Guildford Cathedral ‘reviews’ statues by sinner sculptor Eric Gill
You have to pity poor Hiram of Tyre, an artistic metalsmith whom King Solomon chose to work on his Temple, because 'he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning…
King David
Martyn Percy leaves the Church of England
In the glorious Chapel of Exeter College, Oxford, on the Feast Day of St. Matthias the Apostle on Saturday 14th May, the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy preached his final sermon as a priest in the Church of England. The…
Three Lions — a Psalm of England
Three Lions — a Psalm of England It's coming home It's coming home It's coming Football's coming home (we'll go getting bad results) It's coming home It's coming home It's…
Sheep(dog) Sunday
Today is not liturgically designated as “Sheep Sunday”, but our lectionary readings effectively render it so, as up and down the country preachers dust off their ovine metaphors and try…
The real presence of Christ in the community of the virtual Church
This morning I want to depart from our Lectionary readings to offer a text which inspired a first-class sermon which I once heard at Rochester Cathedral. A few years ago,…
The Bishop of Grantham is gay and celibate – so bloody what?
It will come as a surprise to many to hear that there is a Bishop of Grantham; moreso that he is no relation of the Dowager Countess. But to…
Wise unto salvation: the Christ in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today, on St George's Day, at the age of 52, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His was the greatest English mind ever to have existed.…
The apocalypse of Islam and the signs of the times
The Temple of Baalshamin predated Mohammed by six centuries. It was a cultural jewel in the Syrian desert, revealing to the world a glimpse of the pre-Islamic religions of…
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive the politicians who trespass against us
Trust – or more precisely the lack of it – has arguably been the defining theme of this General Election. This was plainly demonstrated during last week’s BBC Question…
We need a Prophetology to dispel the myths of Islam
Thousands upon thousands of Muslims were appalled by the Charlie Hebdo massacre, and deeply shocked by the subsequent carnage at a kosher supermarket in Paris. Newspapers and TV channels…