Christianity
Centuries of martyrs
There is no redemption in this account of the birth of Latin Christendom, with ‘heretics’ suffering cruelly for the beliefs, just as Christian martyrs had under the Romans
Has the Vatican abandoned beauty?
Has the Vatican abandoned beauty?
Why the Chester Mystery Plays are more popular than ever
The Chester Mystery Plays date back to the 13th century – but are more popular now than ever, finds Richard Bratby
The Anglican priests charged with exorcising evil spirits
The Anglican priests charged with exorcising evil spirits
The rise and fall of Tammy Faye
Robert Gore-Langton explores the remarkable life of televangelist Tammy Faye, and its descent into chaos
The night the Queen refused to read my book
‘So it is come at last, the distinguished thing!’ exclaimed Henry James on his deathbed. Such a thought is reflected…
The Queen’s life was anchored by Christianity
The Queen’s life was anchored by Christianity
The Archbishop of Canterbury has risen to the occasion
Archbishop Justin Welby has done a good job of relating the Queen’s virtues to her Christian faith. This is no…
What has become of the 19th-century explosion of religiosity?
Matthew Arnold cannot have been much fun on holiday. Watching waves crash on the pebbles at Dover Beach, he heard…
Why the Bible still matters
If you look to our schools and universities, you will not see a serious engagement with the Bible as part…
Letters: Workshy Whitehall has its benefits
In check Sir: Jade McGlynn (‘Conflict of opinion’, 23 April) has a point that there are many reasons for popular…
How do we celebrate Easter in the shadow of war?
This week has been Passiontide, which means lots of wonderful plainsong in the choir of Canterbury Cathedral as my predecessors…
An inspirational teacher: Elizabeth Finch, by Julian Barnes, reviewed
‘Whenever you see a character in a novel, let alone a biography or history book, reduced and neatened into three…
Kirill, the Patriarch in league with Putin
The Patriarch in league with Putin
The Greek myths are always with us
Once upon a time there was a collection of stories that everybody loved. They involved brave heroes such as Perseus…
Dostovesky and Putin’s useful idiots
When I was 17 I heard the name Dostovesky, and was enthralled. Just the name felt so glamorously intellectual, so…
Playing until her fingers bled: the dedication of the pianist Maria Yudina
The 20th century was an amazing time for Russian pianists, and the worse things got, politically and militarily, the more…
Bring back communion wine
Don’t deny me my communion wine
Letters: Our broken civil service
Beyond the party Sir: Rod Liddle is spot-on in arguing that the attitudes revealed by ‘partygate’ extend to senior civil…
A brief history of the death of God
A few weeks after Friedrich Nietzsche bragged to an admirer that he had completed a ruthless attack on our Lord,…
Is Christianity about to end in the place it began?
Janine di Giovanni’s book begins in a Paris apartment during the first lockdown. She’s at a friend’s home, which she…
Were the Ottoman Turks as European as they thought themselves?
This is the best of times to be writing history, since so much of what has been taken for granted,…
Profound and original and unashamedly religious: Midnight Mass reviewed
I was turned on to Midnight Mass by Ricky Gervais who raved about it in one of his social media…
Why I left the Church of England: an interview with Michael Nazir-Ali
Michael Nazir-Ali on his decision to join the Catholic church
The magic of manuscripts
Nothing captures medieval life more vividly than a manuscript that has passed through many hands, says Jonathan Sumption
