Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, looks at three piece of contemporary fiction to explore how they descibe the religious person and how within those stories there is a portrayal of holiness. This is first of the two Firth Lectures in the University for 2016. The Firth Memorial Lectureship was founded by the Reverend John d’ewe Evelyn Firth in memory of his father, John Benjamin Firth, Historian of Nottingham and his mother Helena Gertrude Firth. The lecturer is appointed biennially by the Council of the University on the recommendation of the Senate of the University, and under the terms of the Trust the lecturer delivers a public lecture or lectures on some aspect of the Christian Faith in relation to contemporary problems.The first person to hold the Lectureship was the renowned theologian Paul Tillich and there has been a series of eminent theologians and philosophers who have included among others Baroness Warnock and Professor Jϋrgen Moltmann. Previous Firth Lectures from the University of Nottingham Firth Lectures 2014 Lecture 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd9434IaYno&nohtml5=False Lecture 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXyqMb0ocXI Firth Lectures 2012 Lecture 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmmRsvIfEVI Lecture 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=964E9fGfRpQ&nohtml5=False