The Definitive Book on Anglicanism?

[Alveus Lacuna]

I'm building up my library on the Protestant classics and essentials.  My first endeavor is to obtain the core materials for the main three branches of historical Protestantism: Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Presbyterianism. 

For Lutheranism, I have The Book of Concord, which contains the small and large catechism of Luther.

For Presbyterianism, I have The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin.

For the Baptists, the best I could figure out was a large collection of writings by Charles Spurgeon.

But for Anglicanism, what should I get for a definitive exposition of the faith?  I know about The Book of Common Prayer, but I suppose I always assumed that it was primarily a prayer book more than an in depth exposition of Anglican doctrine (go figure!).  So what is the best historical book to turn to for better understanding the worldwide communion?

[FormerReformer]

For early Anglicanism you can get a hold of Cranmer's Homilies.  And Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.  Everything becomes kind of... muddled after that point.

[Doubting Thomas]

That's a good question, particularly since Anglicanism is not so much indebted to the thought of one primary reformer like Lutheranism or Calvinisim, nor, sadly, given the wide diversity within the 'official' Anglican Communion is there a uniform agreement to what constitues classical authentic Anglicanism today (ie compare the current liberal/heterodox leadership of the PECUSA with the Global South with the Anglo-Catholics, etc)

I am still still somewhat new to Anglicanism (was confirmed in the Anglican Catholic Church almost two years ago) and haven't read a lot of the primary Anglican sources except in snippets, but Hooker and Andrewes would be good ones from what I've read in secondary sources.   A good book I really like was Fathers and Anglicans, by Canon Arthur Middleton, which explored the intent/attempts of the Anglican divines (going back to Cranmer and Jewel, Hooker, Andrewes. and proceding through the following centuries through the Oxford Movement) to return to the thought/practices of the primitive Church expressed by the patristic consensus.

I'd still say the BCP (pre-1979), along with the 39 Articles and Ordinal, is probably where one can find the heart of orthodox Anglican belief, since the 'law of prayer is the law of belief' (lex orandi lex credendi).

Doubting Thomas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_orandi,_lex_credendi

[CalloftheTor]

 I would say the Book of Common Prayer. However for Reformation era Anglicanism you might look to the Books of Homilies mentioned in the 39 Articles.
http://www.anglicanlibrary.org/homilies/index.htm

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