Author: stefan

The Greatest Gift

Post author By stefan
Post date March 3, 2021

A Journey of Salvation: The Drama Displayed
#4 The Greatest Gift

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:

God’s approach to us as Son and Redeemer, in the person of Jesus Christ, is the pivotal point of human history. Several artistic pieces are examined to aid in a reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation and of our Redemption.

About the speaker:

Dr Caroline Farey has taught catechesis, theology and philosophy for many years throughout the English-speaking world. She has held several important positions, having also been appointed by the Vatican as one of the lay experts at the Synod on the New Evangelisation. She has a passion for Sacred Art, which she has long made use of in her teaching. For more information about Dr Farey’s current work, please click here.

CHC acquires Caldecott Library

Post author By stefan
Post date March 2, 2021

2nd March 2021

The CHC blog

Stratford Caldecott's library finds a home at the CHC

Stefan Kaminski

The Christian Heritage Centre is very pleased to announce its acquisition of Stratford Caldecott’s personal library, which will find a home at Theodore House and form the backbone of the CHC’s own library.

Stratford Caldecott is a name much-loved by many students, scholars and writers both in the Catholic world and without. Referred to as “the most powerful voice for Catholic culture in the Anglophone world”, Stratford found his way to Catholicism from an agnostic background and by way of several Eastern religions. His conversion was helped along by his realisation that the stories which had shaped his youth were all built on a Christian worldview. These particularly included C.S. Lewis’ and J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.

Apart from teaching at Oxford, his own alma mater, Stratford set up the Centre for Faith and Culture with his wife Leonie, as well as establishing the Second Spring movement with her. He served on the boards of Communio, The Chesterton Review and the Catholic Truth Society, as well as editing Magnificat, Humanum and the Second Spring journal. He wrote and published widely on Christian apologetics, theology, and cultural themes.

Stratford sadly passed away in May 2014 after a long battle with cancer, though the work of the Second Spring movement very much continues under the guiding hands of Leonie and of Tessa Caldecott Cialini. Following his death, Leonie moved house and has been keen to find a good home for the Stratford’s library.

“This is an historic opportunity for the CHC. Strat is an incredibly important figure in the history of contemporary Catholicism in the UK (and beyond) and contributed to the kinds of initiatives so dear to the CHC,” says Dr Rebekah Lamb, a Trustee of the charity. Rebekah was greatly influenced by Stratford, having attended his Second Spring summer school, and she now lectures in Theology, Imagination and the Arts at St Andrews.

“Buried a stone’s throw from his beloved Tolkien, Strat was crucial to helping direct (if not inaugurate) substantive scholarship on the positive influence Catholicism had on the literary greats of modernity and is responsible for collecting and, for a time, housing the Chesterton archive which is now under the curatorship of the University of Notre Dame (at its London Global Gateway).

He was a deep reader, thinker, and committed Catholic as passionate about Catholic Social Teaching as he was about formation, the gift of the Eucharist, and authentic inter-religious dialogue.

When he passed away seven years ago, he left behind countless friends and fellow scholars from around the globe who saw in him not only a thinker of penetrating insights informed by a deep life of prayer but also a mentor and friend.”

Housing his personal collection will not only serve as a benefit for those who take part in events with the CHC. It will also provide insight for scholars who wish to gain a deeper insight into Strat as thinker–after all, you can judge a scholar by his bookshelves!

Stratford’s library includes not only a breadth of important philosophical and theological volumes stretching from the Fathers of the Church to the 20^th century, but also a collection of important writings from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, as well as a library of writings by Lewis, Tolkien and other of the Inklings. A complete set of the Chesterton Review is also present.

Tags Library

Clergy Events

Pastoral Practice Today [clergy webinars]

Post author By stefan
Post date February 24, 2021

Pastoral Practice Today
[clergy webinars]

Thursdays @4pm GMT

Pastoral Practice Today is a series of webinars aimed at clergy. The series offers input on different themes relevant to today’s ministry in the Catholic Church and beyond, aiming to offer clergy professional, ongoing support for their ministry.

Webinars take place at 4pm GMT on the advertised Thursdays. Please register at the bottom of this page.

Legislation and Liturgy: Church- State relationships in the light of the pandemic

Thursday 18th March

Bishop John Keenan, of Paisley Diocese, Scotland, will offer an introduction to this webinar.

Lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom International will then examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the government’s relationship with the Church. In particular, the issue of corporate worship and the administration of the sacraments stands at the heart of debate over religious rights and the government’s mandate to protect public health.

ADFI is a faith-based legal advocacy organization that protects fundamental freedoms and promotes the inherent dignity of all people. ADFI has considerable international experience of religious and civil liberties legislation, and has assisted with several legal proceedings related to the current pandemic.

Post-Abortion Healing

Thursday 15th April

Rachel’s Vineyard has been offering a ministry of healing and support since 1994 to
those suffering from the trauma of abortion.

The presentation will include how to recognise symptoms of Post Abortion Syndrome, testimonies from those who have been through the trauma of abortion and found God’s mercy and healing
though Rachel’s Vineyard, plus input from a priest who is a chaplain to one of the teams in the UK.

A Crisis of Identity and Sexual Difference

Thursday 22nd July

The notion of identity is, today, one that is increasingly liquid and ultimately considered to be uncertain. This presentation will examine the roots of this crisis of identity. It will then consider the area of human sexuality (in terms of sexual and gender identity) as a particular expression of our identity and therefore in its relation to this crisis.

Rev. Dr. Alberto Frigero is a priest of the Diocese of Milan and Assistant Professor of Ethics of Life at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Milan and lecturer of Religion at the Professional Training Center “In-Presa” in Carate Brianza, Italy. He graduated in Medicine and Surgery and obtained a Master in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He obtained his Licentiate and Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Theological John Paul II Institute in Rome and Washington.

Admission is free. We kindly request a donation to support the costs of our activities.

Please register below:

Events Talks

Lenten Monday Mysteries [prayer meetings]

Post author By stefan
Post date February 19, 2021

Lenten Monday Mysteries
[prayer meetings]

22nd February- 22nd March @8pm

A short, weekly meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries

A simple way of taking on some extra prayer for Lent!

Each meeting will focus on one of the Sorrowful Mysteries, and will consist of a passage from Scripture, followed by a meditation on the passage, and conclude with the praying of a decade of the rosary.

22nd February

Christ’s Agony in the Garden

1st March

Christ Scourged at the Pillar

8th March

Christ Crowned with Thorns

15th March

Christ Carries His Cross

22nd March

Christ is Crucified

Please register below:

Media Video

Thinking Christianity & Mental Health

Post author By stefan
Post date February 18, 2021

Integrating Spirit, Mind & Body [mental health webinars]
#1 Thinking Christianity & Mental Health

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:

Building on the fundamental Christian vision of the human person as a unity of soul and body, Olivia Raw examines the healthy attitudes and mindsets that are promoted by Christian wisdom and spirituality.

About the speaker:

Olivia Raw is an accredited and registered psychotherapist, who currently works in private practice in central London. She is also a Catholic Chaplain at University College London and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies.) Olivia has worked with young people for over twenty years, and is also on the international board of the World Youth Alliance. She is a lay member of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.