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Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

This celebrated spiritual handbook by Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471) is divided into four sections: ‘Admonitions Useful for a Spiritual Life’, ‘Admonitions Tending to Things Eternal’, ‘Of Internal Consolation’, and ‘Concerning the Sacrament’. Slightly off-mint.

Rich in character and incident, Bunyan’s greatest work after Pilgrim’s Progress is a dramatic account of the battle waged by Shaddai (God) and Emanuel (Jesus) against the Devil for possession of the city of Mansoul. Off-mint.

In vivid and powerful language, Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography charts his sinful youth, his painful religious revelation, and his trial and imprisonment in Bedford jail. An afterword by the publisher describes his last years and death. Off-mint.

Foxe’s Martyrs is one of the most important documents of the English Reformation. After a history of the early church, it records the persecutions endured by Protestants such as Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer.

Annotated with dates and scriptural references, the 24 maps in this visual guide track the journeys of Biblical characters and indicate the locations of key events, from the time of Noah’s flood to the death of St Paul.

In 1780, the anti-Papist Gordon riots left 1,000 dead and London in flames; half a century later, Parliament passed the Catholic Emancipation Act. This narrative history charts the struggles that brought about that conclusion. It profiles the key players, including George III, a staunch opponent of emancipation; the political rivals Wellington and Peel; and the Irish campaigner Daniel O’Connell; and examines the conflict between the right to practise one’s religion and allegiance to the state.

Timothy Briden’s new edition of Garth Moore’s classic introduction to canon law preserves the original, lucid analysis while updating the text in line with modern legislation and new measures such as clergy discipline and terms of service.

The Bible abounds in references to plants and animals, from the fruit trees and snake in the Garden of Eden to Revelation’s visions of terrifying beasts. This guide to the flora and fauna of the Holy Land links these biblical references with the species that are still visible in today’s landscapes. It also shows how examples from nature were used figuratively in spiritual guidance aimed at an audience with everyday experience of the region’s wide range of habitats.

In 2013, Benedict XVI became the only Pope to resign from office in modern times. In these conversations with the religious journalist Peter Seewald, he discusses the reasons for his resignation and his admiration for his successor, speaking frankly about the controversies that have dogged the Church, including ‘Vatileaks’ and the child abuse scandal, and revealing his thoughts about his life, his philosophy, his mistakes, and the future of Christianity.

An historian and parish priest, Dr Robert Beaken gives a detailed account of the impact of the First World War on life in the ancient garrison town of Colchester, focusing on the parish churches and their response to the challenges of wartime.

Against the familiar view of puritans as killjoys, this study reveals a neglected strand of puritan theology in the writings and pastoral work of Ralph Venning, an Independent divine who emphasized the importance of inner happiness and personal piety.

The letters of the Glaswegian minister Robert Baillie (1620–1662) are a common source for the history of Scotland during the violent years 1637–1660. This first biography of Baillie establishes his significance as a polemicist, theologian and contemporary historian.

St Edmund’s Abbey, one of the country’s wealthiest religious houses, was closely involved with the central government of medieval England. This history, which covers the rule of two 13th-century abbots, uses evidence from the abbey’s extensive surviving records to provide insights into its governance and economy in difficult times as well as its religious, intellectual and cultural life. The monks’ dietary regime is examined in an appendix featuring recipes from the archives.

Who were the Apostles and what was their relationship to Jesus? Was James the Less really his brother? This synthesis of travelogue and biblical history ranges from Rome and Jerusalem, Turkey and Russia to India and Kyrgyzstan to seek answers to these ancient enigmas. Exploring the way the identities of the Apostles have evolved over two millennia, Tom Bissell charts the growth of Christianity from an obscure sect to the global faith we know today.

Shirley Leach grew up surrounded by comfort and privilege, enjoying horse-riding, tennis and parties, and felt shocked when she received a calling from God to become a nun. Nevertheless, a few months later she had become Sister Agatha. Her faith in this life-changing decision never faltered, and at the age of 85, she looks back over her remarkable life.

