©Paul Rogers
Books by Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams is the former Archbishop of Canterbury and was the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, a position from which he retired in 2020. He was also Lady Margaret Professor at Oxford. He has written dozens of books including On Augustine, The Way of St Benedict, Holy Living, The Edge of Words, and Justice and Love and Teresa of Avila.
“In my view, Rowan Williams is the biggest intellectual genius of our time by quite a long way. Rowan translates from about 11 languages; anything you think you know about, he knows far more. It is really rather depressing! Some of his work is very easy – for example, some of his simple sermons. But some of his essays on theology need quite a lot of grappling with. I am assuming that my five books are for people who really want to grapple quite seriously, so there must be something of Rowan Williams. On Christian Theology is a collection of his essays from the 1980s and 90s and on a range of subjects.” Read more...
The best books on Christianity
Richard Harries, Theologians & Historians of Religion
Interviews with Rowan Williams
The best books on Saint Teresa of Avila, recommended by Rowan Williams
St Teresa of Avila was one of the towering figures of the Counter-Reformation, both as a theologian and as a reformer of the religious life. Here, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, discusses her insights into spiritual growth and prayer, the impact her Jewish roots had on her life and career, and why Bernini’s statue of her in ecstasy is unhelpful.
Interviews where books by Rowan Williams were recommended
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1
The Confessions
by Augustine (translated by Maria Boulding) -
2
The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso
by Dante Alighieri -
3
The Cloud of Unknowing
by Anonymous -
4
The Desert Fathers
by Translated by Helen Waddell -
5
A Pilgrim’s Progress
by John Bunyan -
6
The Book of Her Life
by Teresa of Avila
Books by Christian Authors
Books by Christian Authors
A list of recommendations for readers looking for books by Christian authors, compiled from years of Five Books interviews. From allegorical fiction written for children to 14th-century mystical texts, this is a collection that is bound to contain a book that appeals to you.
The best books on Christianity, recommended by Richard Harries
The former bishop of Oxford tells us about books that explore what it means to be a Christian – from St Augustine and medieval mysticism to grappling with Dostoyevsky and more modern dilemmas. He picks the best books on Christianity.
