Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt

Description

At fourteen, Richard Holloway left his working-class home north of Glasgow and travelled hundreds of miles to an English monastery to be trained for the priesthood. By twenty-five, he had been ordained and was working in the slums of Glasgow. In 2000 he controversially resigned as Bishop of Edinburgh, having lost heart with the the Church over its condemnation of homosexuality. In his years as a priest Richard touched many lives, but behind his confident public face lay a mind troubled by questions. Why is the Church, which claims to be the instrument of God's love, so prone to cruelty and condemnation? And how can a person live with the tension between public faith and private doubt? With this long-awaited memoir, Richard gives us a wise, poetic and fiercely honest book that recounts a fascinating life - and attempts to answer those questions.

Richard Holloway is the author of Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human, Doubts and Loves: What is Left of Christianity?, Godless Morality, Looking in the Distance, On Forgiveness: How Can We Forgive the Unforgiveable, and Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible.

'At a time when the world has urgently needed wise and compassionate leadership, this poignant memoir, written with the integrity, intelligence and wit that we expect from Richard Holloway, lays bare the ludicrous and entirely unnecessary mess we have made of religion.' - Karen Armstrong. 'Leaving Alexandria is many things. It is a compelling account of a journey through life, told with great frankness; it is a subtle reflection on what it means to live in an imperfect and puzzling world; and it is a highly readable insight into one of the most humane and engaged minds of our times. It is, quite simply, a wonderful book.' - Alexander McCall Smith.