It is a most unhappy circumstance that as we go to press, the Middle East has again erupted into warfare, with grave risks of escalation. Cynically initiated by Hamas, for extraneous geopolitical ends, with horrifying atrocities against Israeli civilians (both Jews and Arabs), the conflict has already brought great suffering to the people of Gaza, in whose name it was begun, and confronts Israel with an existential crisis.

This conflict can only further erode the place of historic Christian communities whose heritage goes back to the time of Christ (as the End Notes explore further).

Unfortunately that the global Anglican Communion faces its own kind of crisis too.

Dr Mouneer Anis, the Archbishop Emeritus of Alexandria, diagnosed this with such clarity and force in the last edition that his article was sought worldwide. He has therefore in this edition written further, exploring what positive steps can yet be taken to rebuild.

As always, however, these pages are also replete with articles expounding our Anglican heritage and theology. This comprises a rich resource upon which these times of crisis make it good to dwell.