Anthony Jordan Lecture Series

St. John Henry Newman: A Conference

Celebrating his Life and Legacy

2020 Anthony Jordan Lecture Series - 50th Anniversary Edition
co-sponsored by The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

March 20-21

Welcome to our national conference celebrating the life and legacy of one of the Church’s newest saints!

The saint is not the one who has lost his freedom; the saint is the one who has lost everything except his freedom. In Newman we find perhaps the greatest of modern saints who faithfully combined both sanctity and scholarship, a credible witness and a profound wisdom of things human and divine.

As a convert, pastor, apologist, historian, novelist, theologian, and passionate witness to Christ, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) has done much to shape the intellectual culture of the Church in our times. As a theologian, Newman wrestled with the way that truth can remain constant amidst the expansion of ideas over time in his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845); as an educator, Newman defended the liberal arts as the only humane foundation for learning in his The Idea of a University (1852); as an apologist, his spiritual autobiography Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864), stands as one of the great testimonies to faith against the trials of doubt; as a philosopher, Newman produced a stunningly modern analysis of the psychology of belief in his An Essay in Aid of the Grammar of Assent (1870); as a debater, he launched his open letter to the English Prime Minister in defence of Catholics’ right to participate actively in politics in his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875); and so on.

Below you will see our tremendous list of speakers, including Thomas Cardinal Collins, Fr. Ian Boyd, CSB, and Dr. Ryan Marr.   As we at Newman Theological College mark our 50th year of service to the Church, we look forward to welcoming you this March 20-21, here in Edmonton, to celebrate with us the life and legacy of this saint for our times.

Payment & Registration

There are a number of ways to register for the conference. Lunch for both days is provided.

  • Mailing a Cheque (make cheques payable to Newman Theological College) Mail to: 10012-84 St. NW, Edmonton, AB T6A 0B2 attn: Lorraine Kasha
  • Pay cash at the College
  • Pay by credit card by phone (780-392-2450)
  • Pay online using PayPal or a credit card below. (a $2.00 service fee per ticket will be added to the cost for online payments)

General Admission - $50.00 

Student - $30.00 (Students will be required to show their student card)

Free Public Talk with His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins at the St. Joseph Basilica on Friday March 20 at 7pm.  Reception to Follow. - RSVP required.  The assumption will be made that if you buy a ticket you will also be attending the Free Talk.

Speakers

** FREE PUBLIC TALK - Keynote: His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins


 

This is a Free Public Talk at the St. Joseph Basilica on Friday March 20 at 7pm.   RSVP required.

Keynote: His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins

Archbishop of Toronto

Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, where his father was the circulation manager of the Guelph Mercury and his mother was a legal secretary. He is the only son and the youngest of three siblings. His childhood home was situated behind The Church of Our Lady, where he attended and served morning Mass.

Cardinal Collins considered being a teacher or a lawyer but was profoundly inspired by his Grade 11 English teacher, Father Newstead, at Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School, who knowing him, suggested that he should consider the priesthood. In 1969 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (English) from St. Jerome College in Waterloo. In 1973 he obtained two degrees, a M.A. (English) from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Theology from St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario. That same year he was ordained to the priesthood on May 5, 1973 in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Hamilton, by Most Reverend Paul Reding.

While studying in Rome, specializing in sacred scripture and the Book of Revelation, he received his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1978 and a Doctorate in Theology from the Gregorian University in 1986.

After holding various academic appointments, in 1997 he was appointed as Bishop of Saint Paul, Alberta. Two years later, he was named the Archbishop of Edmonton. In 2001, while in Edmonton he was named Apostolic Administrator of Saint Paul. In December 2006, he was appointed as the Archbishop of Toronto, and installed in January 2007.
In 2007 Cardinal Collins became a ex-officio member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Permanent Council, the Chancellor of the University of St. Michael's College and the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, in Toronto. He is the Chair of the Board of Governors of St. Augustine's Seminary, and the Chair of the Board of Directors of Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary, Catholic Charities and Catholic Cemeteries and is a Trustee of ShareLife's Advisory Board. In 2008, Cardinal Collins was elected President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario.
During his time thus far in Toronto, Cardinal Collins has served the global church through his membership with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Congregation for Catholic Education and Commission of Cardinals for oversight of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR). He has participated in the Synod on the Eucharist, and the Synod on the Middle East, served as an Apostolic Visitor in Ireland and also as the Delegate of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for Anglicanorum Coetibus.
On January 6, 2012, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Cardinal Collins to the College of Cardinals. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals as Cardinal Priest of San Patrizio on February 18, 2012.

