Slightly off-mint.

Off-mint.

Why visit a graveyard if you have no one to mourn? For Lorna Rhoads cemeteries can be repositories of stories, outdoor sculpture parks, habitats for birds and wildlife, gardens and oases of tranquillity. Her worldwide, illustrated directory includes burial grounds of all faiths, famous graveyards such Père Lachaise, Boothill and the Taj Mahal, war graves and memorial parks, catacombs, dolmens and even an underwater cemetery – the Neptune Memorial Reef for those lost at sea.

Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

In these conversations, recorded by Antonio Spadaro, Pope Francis shares his thoughts on some of the issues facing the church, his Papacy and the world. In informal dialogue with people from all walks of life, he confronts the tension between faith and fundamentalism, ecumenism, social justice, and the struggle for human rights in Myanmar and Latin America.

Should a self-confessed murderer be allowed to become a priest? In 1984 the Church of Scotland wrestled with this question when James Nelson, who had served a prison sentence for killing his mother, applied for ordination as a minister. Kelly uses this case as the starting-point for a history of the Church in Scotland, which also combines personal memoir, true-crime narrative and an exegesis of biblical and literary accounts of sin and forgiveness.

The Archbishop of Westminster explores how Christians can listen with greater attention to the voice of God and how they can better convey its message in their words and actions. In particular, he invites the reader to respond to an altarpiece by Pietro Orioli, reflects on the place of religious literacy in education and encourages us to build a more peaceful world through inter-faith dialogue.

‘Words,’ writes the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew in the foreword to this book, ‘are much more than conventional utterances.’ They are ‘our most intimate reflection of divinity.’ In this collection of more than 50 essays, writers from around the world examine the meaning of words that feature prominently in the utterances of Pope Francis – capitalism, conscience, family, immigrant, money, reform, women – and discuss what they reveal about him and his ministry.

Jane Shaw describes how, in the aftermath of the First World War, a group of Englishwomen led by Mabel Barthrop – who was known as Octavia and believed to be the daughter of God – set about building a new Jerusalem in Bedford. Off-mint.

Ardavan Amir-Aslani was born in Tehran and now works as an international lawyer in Paris. Here he offers his perspective on contemporary geopolitics, arguing that simplistic thinking in terms of a ‘clash of civilizations’ between Muslim nations and the West obscures the complexity of Islam’s religious turmoil and the causes of the Arab Spring: ‘As long as Iran has not returned to secularism the Middle East will continue to burn with religious sectarianism.’

This study of early modern martyrology takes an innovative approach, starting from the premise that ‘martyrdom is not a death but a story that gets written about a death’. Through close analysis of English texts ranging from medieval drama, through Foxe’s famous Acts and Monuments, to John Milton’s Eikonoklastes, the author traces how narrative forms and rhetoric shaped the meanings of human lives during the theological and political upheavals of the Reformation.

Photographs and biographies of 100 rabbis who evoke the spirit of modern Judaism and span the physical world and the religion’s ideological spectrum, from youthful Orthodox communal leaders to key figures in contemporary Reform Judaism. 9”x8”, colour throughout

Hebrew manuscripts took on a special significance following the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE, ensuring the survival of the language, faith and culture across the vast diaspora. The examples in this book - both sacred and secular texts - trace the evolution of format and style in a tradition which remained vibrant even after the advent of printing.

Who was Jesus? This biography draws on modern economic, forensic and psychological models, alongside ancient Roman and Jewish sources, to create a convincing portrait of an adolescent galvanized by tyranny and the displacement of the Galilean peasantry to embark on a mission of social and religious reform. It sets his teachings in their historical context, explains his healing abilities in terms of both ancient and modern medicine, and sheds new light on his betrayal and execution.

A landmark in the history of the English language, the translation of the Bible known as the 'Authorized Version' or 'King James Bible' has had an incalculable influence on cultural life and literature ever since it appeared in 1611. Beginning with the labyrinthine politics of Tudor and Jacobean England and a world being transformed by the new technology of printing, Alister McGrath narrates the story of the translation, why it was ordered by James I, who translated it, the problems they faced and the reception of the new Bible.

A crusade was a military expedition, blessed by the Pope, against the enemies of Christianity; those who set out on these dangerous campaigns had pledged allegiance to the Cross and pinned their hopes on spiritual rewards. From the First Crusade in 1095 to the Spanish Armada against the English in 1588, Hindley tells the story of crusades and crusaders and considers how their ‘just wars’ have shaped relations between Christian and Muslim countries to this day.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams won the respect of believers and non-believers alike for his wisdom, humanity and tolerance. In this series of interlinked essays, he examines the challenges faced by Christians in a modern secular society. His lucid and penetrating analysis gets to the heart of the political, moral and economic crises of our times, shedding light on such pressing issues as multiculturalism, human rights, the environment, the role of religion in government and religious diversity.

Offering a rational, outspoken and thought-provoking counterblast to powerful advocates of atheism such as Richard Dawkins, Francis Spufford seeks to show why, despite everything, Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense.

As Christians become more engaged with the reality of religious pluralism, many find themselves torn between two goals: to be faithful to the lordship of Jesus while remaining open to the truths of other religions. This clear, cogent and challenging book offers a way out of the dilemma, maintaining the unique mediating role of Christ while acknowledging that other beliefs are part of God's grace. Essential reading for anyone concerned with inter-faith dialogue and the position of the Church today.

Islamic fundamentalism has grabbed the headlines as both a threat to the West and a potentially revolutionary trend in the Middle East. This authoritative study provides a much-needed overview of its origins and diverse strands, the effects of colonialism on Islam, secularism and the Islamic reaction, the effects of globalization, and political violence in the 9/11 era. This fully revised and updated edition also examines recent developments in the wake of the Arab Spring of 2011.

Comprising 12 essays by distinguished experts, this volume traces the story of Mahatma Gandhi's transformation from small-town lawyer in South Africa to 'father of the Indian nation'.