To be human means to make one’s way toward death. To be human means that one must die. In this world, living means dying. In the case of men, dying is always both a biological event and an event involving the human spirit. -- Benedict XVI

Today, language about man’s pilgrim path, about his homeland in heaven, of earthly tribulation and hope for life beyond death, has become largely a foreign language in the Christian churches. It is only seldom that a sermon dares to look out on the vista of eternal life. -- Christoph Cardinal Schönborn

This Fall we will attempt to avoid this trap by examining exactly what our faith teaches us about life beyond the grave. We will examine the ways in which these doctrines developed first within ancient Judaism and early Christianity and then over the last 2000 years of church history, turning to a wide range of sources, from the earliest parts of the Old Testament to the Church Fathers to contemporary thinkers. We will pay particular attention to the Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, who has done much to convince us that a right understanding and perception of Jesus’ resurrection requires some knowledge of its historical context.

Finally, our Christian hope in resurrection impacts enormously on how we must understand this present life, and how we can best prepare for our own deaths. We will see how our living hope in life after death helps us to see our brief time on earth as a responsible pilgrimage, and we will reiterate the importance of practices such as praying and offering masses for the dead.

We will meet in the Anchor Room on Sunday mornings from 9:30- 10:15am beginning October 12.

For more information please contact
Fr Wall- FrRichardWall@s-clements.org

12th October- Christian Confusion

19th October- Death in Paganism, Judaism & Early Christianity

26th October- Easter

2nd November- The New Creation

We will not meet November 9th.

16th November- The Second Coming & Judgment

23rd November- The Redemption of Our Bodies

30th November- Paradise, Purgatory & Hell

7th December- The Mission of The Church Militant

The accounts of Our Lord’s death and resurrection are full of minor characters, some of whom disappear almost as quickly as they appear but whose actions and roles played significant parts in the history of our salvation.

During this year’s Lent Course we will examine the Passion Narratives from the perspectives of some of these people. As well as discovering what can be known about them historically we will see what glimpse they can give us of the political and social backdrop to the most important events in human history. They will provide valuable entry points into both Scripture and church history and show how their lives can illuminate the world in which we live.

We will meet in the Anchor Room on Sunday mornings from 9:30- 10:15am beginning February 3rd.

For more information please contact
Fr Wall- FrRichardWall@s-clements.org

3rd February- Pontius Pilate

10th February- Mrs Pilate

17th February- Joseph of Arimathea

24th February- Barabbas

2nd March- Peter

9th March- Mary Magdalene

Thank you to all who participated in this course.

From her very beginning the church has been dogged by bitter dispute, division and controversy. Yet, out of these doctrinal disagreements, emerged many of the practices, beliefs and creeds that Christians today hold dear.

Our study course will examine some of the famous heretics of the church, and the ensuing developments and councils. We will also see how many of the best-known heresies are still very much in our midst.

This will serve as an introduction to Early Church History- and, hopefully, show that the unrest the church has suffered in her past can illuminate our present situation.

For (optional) reading to accompany this course we recommend Rebecca Lyman’s excellent introduction to church history: ‘Early Christian Traditions’- available from Amazon priced $10.16.

We will meet in the Anchor Room on Sunday mornings from 9:30- 10:15am, beginning October 21st. Please note that we will not meet November 18th.

For more information please contact
Fr Wall- FrRichardWall@s-clements.org

October 21st- Why does it matter what we believe?

October 28th- Arianism: Can a man really be God?

November 4th- Docetism: Was Jesus really human- or did he just appear to be?

November 11th- Nestorianism: How could Mary be the Mother of God?

November 25th- Marcionism: Why don’t we just forget about the Old Testament?

December 2nd- Pelagianism: Can human beings save themselves?

December 9th- Gnosticism: Salvation through secret knowledge.

Thank you to all who participated in this course.