Plain Discourses, Doctrinal and Practical, Adapted to a Country Congregation

Plain Discourses, Doctrinal And Practical, Adapted To A Country Congregation by Charles Hardinge. This collection assembles a sequence of parish sermons delivered by the Anglican clergyman in Tunbridge and Crowhurst during the early 19th century. The Discourses range from the repair and enlargement of Tunbridge Church and the Archdeacon’s visitation to holy-days such as Christmas and Easter, with extended reflections on Lent, the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the character of a good Christian. Drawing on Scripture, history, and ecclesiastical authorities, Hardinge articulates the duties of worship, church buildings, and public instruction, while urging charitable living, humility, and fidelity to both church and country. The volume intertwines pastoral exhortation with concerns for social virtue, education, and national devotion, including sermons on fraternal kindness, female virtue, and the moral responsibilities of ministers and laity. It offers a window into rural Anglican piety and the ethical aims of parish leadership in the 1820s.