The Keene Lectures return for an autumn series reflecting on the history and the future of the Church of England.
Titled 'Will there be a Church of England after 2034? A short history 1534 – 2034, from the Act of Supremacy to today' these four lectures led by Revd Canon Dr Canon Nicholas Cranfield we will look at the broad history from the gradual establishment of the Church of England to the present and ask, ‘Will there be a Church of England in ten years’ time?’
Canon Nicholas Cranfield has been vicar of Blackheath All Saints’ in Southeast London for twenty five years. He has been a regular arts correspondent for the Church Times for more than thirty years and writes widely on Art and Sacred Space. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
The lectures will take place during October and November in the Cathedral on the dates below.
Tuesday 8th October: ‘‘A done deal’ Henry VIII and the Break with Rome’
Tuesday 29th October: ‘The spread of the Reformation and civil war in the age of Shakespeare and of Pepys’
Tuesday 5th November: ‘The Long century 1685 – 1829’
Tuesday 19th November: ‘Disestablishment and the Anglican Communion’
Each evening will start at 7pm. The talks will last for 40 minutes, there will be a tea break of 20 minutes to submit questions, and the evenings will finish at 8.30pm. Everyone is welcome.
The Keene Lectures discuss contemporary theological issues and are delivered annually in Chelmsford Cathedral. They take their name from John Henry Keene, a prominent citizen of Chelmsford, in whose memory a fund was established to bring distinguished speakers to Chelmsford for this purpose.