OxTalks is Changing
OxTalks will soon be transitioning to Oxford Events (full details are available on the Staff Gateway). A two-week publishing freeze is expected in early Hilary to allow all events to be migrated to the new platform. During this period, you will not be able to submit or edit events on OxTalks. The exact freeze dates will be confirmed as soon as possible.
If you have any questions, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Dr. Pusey on the Effects of Absolution: Catholic but not Roman (Recollection Lecture)
Fr Ben’s Public Lecture will be the opening event of the conference on ‘Confession: The Church’s Gift to the World?’ which will continue on the following day. Tickets will be required to attend the following day’s presentations but Fr Ben’s Public Lecture is free to attend.
Abstract:
Dr Pusey heard more confessions in the 19th century than any other single priest in the Church of England. As is well known, his personal exercise of this ministry, together with his public defence of its lawfulness and usefulness in the Church of England, single-handedly made auricular confession a core element of the catholic revival.
Less well known is the significant difference between Pusey’s own theology of absolution and that of his successors. As auricular confession became popular (and popularly written about), the theology of auricular absolution which Dr Pusey had presented came to be elided with the standard Roman Catholic teaching. By the 1920s, Anglo-Catholic clergy taught no different than their Roman counterparts, namely, that Absolution not only restores the soul to a state of grace, but cleanses the soul as thoroughly as the waters of Baptism had once done. This was a teaching that Pusey explicitly repudiates, as being of human origin and bringing a false-comfort to the Christian.
Dr Pusey’s understanding of absolution, the effects it has on the soul, the role it plays in the sanctification of man, and its relationship to Christ’s own judgment at the Last Judgment all differ markedly from the views that would become regnant among later Anglo-Catholic theologians.
An exploration of Dr. Pusey’s own views reveals a coherent theology that comports more harmoniously with the patristic (and monastic) emphasis on the Christian life consisting of continual and ever deeper repentance. This exploration suggests a fresh re-framing of how this important ministry is taught about and exercised in the life of the Church today
Date:
25 February 2026, 16:00
Venue:
Venue to be announced
Speaker:
Ben Jefferies (Trinity Anglican Seminary)
Part of:
Pusey House Lectures and Events
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Mehmet Ciftci
