Events

Unknown, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Christ Church

Imagining Wolsey: The Invention of an English Cardinal

Marking the 500th anniversary of the initial founding of Christ Church by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1525, this exhibition will present a range images of the Cardinal from an anonymous Tudor oil portrait to Jonathan Pryce’s representation of him in Wolf Hall.

Without a firmly-secured contemporary portrait of Wolsey, posterity was given a free hand to imagine a Cardinal whose humble beginnings led to a stellar ascent and ended in a dramatic fall from grace and lonely death.

Detail from a Portrait of Cardinal Wolsey by Sampson Strong

The Cardinal’s College: A 500th Anniversary Exhibition

8 July–25 September

Upper Library, Christ Church

Exhibition

This exhibition celebrates 500 years since the foundation of Cardinal College and is a unique opportunity to see some of Christ Church’s oldest and rarest items along with items generously lent by other institutions including a beautiful manuscript Book of Hours which is said to have belonged to Wolsey himself.

500th Anniversary Lecture in Manchester: Rowan Williams

11 September

External event

Talk / Lecture

Christ Church continues its 500th Anniversary Lecture series with Humanist Learning: A Vision for Today? to be delivered by The Right Reverend Dr Rowan Williams. Dr Williams will discuss faith in today's world and uncover education's integral role in the creation of human beliefs.

Oxford Open Doors Guided Tours 2025

13 September

Christ Church

2025 marks the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Cardinal College by Thomas Wolsey, later re-established as ‘Christ Church’, a unique joint institution of College and Cathedral, by King Henry VIII. Join one of our guided tours and discover many of the extraordinary spaces that lie behind its doors. Booking essential. Tours will last 60 minutes.

500th Anniversary Lecture in New York: Richard Stengel

25 September

New York City

Talk / Lecture

The key speaker at Christ Church's fourth 500th Anniversary Lecture, entitled The Rule of Law versus the Law of Rulers, will be delivered in New York by Richard Stengel – former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Obama administration, former Managing Editor of TIME magazine, and a Christ Church alumnus. The talk will be followed by a Q&A session, moderated by award-winning journalist Ali Velshi.

God the Father on a throne, with Virgin Mary and Jesus

Natural Law and Christian Communities in Early Modern Europe

29 September

Research Centre, Thatched Barn, Christ Church Meadow

Conference

This colloquium will explore the diversity of early modern natural law thinking, and the implications for understanding Churches and states in a period of religious Reformations, political conflict, and new interest in irenicism. Our starting point is the renewed interest in ideas of natural law in the early 16th century, and the papers discussed through the day will explore the genesis and implications of natural law ideas from a range of geographical, political and religious perspectives.