‘Nothing less than Christ will do. We are to be imitators of Christ.’

Lying behind the modern democratic political system is a shadow structure that acknowledges the Sovereignty of Christ. The Dean said it was an important question how far elected politicians and we personally acknowledge in practice God’s Sovereignty.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, Nick Spencer, author of Darwin and God, delivers the 2009 Gore lecture, tracing Darwin's religious biography and asking what we can learn from this most courteous and humane of scientists.

In his All Souls’ Day sermon, the Dean faces the inevitable truth that we shall all die and asks us to be prepared for our own death.

On the Abbey’s dedication festival, the Dean identified the ultimate purpose of the Abbey as to give greater glory to God. That test must be applied to the Abbey’s daily life and work and to any proposed changes.

Great Man of Letters

A special evening of Samuel Johnson readings on the 300th anniversary year of the birth of Dr Johnson. In association with the Johnson Society of London.

Readers: Lance Pierson, Karin Fernald, Michael Bundock and David Nokes

Introduced by: The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky

Preaching on the 740th anniversary of the relics of St Edward the Confessor being enshrined behind the Abbey’s high altar, the Dean of Westminster spoke of the saint’s remains uniting Christians and pointing us to heaven.

Professor Richard Carwardine gave a lecture in St Margaret's Church on Tuesday 7 July to mark the 200th anniversary year of Abraham Lincoln's birth.

In his Easter 2009 sermon in Westminster Abbey, the Dean spoke of the contrast between the solemnity of Holy Week and the joy of Easter, between the reality of suffering and the joy of new life. Christians, he said, need to live and work on both sides of the contrast.