The narratives of the figures behind the ten statues of martyrs at the Westminster Abbey.

In July 1998, ten statues of martyrs of the twentieth century were unveiled surmounting the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey. Ten figures were identified from different continents and different churches: victims of Nazi and Bolshevik oppression, state-sponsored violence, and religious hatred, these images stand as a testimony to the bloodshed of the twentieth century. Some, such as Oscar Romero and Martin Luther King, are famed across the world. Others are less known.

The Noble Army offers reflections on each of these ten lives, explores the questions surrounding their choices, and tells us the stories behind them. These statues were intended to represent those millions of individuals who suffered for their faith in Christ in the twentieth century. These reflections culminate in a chapter on the contemporary reality of Christian marginalization and persecution, written by Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq.
 

A deep and thoughtful reflection on trust in the context of public life.

Trust in Public Life is a collection of essays addressing the importance of trust in public life and how public servants can engender and sustain it. In “The Roots of Trust,” Anna Rowlands argues that our loss of trust is a feature of modernity that can only be solved through encounters with real people. In “Trust in Oneself,” Claire Gilbert makes the case that leaders need to have self-trust and confidence to rule. In “Trust in Institutions,” Anthony Ball offers a guide to rebuilding trust in institutions through four virtues: honesty, humility, compassion, and competence. Finally, in “Trust in People,” James Hawkey argues that trust between groups is a choice, not something that can be injected like a vaccine. Together, the essays offer valuable reflections on trust in public life, agreeing that it must be engendered, and offer guidance on how this might be achieved.