The Koinonia Lectures

The Koinonia lectures, co-organised by Westminster Abbey, the Diocese of London, and St Paul’s Cathedral, offer an opportunity to engage with the latest research from a wide range of theological and ecclesiological thinkers.

The programme draws on distinguished speakers from international and ecumenical contexts and explores a diverse range of topics.

There are four online lectures and two in-person lectures, one at St Paul’s and one at Westminster Abbey, each season. Each comprises a 45-minute presentation followed by a question and answer session.

Everyone is welcome to attend the events, which are free of charge, but booking is essential.


Upcoming lectures

Speaking of Human Flourishing

Thursday 17th October, 1pm

Join us for the first of this term’s online seminar talks. Our October seminar will feature Nadia Marais, a Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa.

Making Deification Real - the Goal of Christian Life in Eastern Christianity

Tuesday 12th November, 1pm

Join us for the first of this term’s online seminar talks. Our November seminar will feature Paul Gavrilyuk, who is the Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy in the Theology Department of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Previous lectures

Watch a range of previous lectures below.

Malines: Continuing the Conversations

The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, the Reverend Professor Thomas Pott and the Reverend Dr Jamie Hawkey discuss the work of the Malines Conversation Group - an international group of Anglican and Catholic scholars - and how we might work towards unity between and within the churches. 

Watch: Malines: Continuing the Conversations

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Becoming a synodal Church, a call to foster ecumenism

Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ is a French Catholic religious sister and Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, Rome. In this lecture she will reflect on the Synod of the Catholic Church, ‘For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission’, its themes, its potential, and its call to the whole Church.

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Religious imaginings of the future in a time of crisis

Global conflicts, the rise of authoritarian regimes and the Covid-19 pandemic have all contributed to a sense that our world is facing darker times. But it is the climate crisis that most overturns the optimistic ideas about the future that dominated Western thought at the end of the twentieth century. Into this crisis of “Western secular eschatology” have emerged numerous religious imaginings of the future. Some are sectarian and apocalyptic, contributing to the escalation of the crises. But others inspire hope and creativity for collaborative responses to our shared global challenges.

Watch the Religious imaginings lecture

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About the speaker

James Walters is the founding director of the Faith Centre at the London School of Economics and LSE Religion and Global Society. He is a Professor in Practice in the LSE International Relations Department and chaplain to the School.

The Revolutionary Children of God: Cultivating a Faith that Creates Communion

Willie Jennings' explores the question 'who are my people?' and considers theological issues of belonging for Christians with The Reverend Dr James Hawkey.

Watch the lecture

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 You can find recordings of the other lectures in the 2022 - 2023 Koinonia Lectures series on YouTube.