Sunday

Sunday guides you through the religious and ethical issues of the week, including the news that a report claiming the number of young people attending church in England and Wales had skyrocketed, has now been retracted. It comes after the underlying data was found to be flawed. The Bible Society's "Quiet Revival" report had been widely reported on since its publication last year and became an accepted part of discourse among many Christians.
Sir James MacMillan’s new 70-minute, 12-piece choral oratorio "Angels Unawares" has received it's world premiere in the Sistine Chapel. It's a moving piece about angelic encounters set to poetry by the late Robert Willis, the former Dean of Canterbury who died in 2024. William speaks to Sir James about the historic performance and his connection to faith.
And as Christians around the world prepare for Palm Sunday, worshippers in Jerusalem are facing an unprecedented disruption to Holy Week, we explore the latest.
PRESENTER: William Crawley
PRODUCERS: Bara'atu Ibrahim and Linda Walker
EDITOR: Chloe Walker

Sunday guides you through the time-honoured rituals of the enthronement of an Archbishop of Canterbury - and how the service will break new ground with an anthem based on the words of 14th century female mystic Julian of Norwich, put to music by Joanna Marsh.
We will be hearing the stories of people in Iran as they mark Persian New Year and Eid in the midst of war.
And the story of a new film that brought the first Christian hymn from papyrus to the big screen.

For Iranians living in the UK, the past weeks have been filled with uncertainty and fear for loved ones and growing concern about what happens next. We hear from Rev Mohammad Eghtedarian and his wife Maryam, who both fled Iran around the year 2000. Maryam was already a Christian and Mohammad converted on the journey he took as an asylum seeker coming to Britain.
It can be difficult to think of what we want to happen to our remains after death. A step forward in providing an alternative to burial or cremation has been legalised in Scotland, known as aquamation. Could other parts of UK soon follow? There are theological considerations for those who believe in ‘the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting'.
There is a new superhero on our screens. The Ninth Master is an English language film that follows a Sikh warrior who discovers martial arts. There are now touring screenings around the UK. Its director and lead actor, known as Flex Singh, has been speaking to Sunday.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Katy Booth, Rebecca Kelly and Felin Gakwaya
Studio managers: Chris Mather, Phil Booth, Amy Brennan and Catherine Everatt
Production co-ordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton

The Anglican Communion’s long-running divisions over same-sex relationships have sharpened again after a major gathering in Nigeria. At the Global Anglican Futures Conference, or Gafcon, bishops and archbishops from Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere voiced strong opposition to what they see as the theological drift of parts of the Communion, including the Church of England. Emily Buchanan has been to Abuja and brings reaction from across the Anglican world.
The programme also turns to the war in the Middle East and its religious dimensions. More than a week after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, Emily Buchanan speaks to the Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and to aid workers supporting people displaced by bombing in southern Lebanon.
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Amanda Hancox and Rosie Dawson
Reporter: Bara'atu Ibrahim
Studio managers: Nat Stokes, Paul Lewis and George Willis
Editor: Rajeev Gupta

William Crawley speaks to Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani about US and Israel air strikes on the country she fled as a teenager, when the Islamic revolution was taking place.
He also hears from Iranian academic Roxane Farmanfarmian and Anshel Pfeffer, Israel Correspondent for The Economist.
A new film about a sacred Scottish tradition premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival. 'Psalms of the People' follows Rob MacNeacail on a personal journey as he explores the cultural heritage of Gaelic psalm singing.
The Christian poet Harry Baker has written 100 poems for the first 100 days of his newborn son’s life, an ode to modern fatherhood in all its chaos, tenderness and bleary-eyed wonder. The book is called "Tender: 100 Poems for the First 100 Days of Life".
PRESENTER: WILLIAM CRAWLEY
PRODUCERS: CATHERINE MURRAY AND KATY DAVIS
STUDIO MANAGERS: KELLY YOUNG AND BEN HOUGHTON
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: DAVID BAGULEY
EDITOR: CHLOE WALKER