The Recollection Lecture Series at Pusey House
Trinity 2016 Schedule
Wednesdays of 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th
From 2:00 till 3:00 pm, followed by questions, and tea at 3:30 pm.
The aim of the series is to provide an intensive introduction to some of the key periods, characters and ideas of Christian history.
27 April, 1st week – ‘Lancelot Andrewes Per Aurem’, Professor Peter McCullough, Professor of English and Tutorial Fellow, Lincoln College
11 May, 3rd week – Untangling Donne's 'Knottie Trinitie', Mr Paul Oliver, author of Donne's Religious Writing
25 May, 5th week – Charles Simeon of Cambridge: A Ministry of Word and Prayer, The Rev’d Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford
8 June, 7th week – John V Taylor, The Rev’d Dr Tim Naish, Dean of the Oxford Ministry Course and Missiology Lecturer, Ripon College Cuddesdon
Trinity 2016 Schedule
Wednesdays of 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th
From 2:00 till 3:00 pm, followed by questions, and tea at 3:30 pm.
The aim of the series is to provide an intensive introduction to some of the key periods, characters and ideas of Christian history.
27 April, 1st week – ‘Lancelot Andrewes Per Aurem’, Professor Peter McCullough, Professor of English and Tutorial Fellow, Lincoln College
11 May, 3rd week – Untangling Donne's 'Knottie Trinitie', Mr Paul Oliver, author of Donne's Religious Writing
25 May, 5th week – Charles Simeon of Cambridge: A Ministry of Word and Prayer, The Rev’d Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford
8 June, 7th week – John V Taylor, The Rev’d Dr Tim Naish, Dean of the Oxford Ministry Course and Missiology Lecturer, Ripon College Cuddesdon
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27 April, 1st week – ‘Lancelot Andrewes Per Aurem’, Professor Peter McCullough, Professor of English and Tutorial Fellow, Lincoln College
In last year’s Recollection Lecture series, Prof McCullough gave an overview of the life and preaching style of the Jacobean bishop, Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626). In it he stressed the need to consider Andrewes’ preaching, theology, and unique prose style in its contemporary context, and to be alert to how his later admirers – Laudians, Tractarians, T S Eliot – used Andrewes’ legacy for their own purposes. Close reading of a passage from a Christmas sermon also drew out rhetorical strategies in Andrewes that have either become neglected or are more difficult for moderns to understand: his multilingualism, his use of irony, and his subtle use of Patristics. This prompted a request for an opportunity to engage more with Andrewes’ texts. To accommodate that, and to illustrate the benefits of encountering Andrewes’ sermons as they were intended – through listening ears, not reading eyes - Prof McCullough will this year give a very brief introduction to an Andrewes Easter sermon, with a few pointers about what one might listen for, and then deliver that sermon in its entirety, leaving 30-40 minutes for questions and discussion of what attendees have heard and wish to explore further. Texts will be distributed after the delivery of the sermon for use in discussion, but attendees may – like good early moderns – like to come prepared to take notes on the aural impressions felt during it.
11 May, 3rd week - Untangling Donne's 'Knottie Trinitie': Mr Paul Oliver, author of Donne's Religious Writing and editor of the Carcanet/Routledge edition of Donne's letters.
Mr Oliver will outline the distinctive features of the trinitarian teaching of arguably the greatest preacher of the reign of James I. He will argue that Donne's treatment of the Holy Spirit, in particular, is evidence that he had a powerful and highly original theological imagination.
25 May, 5th week - Charles Simeon of Cambridge: A Ministry of Word and Prayer, The Rev’d Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford
Charles Simeon (1759-1836) spent 54 years as vicar of Holy Trinity in Cambridge. His early years were marked by intense opposition, but by the end of his ministry he was widely admired for his piety and powerful preaching. As a discipler of men, trainer of future clergy (in the days before theological colleges) and pioneer of the modern missionary movement, he had an incalculable impact on the Church of England and what became known as the Anglican Communion. This talk will seek to understand the nature of that influence and its enduring power today.
8 June, 7th week – John V Taylor - The Missionary Life, The Rev’d Dr Tim Naish, Dean of the Oxford Ministry Course and Missiology Lecturer, Ripon College Cuddesdon
John Vernon Taylor (1914-2001) worked in theological education in Africa, and was General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society and then Bishop of Winchester. He is regarded by many as one of the more remarkable figures of the Church of England, in the 20th century, not so much as an ecclesiastical statesman (though he was for a time Chair of the Doctrine Commission) as for his visionary thinking and writing. His main works, The Go-Between God and The Christlike God, continue to stir hearts and minds through their combination of poetic imagination and clear thinking. Dr Naish will focus on Taylor’s integration of the missionary impulse into a coherent and attractive portrayal of Christian life.
In last year’s Recollection Lecture series, Prof McCullough gave an overview of the life and preaching style of the Jacobean bishop, Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626). In it he stressed the need to consider Andrewes’ preaching, theology, and unique prose style in its contemporary context, and to be alert to how his later admirers – Laudians, Tractarians, T S Eliot – used Andrewes’ legacy for their own purposes. Close reading of a passage from a Christmas sermon also drew out rhetorical strategies in Andrewes that have either become neglected or are more difficult for moderns to understand: his multilingualism, his use of irony, and his subtle use of Patristics. This prompted a request for an opportunity to engage more with Andrewes’ texts. To accommodate that, and to illustrate the benefits of encountering Andrewes’ sermons as they were intended – through listening ears, not reading eyes - Prof McCullough will this year give a very brief introduction to an Andrewes Easter sermon, with a few pointers about what one might listen for, and then deliver that sermon in its entirety, leaving 30-40 minutes for questions and discussion of what attendees have heard and wish to explore further. Texts will be distributed after the delivery of the sermon for use in discussion, but attendees may – like good early moderns – like to come prepared to take notes on the aural impressions felt during it.
11 May, 3rd week - Untangling Donne's 'Knottie Trinitie': Mr Paul Oliver, author of Donne's Religious Writing and editor of the Carcanet/Routledge edition of Donne's letters.
Mr Oliver will outline the distinctive features of the trinitarian teaching of arguably the greatest preacher of the reign of James I. He will argue that Donne's treatment of the Holy Spirit, in particular, is evidence that he had a powerful and highly original theological imagination.
25 May, 5th week - Charles Simeon of Cambridge: A Ministry of Word and Prayer, The Rev’d Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford
Charles Simeon (1759-1836) spent 54 years as vicar of Holy Trinity in Cambridge. His early years were marked by intense opposition, but by the end of his ministry he was widely admired for his piety and powerful preaching. As a discipler of men, trainer of future clergy (in the days before theological colleges) and pioneer of the modern missionary movement, he had an incalculable impact on the Church of England and what became known as the Anglican Communion. This talk will seek to understand the nature of that influence and its enduring power today.
8 June, 7th week – John V Taylor - The Missionary Life, The Rev’d Dr Tim Naish, Dean of the Oxford Ministry Course and Missiology Lecturer, Ripon College Cuddesdon
John Vernon Taylor (1914-2001) worked in theological education in Africa, and was General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society and then Bishop of Winchester. He is regarded by many as one of the more remarkable figures of the Church of England, in the 20th century, not so much as an ecclesiastical statesman (though he was for a time Chair of the Doctrine Commission) as for his visionary thinking and writing. His main works, The Go-Between God and The Christlike God, continue to stir hearts and minds through their combination of poetic imagination and clear thinking. Dr Naish will focus on Taylor’s integration of the missionary impulse into a coherent and attractive portrayal of Christian life.