From the earliest years of Christianity to the present day, the practice of silent prayer is where many have sought, and found, the presence of God. But it is not always as simple as it sounds. Richard Carter was for many years a member of the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands where silence was a daily part of the spiritual life of the community. In London he is the founder and leader of the Nazareth Community where contemplative prayer is the basis for their contemporary rule of lif...
Mar 28, 2023•36 min
Professor John Barton, one of the great Biblical scholars of our time, introduces his bestselling book The History of the Bible, the culmination of a lifetime’s work. He explores the Bible’s long evolution, how much good translations matter, and what contemporary scholarship reveals about the Bible, including how as contemporary Christians we understand its place at the heart of our faith. The Revd Professor John Barton is the Oriel & Laing Emeritus Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Sc...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 26 min
From the writers of the psalms 3,000 years ago to our own prayers in church every Sunday, faithful people have prayed to God to bring justice to the earth, and yet terrible suffering and injustice continue in every part of the world. Why doesn’t God answer our prayers? Selina Stone has wrestled with this question through many years working at the front line of injustice as a community organiser. She reflects personally and theologically about the question of prayer and its relationship to a tran...
Mar 14, 2023•25 min
As we prepare to open a new exhibition to mark the 300th anniversary of his death, it seems an apt time to ask, who was Sir Christopher Wren? He was an astronomer, scientist and geometrician – but later in life would become known as the greatest architect of his time. This episode explores Wren’s life, work, legacy – and impressive body of work. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.
Mar 02, 2023•7 min
The handouts referred to in this talk can be found at https://www.stpauls.co.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/DYNAMIC%20OF%20SPEXX%20DIAGRAM.docx and https://www.stpauls.co.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/GS%20ST.%20PAUL%27S%20QUOTATIONS.docx St Ignatius was a rare and gifted teacher of prayer. Breathtakingly free in his approach to prayer and extraordinarily modern in his understanding of human psychology, his insights have offered a way for countless people to be in touch with God’s limitless des...
Feb 28, 2023•47 min
When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, the Lord’s Prayer was his answer. Paula Gooder says that what Jesus gave the disciples was not just a single prayer but a set of guidelines for prayer itself. He was teaching them – and is teaching us – how to live a life of prayer formed by faith, hope and love, aligned with God’s desire for our own flourishing and a world full of justice. (A note on the talk from Dr Gooder: 'After the talk I realised that I had forgotten to say something I ...
Feb 20, 2023•53 min
The presentation referred to in this lecture can be accessed at https://www.stpauls.co.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/GD_Koinonia%20Lecture%2C%20St%20Paul%27s_0.pdf An academic seminar presenting the latest research from Grace Davie. 'Searching questions, abundant data, partial answers' with Grace Davie is part of the Koinonia lectures for 2022-23, co-organised by the Diocese of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, offering an opportunity to engage with the latest research from a w...
Feb 06, 2023•34 min
What may come as a surprise to some is the fact that St Paul's has its very own Library, which will be reopening in spring 2023 following a four-year conservation and restoration project – the very first in its history. Discover our Library’s fascinating history and just some of the treasures it contains. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.
Jan 18, 2023•6 min
Br Guy Consolmagno says that science is an important way to get to know God. In this conversation with Paula Gooder about Br Guy’s role as director of the Vatican Observatory, they explore what meteorites tell us about God; why science and faith are more compatible than people imagine and the importance of story-telling to both science and religion. Thinking of the season of Epiphany, they also touch on the Magi and what star they might have seen at the time of Jesus’ birth. Br Guy Consolmagno i...
Jan 06, 2023•40 min
St Paul’s at Christmas: Is there any better place to enjoy the festive season? In 1924, you may have been forgiven for answering – perhaps. Alarmingly on Christmas Eve of that year, the Cathedral was served with a Dangerous Structures Notice amid fears the Dome might collapse. Discover what happened that fateful Christmas, and the scale of the project that became known as the Great Restoration. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.
Dec 21, 2022•10 min
Lucy Winkett and Paula Gooder explore the pleasures, difficulties, and meanings of Christmas in good times and in bad. From Mary to the song of the Angels, to favourite carols and how hard it can be when the world seems to be celebrating without you, they explore the great and beautiful truth at the heart of it all: that God is with us. The Revd Lucy Winkett is Rector of St James’s Piccadilly, and a writer, musician and broadcaster who is a regular contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. H...
Dec 06, 2022•47 min
The handout of images referred to in this talk can be downloaded at https://www.stpauls.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-11/Hildegard%20image%20handout.pdf Hildegard was a composer, healer, preacher, theologian, mystic and visionary: a woman of her time and out of her time. Born in the 11th century, she was the founder and Abbess of a community of Benedictine nuns in the Rhineland, and her extraordinary range of writing includes revolutionary thinking about medicine, music, the Trinity, the interd...