Bernier, Dr. Richard
   

 Dr. Richard Bernier

Faculty and Instructional Affairs Coordinator at Concordia University


Boyd, C.S.B., Rev. Dr. Ian
   

Rev. Dr. Ian Boyd, C.S.B.

Founder and Editor of The Chesterton Review and the President of the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture, Seton Hall University.

An internationally recognized Chesterton scholar, he is the author of The Novels of G.K. Chesterton (London 1975). For many years, he was Professor of English at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. Currently he is a member of the Department of English at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Father Boyd also lectures on the subject of "Sacramental Themes in Modern Literature." Among the Christian authors whose work he discusses are T.S. Eliot, Graham Greene, C.S. Lewis, Flannery O'Connor, Piers Paul Read, Muriel Spark and Evelyn Waugh. In nineteenth-century literature, he is interested in the work of such authors as Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Doerksen, Mark
   

Mark Doerksen

Mark Doerksen received his BA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2014, majoring in Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. While also focusing on history, his main area of focus was Latin and Old English literature. Continuing this interdisciplinary focus, he received his MA in Medieval Studies from the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto in 2015 where he studied Latin, Old English, history, philosophy, rhetoric, theology, and medieval literature. In 2016 he enrolled in the PhD program in the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan. Besides courses in English, he continued interdisciplinary study through courses in Historiography and Latin. His area of study includes Anglo-Saxon eschatological texts and the theological implications of philology in Anglo-Saxon religious poetry. He is currently working on his dissertation under Saint Thomas More College's Dr. Michael Cichon on the philological relationship between Anglo-Saxon eschatological poetry and the Germanic oral tradition.

Dyck, Dr. Darren
   

Dr. Darren Dyck

Assistant Professor, Ambrose University, Calgary, AB

Darren Dyck is an Assistant Professor of English at Ambrose University in Calgary, where he teaches a wide variety of courses, including Medieval Literature, Victorian Poetry, Spiritual Autobiographies, and C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings. Before coming to Ambrose, he completed degrees at the University of Saskatchewan and Dalhousie University and taught in the Foundation Year Program at the University of King’s College in Halifax.
Dr. Dyck’s primary area of study is Shakespearean drama, but his research interests, like his teaching, range considerably, and he also spends time thinking about the nature of myth in the work of the Inklings and the value of the Humanities in higher education.
He also tweets religiously at @ambrose_EN_prof.

Kohler, Rev. John
   

Rev. John Kohler

Formation Team Member, St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, AB

Fr. John Kohler was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1980, and moved with his family to Calgary to finish high school. After completing a degree in philosophy at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto (2004), he began studies at St. Joseph Seminary and Newman Theological College. Fr. John was ordained a priest in 2010 and served as an assistant at St. Albert the Great parish (Calgary) and All Saints parish (Lethbridge). He was sent for further studies in Rome and obtained a licence in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2015. He then returned to his diocese with a special mandate to teach Sacred Scripture and as an assistant at St. Mary’s Cathedral. In 2016 he was appointed as a member of the formation team at St. Joseph Seminary and as an instructor at Newman Theological College.

Marr, Dr. Ryan
   

Dr. Ryan Marr

Director, National Institute for Newman Studies
Associate Editor, Newman Studies Journal

Ryan “Bud” Marr is the Director of the National Institute for Newman Studies and Associate Editor of the Newman Studies Journal. He earned an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and a Ph.D. in historical theology from Saint Louis University, where he also worked in the campus ministry department. Dr. Marr's dissertation on Newman's ecclesiology was published by Fortress Press in 2018, and he has also contributed chapters to Newman and Life in the Spirit, The Oxford Handbook of John Henry Newman, and Learning from all the Faithful: A Contemporary Theology of the Sensus Fidei.

Robertson, Dr. Charles
   

Dr. Charles Robertson

Educational Assistant for the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools

Charles Robertson has earned an MA in History from the University of Saskatchewan studying the ecclesiology of St. Augustine in relation to Vatican II and his MA and PhD in Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies in Houston, TX, where he specialized in the natural law ethics of St. Thomas and their application to artificial reproductive technologies. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Studia Patristica, The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and Nova et Vetera. Charles lives in Saskatoon with his wife and seven children and currently works as an Educational Assistant for the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.

Sharman, Rev. Canon Dr. Scott
   

Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman

Animator for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Anglican Church of Canada
Ecumenical Officer and the Canon Theologian for the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton

The Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman currently divides his work and ministry in two ways: At the national level he is the Animator for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Anglican Church of Canada, staffing bilateral and multilateral dialogues with a wide range of churches and faith communities. He also serves locally in the Edmonton area as the Ecumenical Officer and the Canon Theologian for the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton. Scott completed his Ph.D. in historical theology from the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto in 2014, with a focus on the history and theological methodology of the ecumenical movement. He has also taught courses in Church History, Ecumenism, and World Religions at Newman Theological College in the recent past. He is married to Alexandra, and has three young children.

