The Koinonia Lectures

The Koinonia lectures 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.

Each lecture 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

William Blake: the Christian mystic who speaks to us now

Friday 20th June, 1.00pm

Join us as Dr Mark Vernon, a psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest, follows the golden string that William Blake said he places in our hands and which leads to heaven’s gate, built in Jerusalem’s wall. Blake is one of the most important post-reformation mystics, in Vernon’s view, as well as a figure with a penetrating mind who enjoyed everyday encounters with spiritual beings like angels. His vivid writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life lead us to what he called Jesus the imagination and pathways to Eternity - a worldview formed in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature.

Places are free, but should be booked in advance.

Previous lectures

Watch a range of previous lectures from 2024 and 2025.

The ‘Ecumenism of Blood’ in a multicultural context – a reflection on Nigeria’s situation

Monday 17th March, 1.00pm

The Abbey's inaugural Commonwealth Theologian in Residence, the Reverend Dr Ishaya Anthony, reflects on the ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Applying concepts of human dignity, neighbourly love, and religious solidarity, his lecture explores what Pope Francis has called the 'ecumenism of blood' in Nigeria's multicultural and multireligious context.

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Christian Witness in a Crisis-Shaped World

Monday 13th January, 1.00pm

Between climate change, an unequal economic system, and widespread human migration, human societies are under stress and strain like never before. And just at the moment when the world needs to hear good news, many people perceive the church as too old, tired, or out-of-touch to respond.

Watch as Jesse Zink discusses the nature of Christian witness in our changing and challenging times.

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

Watch Paul Gavrilyuk, Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy in the Theology Department of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, discuss the goal of Christian life.

Koinonia lecture

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Speaking of Human Flourishing

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.