Owen C. Thomas was Professor of Theology at Episcopal Divinity School from 1952-1993, and is current adjunct faculty at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Ellen K.Wondra is research professor emerita for the Bexley Hall Theological Seminary, and the author of more than 20 books and other publications. She has served the Episcopal Church at both the diocesan and national levels.

"Entering the field of theological studies for the first time can be a bewildering experience. What is most needed is just what Thomas and Wondra have provided---a basic vocabulary and a basic viewpoint, from which readers can take their bearings and go on to further exploration. All the important topics are treated with remarkable clarity, brevity, and insight.” —The Rev. Charles Hefling, Ph.D., Th.D., Boston College, Acting Editor, Anglican Theological Review.

"The third edition of this introductory textbook serves its stated purpose well: it provides a useful resource for seminary students and those who teach them. In twenty chapters, Thomas and Wondra provide competent, often illuminating instruction about the major topics investigated by Christian systematic theology." —Rev. William Carroll for Anglican Theological Review