Christian Tradition

Peter McCullough

‘Jesus Wept’: A Sermon by John Donne
Lincoln College: Chapel 12:00pm Mon 31 Monday, 31 March 2025 See this event
Diarmaid MacCulloch talks to Jane Shaw

Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Mon 31 Monday, 31 March 2025 See this event
Rowan Williams and Pele Cox

‘The Heart by Way of the Breath to the Line’: Poetry and Discussion in memory of Robert Willis
Pusey House: Chapel 10:00am Tue 1 Tuesday, 1 April 2025 See this event
Rupert Shortt talks to Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Eclipse of Christianity and Why it Matters
Pusey House: Chapel 12:00pm Wed 2 Wednesday, 2 April 2025 See this event
Lamorna Ash

Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Wed 2 Wednesday, 2 April 2025 See this event
Rod Dreher talks to Iain McGilchrist

Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age
Pusey House: Chapel 2:00pm Fri 4 Friday, 4 April 2025 See this event

Festival information:

I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors (I’ve rarely seen so many concentrated in one place) but by challenging ideas and questions.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

The Oxford festival is the most elegant and atmospheric of literary festivals. It’s a pleasure to both attend and perform there.

The night in Oxford was the most beautiful event I have ever done. Not just the spectacular setting (of the Sheldonian), but an unforgettable evening.

I loved the whole atmosphere of the Oxford Literary Festival. From breakfast, alongside some of the attendees, who were talking books with each other a mile a minute, to the public event at The Sheldonian where everyone was lively and engaged – I felt I had arrived in a kind of literary heaven.

A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation; a lively informed and tolerant audience; privileged access to the great treasures of the Bodleian, and finally, wonderfully interesting dinner companions to help me conclude the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere.

Often as an author, I only occasionally get to meet the public who buy and read my books. The Oxford Literary Festival was a special opportunity for me and certainly one of the highlights of my career – it was an honour I will never forget.

It was a privilege for me to visit the festival to receive the Bodley Medal. As an incidental blessing I saw Oxford at its most mysterious and atmospheric. It was a day of piercing cold and as I walked through the twilight from the Sheldonian to Christ Church, the streets were empty and the whole city was shutting itself away. Christ Church was silent except for the footfall of unseen persons around corners and the sounds of evensong creeping from behind closed doors. For the first time I understood thoroughly the power of college ghost stories.