The annual cleaning of one of Christianity's holiest churches deteriorated into a brawl between rival clergy on Wednesday, as dozens of monks feuding over sacred space at the Church of the Nativity battled each other with brooms until police intervened.
The challenge often put forward is that God is a delusion and science has removed the need for faith in anything.
More than 60% of people believe excessive drinking is causing problems near their homes, a poll by three of Britain's leading churches suggests.
Drinkers will pay a minimum price for alcohol under plans instigated by David Cameron to tackle a growing health crisis
The composer Jonathan Willcocks recounts his experiences as a boy chorister in the Christmas Eve service at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.
The introduction to this nationwide televised service gives an insight into the scale and commitment of the Episcopal Church to theological education for both ordained and lay ministry. The preacher is the Presiding Bishop.
Our humanity is made divine in our basic care for each other, Jessica Martin writes in The Guardian reflecting on her Christmas Eucharist
Hundreds of residents in two restive northern Nigerian cities have fled their homes in fear of more violence after 40 people were killed in a series of Christmas Day bomb attacks on Christian churches.
The head of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has stressed peacemaking and action for justice as key fruits of the Christian gospel.
The Irish Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rate has declined since the 1980s, with 70/80 less infant deaths per year, and is one of the lowest worldwide, lower than the EU average
An IVF pioneer has accused fertility clinics of exploitation, claiming women are being charged three times the actual cost of their treatment.
Links to view and listen to an excellent choir on ABCTV
Thirteen-year-old Richard Decker from Sidcup won the coveted BBC Radio 2 Chorister of the Year award and has been busy with recording dates in Manchester and Leeds since then.
Rummaging through the greeting-card selection at most shops will provide many messages of seasonal good cheer, usually involving snow, reindeers and men in red.
As the confidential correspondence of popes, princes and potentates, the Vatican Secret Archives have been jealously guarded for centuries.
The legalization of gay marriage in New York last June reignited the age-old struggle between faith and sexuality in the Catholic community.
The General Synod Standing Committee of the Anglican Church of Australia is exploring the feasibility of establishing an Anglican Health Network within the province.
A Worcester village church has broken with tradition with the appointment of its latest boy bishop – by giving the role to a girl.
Childline received over 1,300 calls, texts and messages from children in Ireland over the course of Christmas Day – a 38 per cent increase on last year’s contact.
Calls have been made for a national study to examine the link in Ireland between childhood sex abuse and suicide.
St John's Church Upper Norwood, London with the Choir of King's College, London on the Feast of the Holy Innocents
A fundraising appeal has been launched to secure the rich musical heritage of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace for generations to come.
Faber’s latest online magazine is available.
The Irish Times Christmas editorial
Whether we are damaged by war, the riots, illness or depression, the Christmas message helps us recover hope - Archbishop Rowan Williams
The Pontiff used the Christmas mass to condemn the 'superficial glitter' that now surrounds the holiday, urging the faithful to instead discover its true meaning. Photocoverage
Turnout higher than expected after Arab Spring and economic downturn. Photo coverage
A radical Muslim sect has claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks on churches in Nigeria during Christmas Day services in which at least 30 people have died.
Canon Andrew White, Vicar of St. George's Anglican Church in Baghdad, shares a Christmas message describing the situation in Iraq.
An Anglican church’s Christmas billboard, depicting Jesus’ mother Mary dressed in traditional garb and holding a pregnancy test strip while covering her mouth with the other hand, was vandalized over the weekend.