A talk from David Olusoga and Liz Adekunle given on Monday 16 October 2017, as part of the St Martin-in-the-Fields Autumn Lecture Series – Reformation. The talk is introduced and moderated by Revd Richard Carter.
About the series
On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther pinned 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, protesting against the practice of indulgences and touching on questions of grace, repentance and forgiveness. The Reformation was a culmination of events and circumstances that led to a seismic shift in the religious framework of Britain. It established the image of an island nation, separate and supreme, still resonant today. It triggered a religious and political redistribution of power. It led to renewal and reform but also deep division, persecution and violence. And out of this turmoil were born the concepts of state and church as we know them today.
The 500th Anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation provides the opportunity to explore and reflect upon issues of church, state, and religious and cultural diversity that are still at the centre of our national life: the conflicts that divide, and the convictions which diverse parts of the Christian church hold sacred. How are we called to be reformed by the Gospel? How do we build the unity Christ called for with those whose convictions are very different from our own? In this autumn lecture series we will be exploring some of those hopes and controversies.
About the speakers
David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and film-maker. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, David is a multi-award-winning presenter. His most recent series include Black & British: A Forgotten History (BBC Two), The World’s War (BBC Two) and the BAFTA winning Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners (BBC Two). David is also the author of Black & British: A Forgotten History (Macmillan, 2016) and The World’s War (Head of Zeus, 2014). David also writes for The Guardian and The Observer and BBC History Magazine and is one of the three presenters on the BBC’s new landmark Arts series, Civilisations.
Liz Adekunle was born in North London and read theology at Birmingham University. She has two Masters degrees; the first from SOAS in African Christianity and Development and the second, completed while she was in training at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. She is esteemed as a former Chaplain and tutor at St Mellitus College, former Chaplain and Acting Dean at St John’s College, Cambridge and is also a member of the Archbishops’ Task Group on Evangelism. Liz is the Archdeacon of Hackney and was appointed as a Chaplain to her Majesty the Queen in April 2017.
