Thomas Thellusson Carter (1808-1901) was baptised into the Church of England at a time of spiritual and liturgical decline. His life spanned five reigns: George III, George IV, William IV, Victoria, and Edward VII, and he witnessed the slow awakening of the Church with the dawn of the Tractarian, or Oxford, Movement. He eagerly embraced this revival and formed lifelong friendships among its leaders. Himself only a moderate ritualist, he was nevertheless persecuted for his practices, but remained faithful to the Church of England.

The Revd. Valerie Bonham has long been an admirer of Carter and of the Community of St. John Baptist which he co-founded with Harriet Monsell. This book is the culmination of over forty years of research and several books about the work of CSJB in the UK, India, and the USA.