Confession: The Church’s Gift to the World?
‘The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit,
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, shalt thou not despise.’ (Ps. 51:17)
Wednesday 25th – Thursday 26th February 2026
This colloquium will gather an ecumenical array of speakers to consider some of the challenges and contemporary issues that are being faced today in the ministry of hearing confessions.
Overview
Confession is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the sacraments. It is a new beginning, a means of renewing one’s hope for eternal glory, and of encountering again the forgiveness of the Father. Although the practice and theology of confession have varied among the different traditions of the universal church, and yet there is enough in common for Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox Christians to be united in cherishing the same gift. This colloquium will gather an ecumenical array of speakers from these different traditions to consider some of the challenges and contemporary issues that are being faced by parishes today in the ministry of hearing confessions. This will include, among other concerns, how confession relates to the commitment to safeguarding and the protection of the vulnerable, to the inviolability of the seal, and to the wider significance of confession in a culture that preaches tolerance without practicing forgiveness.
The Conference includes a public lecture at 4pm on Wednesday. Tea and coffee will be served in the Hood Room from 3:15pm.
SPeakers
Speakers include:
The Rev'd Fr Peter Anthony (All Saints, Margaret St).
The Rev'd Fr Philip Corbett (St. Silas, Kentish Town)
The Very Rev'd Fr Stephen Platt (St. Nicholas, Oxford)
The Rev'd Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith (Oxford Oratory)
Lord Biggar of Castle Douglas (Oxford)
The Rev'd Fr Stephen Coleman (Cardiff)
The Rev'd Dr Joanna Collicutt (Oxford).
The Rev'd Fr Nicholas Crowe (Blackfriars Hall)
The Rev'd Fr Ben Jefferies.
Tickets
