October marks the month of Edwardtide – a series of celebrations commemorating St Edward the Confessor, the King that ruled England in the 11th century for over two decades. Nowadays, he is remembered for three reasons: as one of the last Anglo-Saxon monarchs, for commissioning Westminster Abbey and for being the only English King canonised by a Pope. But does the historical record justify the cult of St Edward? Professor Tom Licence from the University of East Anglia joins Damian Thompson to discuss.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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In the space of a month, the Church of England has acquired its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, a majority of the world’s Anglicans have left the Anglican Communion in protest at the mother Church’s willingness to bless same-sex relationships – and the House of Bishops has suddenly backed away from introducing stand-alone gay blessings. The situation is chaotic. In this week’s Holy Smoke, theologian Andrew Graystone talks to Damian Thompson about the almost insoluble problems that will face Archbishop Mullally after she is enthroned in January.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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How did faith shape Margaret Thatcher’s politics? To mark the centenary month of Margaret Thatcher’s birth, Damian Thompson introduces a conversation between the Spectator’s Natasha Feroze, Thatcher’s biographer Lord Moore and Bishop Chartres who delivered the eulogy at her funeral.

They discuss her relationship with faith, how both her family background and her training as a scientist influenced her beliefs and her understanding of the relationship between wealth and society based on Jesus’s parables. Plus – what would Thatcher have made of the much talked about ‘Christian revival’ in the West?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

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