University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford
Newman as Preacher
In the summer of 1824, John Henry Newman preached his very first sermon shortly after being ordained as a deacon. He would go on to preach myriad sermons of enduring value. Generations of Christians have been and continue to be nourished by both his Parochial and Plain Sermons and University Sermons, as well as sermons from his Roman Catholic period.
Two-hundred years later, we gather together not only to commemorate the beginning of St. Newman’s preaching ministry, but also to explore and reflect on the wider topic of “Newman as Preacher” at the very churches in which he preached. This intimate, on-site conference features *three public keynote lectures, one each at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (Oxford), St Mary and St Nicholas Church (Littlemore), and St Clement’s Church (Oxford)—in addition to spiritually enriching programming for selected attendees.
Please note that we do not have a typical registration page, since these keynote lectures are open to the public thanks to the generosity of our colleagues and partner institutions. Please visit the church websites for more information.
Monday, 16 September 2024 at 14:15
University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford
Eamon Duffy, "Newman in the University Pulpit - 'the management of hearts'"
Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 14:30
St. Mary and St. Nicholas Church, Littlemore
Benjamin King, "Preaching the Church Fathers for Good or for Ill"
Wednesday, 18 September 2024 at 14:30
St. Clement's Church, Oxford
Kenneth L. Parker, "An Earnest Evangelical: The Beginnings of John Henry Newman's Preaching Ministry"
Newman in the University Pulpit - “the management of hearts”
Eamon Duffy FSA FBA KSG
Professor of the History of Christianity
University of Cambridge
Eamon Duffy FSA FBA KSG is an Irish historian. He is a professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former president of Magdalene College. Professor Duffy's research and teaching interests centre on the history of late medieval and early-modern popular religious belief and practice, on Christian art and material culture, on the history of the English Roman Catholic community, and on the history of the papacy.
Lecture will be held at University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford
Preaching the Church Fathers for Good or for Ill
Rev. Dr. Benjamin King
Duncalf-Villavoso Professor of Church History
Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, TX
John Henry Newman won renown in his own day as a brilliant preacher because his exposition of Scripture was clear and compelling. In his published sermons, Newman did not reveal the theologians upon whom he depended. But his unpublished sermons allow us to see his workings. This lecture will argue that his sermons depended on the exposition of Scripture by the Church Fathers, who were responsible for both the richness of his theology and some of the ways in which he is vulnerable to criticism today.
Dr Benjamin King is the Duncalf-Villavoso Professor of Church History, Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, TX. He is the author of two books and co-editor of two more, all on Newman and published by Oxford University Press. His first book, Newman and the Alexandrian Fathers, won a Templeton Award for Theological Promise. The second is due out in January 2025 and is titled The Oxford Movement and the People of God: Enslavement, Education, and Empire. He is co-editor of Receptions of Newman and The Oxford Handbook of John Henry Newman. He has lectured internationally on related topics.
Dr King was ordained in the Church of England in 2000 and now serves as a priest in the Episcopal Church in the USA.
Lecture will be held at St. Mary and St. Nicholas Church, Littlemore
An Earnest Evangelical: The Beginnings of John Henry Newman's Preaching Ministry
Kenneth L. Parker
Editor, Newman Studies Journal
Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies
Duquesne University
John Henry Newman's early preaching ministry was an apprenticeship in the craft of effective communication from the pulpit. This lecture examines how his service as deacon at St Clements parish shaped his earliest efforts to preach effectively and influence the lives of parishioners in Oxford's poorest district in the early 1820s.
Kenneth Parker completed his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 1984, under the direction of Professor Eamon Duffy. His research interest in John Henry Newman began during his post-doctoral studies at the University of Fribourg in the late 1980s. Dr. Parker has taught at the University of Alabama and Westmont College, and served in the historical theology Ph.D. program at Saint Louis University for twenty-five years. In 2014, the College of Arts and Sciences at SLU named him the Steber Professor in Theological Studies. While serving as interim executive director of the National Institute for Newman Studies in 2017, Professor Parker was invited to take up the Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies at Duquesne University. He is the author or editor of seven volumes and numerous essays and articles. He has served as Editor of the Newman Studies Journal since 2016.
Lecture will be held at St. Clement's Church, Oxford