This study of sixteenth-century doctrines of the Church is anchored in a review of medieval efforts to introduce church reform. The volume then moves through the teachings of Luther (with an extended discussion of Karlstadt's version of late medieval radical criticism of the Church and his own concept of the Church); Zwingli, his circle and his Anabaptist critics; ‘the ecclesiology of the second-generation reforms’ (largely from the Reformed Churches, with concentration on Oecolampadius, Bucer, Bullinger, Calvin and Beza); and the twists and turns of ‘Tudor ecclesiology’. The volume's conclusion is entitled ‘Catholic ecclesiology of the sixteenth century’ and surveys efforts and/or longings for reform from Pope Julius ii’s defensive call of the Fifth Lateran Council to the formulations of Trent. The study's strength lies in its extensive citations of reformers’ arguments along with helpful summaries of their thinking within the contexts in which their doctrines evolved. Chibi identifies ‘pastoral care’ as the ‘original mission of the church’ (p.7) but could have explored more deeply the significance of the shift from the medieval concern for the moral and institutional reform of the visible Church to a focus on the reform centred on proper biblical and doctrinal teaching, in conjunction with the shift from a ritual- and hierarchy-centred definition of being Christian to understanding the Church as a gathering of those whom God has gathered through his Word meant in the context of the larger rule of faith.