Peter Toon, a Church of England clergyman, gives a concise and clear history of the foundational councils of Christianity (the Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-481 A.D.) and goes beyond their history to explain in simple language the controverseies which prompted them as well as the definitive statements with which the Church Fathers refuted them. I cannot over emphasize the plain and yet fully comprehensive way in which Toon lays out the complex information contained in this volume. It is a wonderful tool for the Layman and a great starting point for the theological student.

The book is a concise overview of the current controversy in use of the prayerbook. It is not overly technical and gives just enough history of prayerbook development to background a lay person in church thought leading to the problems of today. If the author has a personal axe to grind he conceals it well laying the comparisons out for the lay person as well as the scholar to examine. I found it very informative and readable. Its brevity alone kept it from a 5 star rating.

The author places too much emphasis on prayer as duty, rather than prayer as privilege. I don't recall Jesus ever emphasizing it as a duty, nor any of the apostles, though it's certainly something we need to do for our own spiritual health. The author also uses too many exclamation points to drive his views home, as if that makes the matter clear.

Secondly, the book said almost nothing about contemplative prayer or mystical experience. It only touched on it to indicate that this is the highest form of communion with God and to say that it deserved much more thorough study. Apparently, the author wasn't willing to give it that kind of study, even though he was writing a book on Christian meditation.