Wendy Robinson (1934–2013) was a trained psychotherapist who became a member of the Russian Orthodox Church in England in 1980. To be able to combine these two vocations was, for her, to discover herself. She practised psychotherapy both with individual clients and, increasingly, with religious communities, both Catholic and Anglican, giving retreats and one-to-one counselling, and built up a strong and lasting connection with the Sisters of the Love of God in Oxford. She reflected on her dual vocation in lectures and articles, a selection of which are published in the companion volume to this book, Cosmos Crisis and Christ: Essays of Wendy Robinson, collected and edited by Andrew Louth, Fairacres Publications 211 (SLG Press, 2024)

Fairacres Publications 211 Wendy Robinson’s work was primarily interpersonal and in retreat talks or lectures where she could engage with her audience directly; many of the essays here are transcriptions of those talks. Even ten years after her death, her theology and her compassion are remembered with great fondness and gratitude, and continue to resonate both with those who knew her and those who encounter her writing for the first time.

Fairacres Publications 221 In recent years relations between Christians and Muslims have been reduced, in much popular discourse, to a simple, and often polarized, opposition. Historically the relationship between these two Abrahamic faiths has been much more nuanced and complex. In this book, Tony Dickinson explores some of the complexities, both in Christian-Muslim relations and within Islam, from the earliest years of Muhammad’s prophetic activity until the controversies and conflicts of the present, and suggests some possible approaches to contemporary inter-faith dialogue.

Fairacres Publication 194 The poems of George Herbert (1593–1633) have nurtured the faith of countless Anglican Christians, and others, since their posthumous publication in 1633. Described by the poet as ‘a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed between God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus my Master’, Herbert’s poetry weaves together recognition of the glory and diversity of God’s creation and of the ingenuity of human beings in their attempts to map and control that creation, awareness of human frailty and sinfulness, and awed realisation of the infinite love of God. The themes of frailty and forgiveness underlying Herbert’s poetry also mark the season of Lent. In recognition of this, Tony Dickinson takes eight of the poems that tackle these great themes (relevant as much to the twenty-first century as to the seventeenth) and week by week through Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day, unpacks the language in which George Herbert explores them; language that often appears direct and simple, but whose simplicity frequently conceals a depth and density of meaning that few other writers can match.

Fairacres Publications 160 These theological reflections on the Cross and Passion of Jesus Christ touch upon some central paradoxes of the Christian faith. Jesus was put to death publicly by crucifixion which, according to traditional Jewish teaching, was a scandal and an affront to God. Yet a Roman centurion present was able to exclaim in awe, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ The book invites us to ponder instances where strength was manifested in weakness, not only for Jesus – in Gethsemane, at his Trial and on the Cross – but also for those two pillars of the early Church, Peter and Paul, as they too wrestled with ‘the Scandal of the Cross’.

Fairacres Publications 151 Sister Benedicta gives an illuminating account of the Synod of Whitby 664 AD, held to discuss the date on which Easter should be celebrated. The Synod has been presented as a clash between Irish and Roman missionaries representing two different kinds of Christianity, yet the two traditions mingled with no clear-cut nationalistic divisions. All participants were agreed upon the centrality of Easter as the feast of the Resurrection, and through looking together towards Jesus as the risen Lord, they resolved their difficulties.

Fairacres Publication 28 Julian of Norwich: Four Studies to Commemorate the Sixth Centenary of the Revelations of Divine Love This book of four essays, first published in 1973, provides an introduction and companion to the study of the fourteenth-century ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ by Julian of Norwich. The meaning of the Revelations for those who are living a contemplative life today is explored through reflections on Julian’s place in English literature and the tradition of Christian prayer.

Thomas Campion (1567–1620) was a composer of lute song and the author a significant body of Latin and English poetry and masques written for the Stuart court. This volume collects all of Campion’s sacred poetry in one place for the first time. Campion’s lyric style was influenced by Sir Philip Sidney, but also by the music to which it was most often set: the lines flow gracefully, with an elegant and direct communication of depth and sincerity. Campion’s faith is evident and his texts speak as vividly to us today as they did to those who copied and shared them during his lifetime and beyond.

Fairacres Publications 179 The way of life of the fourth-century Desert Fathers, with its emphasis on solitude, silence and unceasing prayer, has inspired many modern spiritual writers. Why do the Desert Fathers have so much to say to us? To answer this question, Sister Benedicta presents some of the best and most illuminating stories and sayings from the desert. Readers will find spiritual wisdom, along with sharp humour and startling insight into human nature.

Fairacres Publications 136 The English mystic Walter Hilton was born c. 1340–5 and died at the Priory of St Peter at Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire in 1396. Little is known of his life, but after beginning a legal and administrative career he attempted the solitary life, but finally discovered his true vocation as an Augustinian Canon. His spiritual writings in English and Latin are ranked alongside those of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing and Julian of Norwich, and include Angels’ Song (also translated by Rosemary Dorward and published by SLG Press in 1983), commentaries on Psalm texts, and a number of letters of spiritual guidance. Mixed Life was originally intended to be read as the third part of Hilton’s best-known work, The Scale of Perfection, and is a set of instructions for a ‘worldly lord’ on balancing the spiritual and practical aspects of leading a godly life. This new edition includes the first full print publication of a diplomatic transcription of the ‘Vernon MS’ text from which this translation was made.