the influence of the African church, diversity adds to our strength, even (as Sachs notes) as it raises complexities.

Both works affirm, each in its own way, that to be an Anglican is to be part of a worldwide communion, which offers strength and which demands responsibility. We have a course to chart - another "middle way"-between local effort and global attention. Such is the body of Christ to which Anglicans belong. We forget that to loss and peril; we embody it to great blessing.

(The Rev. ) David Cox

Lexington, Va.