This "book is a gift to the Church in aid of the laity. It was undertaken because there is a large body of laymen who have but an imperfect grasp on the history of the Church. ... Here they have in small compass an outline of the history of their Church: a brief sketch of the foundation of the Apostolic period, the Church in Britain, the Celtic period, the division of East and West, the development of the Papacy, the Church in the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the decadence of the Church, and her revival." Numerous illustrations and a chronological table, which lists A.D. 33 (Day of Pentecost) to 1908 (Fifth Pan-Anglican Conference) enhance the text.