‘Christianity doesn’t abrogate the Old Testament; it completes it.’ Limbaugh presents a reading of the 39 books from Genesis to Malachi, arguing that they offer rich and plentiful insights to help us understand Jesus’ life, deeds and message. After an overview of Old Testament history and key themes such as prophecy, covenants and salvation, he unlocks each book’s mysteries through an analysis of the passages that herald the coming of the Saviour. (Previously published as The Emmaus Code.)

Described by the author as a kind of spiritual ‘speed dating’, this book comprises brief introductions to the teachings of the greatest mystics and contemplatives in the Western Christian tradition. The thinkers, who range from Origen and Julian of Norwich to CS Lewis and Simone Weil, are presented as examples of nine ‘personality types’, which include Visionaries, Poets and Heretics.

The clergyman and scholar George MacDonald (1824–1905) was a pioneer of fantasy fiction and an inspiration to CS Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia. This collection of MacDonald’s thoughts, selected by Lewis, offers inspiration for every day of the year. Reflecting on topics from ‘Inexorable Love’ to ‘The Torment of Death’, it illuminates the Christian faith that underpins the work of both writers.

In this collection of moving personal testimonies, modern people relate their experiences to the Stations of the Cross and resurrection. Contributors include Archbishops John Sentamu and Vincent Nicholls; Sister Wendy Beckett; Peter Hitchens; Margaret Mizen, the mother of a murdered teenager; Kelly Connor, who ran over and killed an innocent victim; and Anne Maguire, of the wrongfully convicted Maguire Seven. Slightly off-mint.

Six episcopal thrones survive from 14th-century cathedral churches. In this scholarly volume, Charles Tracy presents in-depth studies of the timber thrones in Exeter, St David’s and Hereford Cathedrals and the impressive, canopied oak bishop’s chair in Lincoln; and Andrew Budge contributes a chapter on the two stone episcopal thrones at Wells and Durham Cathedrals. There is much additional information in appendices, and the studies are lavishly illustrated with photographs, plans and line drawings of the thrones.

In the first anthology of its kind, Geffert and Stavrou have compiled more than 100 primary sources in translation – letters and memoirs, official documents, treatises and homilies – to illustrate how Eastern Christianity developed from its Roman origins to the Soviet era and beyond. The texts are preceded by accessible editorial introductions, which explain their cultural and historical background as well as highlighting their importance for understanding the trends, controversies and reforms that have shaped the Orthodox tradition.

By preaching in the open and visiting lay people at home, mendicant friars took religion outside church buildings. Yet, despite their dedication to apostolic poverty, the friars were criticized for their churches’ considerable size. In her study of the ‘social lives of buildings’, Bruzelius describes how friars’ activities shaped the interior and exterior spaces of medieval cities; in particular explaining how individual donors’ requests for intercessory prayers and burial rights led to the episodic expansion and decoration of the friars’ convents.

The philosopher Kurt Flasch offers a full-scale reappraisal of the life and legacy of Meister Eckhart, the medieval German theologian, philosopher and alleged mystic who was active during the 14th-century Avignon Papacy and posthumously condemned as a heretic by Pope John XXII. Flasch argues that Eckhart was an important philosopher of his time rather than a mystic, and sheds new light on this medieval figure who has attracted the attention of modern thinkers including Schopenhauer, Fromm and Derrida.

Daniel Hobbins looks beyond the ecclesiastical career of Jean Gerson (1363–1429) to present the French theologian as representative of his wider cultural era and an author active at a time when written culture was rapidly expanding.

Bamber Gascoigne tells the story of the Christian faith, from its origins in the Roman Empire, through the glories of Byzantium and the machinations of Renaissance popes, to the Soviet Union’s hostility to religion. His entertaining narrative sets Christianity in the context of other world religions and explains the forces behind its development over time. Revised edition of The Christians, originally written to accompany Gascoigne’s 1977 television series.

In 1517, Martin Luther, the ‘indispensable firestarter’, launched his 95 theses protesting the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church. From the upheaval of the Reformation that followed, Alec Ryrie’s fast-paced and engaging history traces five centuries of Protestantism, across the globe and across a vast diversity of sects and movements, to Pentecostalism in the 20th century and the situation today. ‘We cannot understand the modern age,’ writes Ryrie, ‘without understanding the dynamic history of Protestant Christianity’.