Pope’s New Year’s message: respect dignity of life, as Year of Jubilee 2025 begins; Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, ends today; Police record large rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes; Priest jailed in Belarus for criticising government in his sermons
Christmas message to the Church of England: strip off finery and kneel in penitence and adoration
King declares Archbishopric of Canterbury vacant from 7 January; Keir Starmer hosts first Hanukkah reception; Report on Muslim community efforts to combat loneliness; Government won’t tolerate foreign harrassment against Sikhs; Cathedrals celebrate Christmas in style
Alongside traditional Christmas worship, cathedrals are offering beer and carols, Christmas tree avenues, buildings bathed in light and music from Handel to Michael Bublé
Crown Nominations Commission member Canon Andrew Cornes, steps back from ministry; Professor Alexis Jay tells CofE bishops to ‘get a grip’ on safeguarding and backs Bishop of Newcastle; How British Muslims adopt some Christmas traditions; Welby donates to child abuse charity
George Carey relinquishes his license to officiate as a CofE minister; King is praying for people displaced in Syria and supporting Christians in Iraq; Pope says British intelligence saved him from Iraqi suicide bomber; Three Methodists in Nigeria killed by rival church group
Former head of MI5 to chair Crown Nominations Commission; Archbishop of York facing calls to resign over sex abuse case; Kemi Badenoch confesses she no longer believes in God; Slavery and sin – backstory of the nation’s favourite carol
Pope points to dynamic form of secularism promoting co-operation; Quakers around the world are leaving X today; Israel closes embassy in Ireland citing antisemitism; Bishop of Newcastle says CofE “old boys’ club” must be broken
Pope issues call to cancel debt; US Episcopal Church disinvests from fossil fuels; Assisted Dying Commons committee membership announced; 13-year-old made a bishop for Christmas
David Smith MP appointed UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief; Muslim Women’s Network UK urges campaign about abuse; Jewish leaders meet Health Secretary over antisemitism in the NHS; The lifeboat chaplains on duty at sea this Christmas
