Bede was the first historian to speak of the 'English' and to see their conversion as within the providence of God. English language, English culture, values and institutions have all been shaped by Christianity. And Christianity is not only about our past but our present. Since early modern times, following the Reformation, Christianity has continued to be a key part of national identity, being passed on largely, though not exclusively, through the worship, teaching and pastoral ministry of the Church of England.

This book seeks to reclaim what is unique about the Church of England - a church which claims to be 'part of' the one, holy Catholic Church - and its role in our national life, and how a deeper understanding of Christian faith can still be passed on through it to the English people.

ANGELA TILBY is a tutor at Westcott House, Cambridge. She formerly worked for the BBC as a documentary film-maker, and continues to broadcast frequently on Radio 4's Thought for the Day. Her books include Science and the Soul, for which she won a Templeton Prize. In the course of her BBC career she made over 30 television documentaries, including The Hidden Tradition, which won a silver medal at the New York Festival. An episode of her four part series Lives of Jesus, presented by Mark Tully, won the Sandford St Martin Premier Award for 1996-7. She trained for ordination at Cranmer Hall in Durham and was ordained to the priesthood in 1998. She has been a member of the Church of England's Liturgical Commission from 1997.