Dec 01, 2022•39 min
An academic seminar presenting the latest research from Esther Mombo and Adera Godfrey. 'Reading against the grain as a hermeneutic of the margins: Post Lambeth 22 reflections in the Context of violence’ with Professor Esther Mombo and The Reverend Godfrey Adera is part of the Koinonia lectures for 2022-23, co-organised by the Diocese of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, offering an opportunity to engage with the latest research from a wide range of theological and ecclesiologic...
Nov 28, 2022•56 min
Anthony Reddie introduces the life and work of James H. Cone, one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, and explores his no-holds-barred liberationist Christian theology.
Nov 24, 2022•47 min
In the Crypt of St Paul’s can be found a memorial to Florence Nightingale by artist Arthur George Walker. Depicted tending to a wounded soldier, the words inscribed above read, ‘Blessed are the merciful.’ Discover more about Nightingale’s life and work in nursing reform, as well as a pioneering statistician, and her legacy as the founder of modern nursing. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.
Nov 17, 2022•6 min
Paul of Tarsus is perhaps the most famous convert in Christianity. His dramatic encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus changed his life completely, turning him from a fierce persecutor of the new cult of Christianity to its passionate leader. A powerful personality and a visionary theologian, his letters are the foundational documents of the new church. Paula Gooder explores who St Paul really was and what drove him, including how formative his background in Tarsus and as a Pharisee was. ...
Nov 08, 2022•39 min
The psalms contain some of the most beautiful lines in Scripture, lines that inspire and comfort us when we need them most. They draw us into a life of prayer and praise and have been the prayerbook of the church, and often its hymnbook too, for 2,000 years. Jesus himself knew them and prayed them. And they are profoundly honest about what human life is really like, from the heights to the depths. They take us on a rollercoaster of emotions, from joy to anguish, praise to fury, torment to a plac...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 15 min
If you direct your gaze upwards, the world can appear a very different and beautiful place. The mosaics of St Paul’s are a perfect case in point! Artist and mosaicist William Blake Richmond had been in discussions about the interior decoration of the Cathedral since 1874, but it wasn’t until 1890 that he had developed a scheme of designs for the ceilings of the Quire and Apse. Discover the inspiration and story of the mosaics that transformed the spaces they adorn with sparkling, vibrant colour....
Oct 13, 2022•5 min
Please find the handout that the speaker refers to at https://www.stpauls.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-10/Augustine%20of%20Hippo%20handout.pdf Cally Hammond introduces Augustine of Hippo, his life story, his most famous book Confessions, and his ways of prayer. She also explores why she thinks his difficult reputation is wrong, why he matters today and how he can be a teacher and a companion to us in our lives of faith.
Oct 12, 2022•30 min
6. Connection and Information by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•2 min
5. Scars and Healing by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•2 min
4. Hope and Replenishment by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•2 min
3. Growing and Changing by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•4 min
2. Peace, Prosperity and Hospitality by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•3 min
1. Introduction by St Paul's Cathedral
Oct 05, 2022•2 min
An academic seminar entitled 'Contemplation in the city: some modern approaches to prayer in the urban landscape' in which Rowan Williams talks about about Madeleine Delbrêl. Part of the Koinonia lectures for 2022-23, co-organised by the Diocese of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, which offer an opportunity to engage with the latest research from a wide range of theological and ecclesiological thinkers.
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr
Biblical scholar Paula Gooder says that stories and storytelling make all the difference to our understanding of the New Testament. In this conversation with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley she talks about her new book Lydia, her second narrative exploration of a woman in the early church, which opens up life as a Christian in first-century Philippi and Paul’s letter to the new church there. They explore why she chose to write about Lydia, the honour and shame culture in the first century and how much ...
Sep 27, 2022•48 min
An invitation to pause and reflect. In November 2021 we held a daytime retreat for those who are active in serving their local communities in the name of Christ: those who are championing social action and social justice. Run as a partnership between St Paul's Adult Learning and Compassionate Communities, part of the Diocese of London, and led by Antonia Lynn, an experienced spiritual director and practitioner of the Spiritual Exercises in daily life. Go to https://www.stpauls.co.uk/resources/in...
Sep 02, 2022•20 min
An invitation to pause and reflect. In November 2021 we held a daytime retreat for those who are active in serving their local communities in the name of Christ: those who are championing social action and social justice. Run as a partnership between St Paul's Adult Learning and Compassionate Communities, part of the Diocese of London, and led by Antonia Lynn, an experienced spiritual director and practitioner of the Spiritual Exercises in daily life. Go to https://www.stpauls.co.uk/resources/in...
Sep 02, 2022•18 min
An invitation to pause and reflect. In November 2021 we held a daytime retreat for those who are active in serving their local communities in the name of Christ: those who are championing social action and social justice. Run as a partnership between St Paul's Adult Learning and Compassionate Communities, part of the Diocese of London, and led by Antonia Lynn, an experienced spiritual director and practitioner of the Spiritual Exercises in daily life. Go to https://www.stpauls.co.uk/resources/in...
Sep 02, 2022•16 min
