Culture

In Stanley Spencer’s Sarah Tubb and the Heavenly Visitors, the visionary painter brings the divine to everyday village life, writes Melanie McDonagh

A candid Advent reflection on the Resurrection of the Dead, the Last Judgement, and divine mercy

Peter K. Andersson’s Fool attempts the impossible: a biography of Henry VIII’s court fool, whose real life barely survives beneath centuries of anecdote

Two Oxford women saw the ghost of Marie Antoinette... or did they?

More than any writer after the Gospels themselves, Charles Dickens shaped how the modern world understands Christmas

Opera often translates to overblown vocalising which clashes with the essence of Christmas carols

As Advent gives way to Christmas, Britain’s choral tradition reaches its annual peak — from Handel’s Messiah and festive carols to music shaped by war, witness, and faith

St Matthew’s quiet description of Joseph as “a righteous man” opens a profound theological vision

In a series of “most…” categories, Fr Gavan Jennings walks readers through his most memorable reads of 2025

A new Netflix film offers an unexpectedly thoughtful portrayal of faith, the priesthood, and confession

A timeless classic returns in a new edition, revealing the deeper imagination, theology and brilliance of Narnia

The remarkable story of Britain’s Catholic converts, from Wilde and Newman to Waugh and Greene.

Modern science was meant to bury belief in God. Instead, discoveries from the Big Bang to DNA have shaken materialism at its core.

A single painting set Helen Orr on a path to rediscover beauty in contemporary art.

The Lila Rose-Pearl clash highlights the common mistake of excusing “lesser sins” to avoid greater ones.

The prior of the Dominican Community in Oxford discusses how the new Centre for Theology and the Arts aims to restore dialogue between art and faith at a time when beauty has been politicised, thinned or misunderstood

The National Trust blocked film-maker Christian Holden from filming at St Cuthbert’s Cave, citing a policy against “religious affiliation”

In the algorithm’s pursuit of perfect matches, the acceptance of human imperfection has been lost. A quality essential to any lasting Christian marriage

While a new report grants that the Synod vote by the Church of England on female ordination in the 1990s was a significant reason for some, for other Anglican priests the decision emerged from deep spiritual reflection on other matters of conscience

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk condemned a sweeping corruption scandal hitting Ukraine’s energy sector