Andrea Mantegna [1431-1506] and Giovanni Bellini [c.1430-1516] were the brilliant leaders of the first wave of the Northern Italian Renaissance, laying sure foundations for Titian, Veronese and other masters. Mantegna, born near Padua the son of a carpenter, by his late teens displayed a prodigious talent, winning commissions to beautify churches. In 1460 he moved […]
The Kingdom of God Has No Borders Melani McAlister OUP, hb, £19.99 According to The Christian Century this study of how American evangelicals have engaged with the wider world was OUP’s best-selling religious book in the US in 2018. There have been numerous studies of evangelicalism within America but this is the first I know to […]
Religious Intelligence The Cremation Society keeps very careful statistics of the number of times each of the crematoria in the UK are used, and publishes them on its website. The very first cremation in the UK was in Woking in March 1885, and between then and 1899 there were a total of 1,976, a […]
By Andrew Symes “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” said Nathanael to Philip. Do we have anything to gain from associating with those from an insignificant backwater, like Jesus? Can we learn anything from disadvantaged people like his mother? Nathanael’s perhaps jesting but dismissive question is recorded by John. In Luke’s Gospel, we see […]
By Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali I warmly welcome the Review, to be led by the Bishop of Truro, ordered by the Foreign Secretary. It is long overdue and I hope it will not only be completed by Easter but will be speedily implemented by the government. I hope also that international agencies will take urgent note […]
Major art exhibitions from da Vinci, Renaissance Nude, Rembrandt and Blake to Van Gogh, Gauguin, Bonnard and Bomberg, promise cultural highlights in 2019, while current Burne-Jones [Tate Britain] and Russia: Royalty and Romanovs [Queen’s Gallery] run to 24 February and 28 April respectively. Bill Viola video installations visually encounter Michelangelo drawings [26 January – 31 […]
Anglican Life Church Urban Fund Working together can be both a joy and a challenge. This is something with which the Anglican Church is particularly familiar: its breadth and diversity bring a richness of experience and opportunity, as well as tensions and, at times, conflict. It is also readily apparent within our national life: living […]
God Visible Brian E Daley SJ OUP, hb, £65.00 Brian Daley opens this stimulating study of Christology in the early church with a tribute to the great Jesuit scholar Aloys Grillmeier, whose Christ in the Christian Traditionremains an important and influential study. But while recognising the great achievement of Grillmeier Daley seeks to do […]
Anglican Life New Wine By Bishop Jill Duff New Wine was birthed by an outpouring of the Spirit in Chile. Across the majority world, church planting movements are being fanned into flame by the Spirit of God. Wonderfully, churches across our nation are waking up again to church planting as a normal part of mission […]
The year 2018 started with church mission initiatives receiving a boost with a £24.4 million investment from the Church of England’s Strategic Investment Board. The Diocese of London received the biggest payout, including £4.80m to support Church growth learning communities and revitalising churches across the diocese, meanwhile Winchester diocese received £4.23m for piloting new approaches […]