The referendum may have rent the country asunder like no other issue in recent memory, but there are significant resonances with events in the past. Almost 500 years ago, in a sixteenth-century version of Article 50, Britain made a break from Europe, declaring the King – rather than the Pope – Supreme Head of the English Church.

The split did not end the story. In the turmoil that followed, ‘fake news’ spread, families were divided and blood was shed.

However, an attempt was made to find a peaceable solution. In this brief but powerful book, Graham Tomlin draws on that history to remind us of the age-old political and spiritual task of harmonizing past and future, identity and openness, the local and the universal. The events of the last three years have shown how polarization can affect even those who are naturally generous and accommodating; the challenge of rising above division, of loving our neighbours – and even our enemies – has never been greater for us all.