Sidloski, Dr. Celene


 

Dr. Celene Sidloski

University of Saskatchewan, Department of English and Interdisciplinary Studies

Celene Sidloski (B.Ed., B.A., M.A. (University of Saskatchewan), Ph.D. (English, U of T) teaches in the English and Interdisciplinary Studies Departments at St. Thomas More College and in the Department of Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. She is also the founder and director of Rebuilding Catholic Culture, a non-profit apostolate devoted to the exploration of the Catholic intellectual tradition through its art, literature, philosophy, and theology.

Topping, Dr. Ryan
   

 Dr. Ryan Topping

Vice President & Academic Dean, Newman Theological College, Edmonton, AB

A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Dr. Topping earned an MA in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba as well as an M.Phil. and a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Oxford. He is a Professor of Theology and serves as Vice-President and Academic Dean at Newman Theological College, Edmonton. He formerly taught at Thomas More College in New Hampshire and held the Pope John XXIII Chair of Studies in Catholic Theology at St. Thomas University, Canada. Dr. Topping has published on a variety of Catholic themes and figures, from St. Augustine, to Dante, to G.K. Chesterton in academic and popular journals. He has published several books on Catholic culture and education, including Rebuilding Catholic Culture: How the Catechism Can Shape our Common Life (Sophia Institute, 2012), The Elements of Rhetoric (Angelico Press, 2016) and Renewing the Mind: A Reader in the Philosophy of Catholic Education (Catholic University of America Press, 2015). His forthcoming book is Christmas Around the Fire: Poems, Stories, and Lessons for the Season of Christ’s Birth (Tan, 2019).

His newest book, published fall 2018, is The Gift of the Church, volume 1: How Catholicism Transformed the History and Soul of the West. Dr. Topping and his wife have nine children.


This lecture series is dedicated to the memory of Archbishop Anthony Jordan, OMI, of the Edmonton Archdiocese (1964-1973). Archbishop Jordan was responsible for founding Newman Theological College (NTC), which opened its doors in 1969 for the theological education of seminarians, religious men and women and laity in the wake of the renewed ecclesiology of Vatican II.

The annual Anthony Jordan Lecture Series is co-sponsored by The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and NTC. The Series offers students and academics of various fields and members of the public a unique opportunity to hear world-renowned scholars address topical subjects in theology. With ample opportunity for discussion and debate, the series is a popular and thought-provoking Newman Theological College event.


Watch our past lectures on our YouTube channel

Past lecturers include:

Dr. Douglas Farrow, God and Public Reason (2019)
Dr. Matthew Levering, Exploring the Catholic Theology of Marriage (2018)
Dr. Hans Boersma, Real Presence: An Ecumenical Perspective (2017)
Dr. Mary Healy, Turning the World Upside-Down and the Church Inside-Out: Scripture and the New Evangelization (2016)
Dr. Massimo Faggioli, From Vatican II to a World Church (2015)
Rev. Joseph Komonchak Ph.D., St. Augustine's Understanding of the Church (2014)
Dr. Francesca Aran Murphy, Marian Faith (2013)
Fr. Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M. Cap., The Reality and Presence of Jesus (2012)
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., Ready to Give Reason for Our Hope: The New Evangelization and the Challenges of the Modern World (2011)
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., Catholic Education: Challenges of the Third Millennium (2009)
Rev. Mark A. McIntosh, The Goodness and Beauty of God: John Henry Newman on Divine Presence (2008)
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I., Naming the Present Moment: Hope and Challenge in a Time of Receding Transcendence (2007)
Dr. Michael W. Higgins, Models of Holiness: Is Sanctity in a Time Warp? (2006)
Prof. Robert Schreiter, A New Modernity: Living and Believing in an Unstable World (2005)
Dr. Mary Catherine Hilkert, Grace Enfleshed: Resources for a Contemporary Theological Anthropology (2004)
Rev. Thomas F. O’Meara, O.P., Ministry in the Church: History and Future (2003)
Dr. Peter Phan, Christianity Amidst Other Religions: A Missionary Perspective (2002)
Fr. Kenan Osborne, Sacraments and Liturgy in the New Millennium (2001)
Rev. John P. Galvin, Jesus Christ in the New Millennium (2000)
Dr. William Thompson, Spirituality’s Challenges to Today’s Theology (1999)
Dr. Eileen Schuller, Dead Sea Scrolls (1998)
Rabbi Asher Finkel, Christianity and Judaism in Dialogue (1997)
Dr. John MacQuarrie, Quests and Challenges in Theology and Spirituality (1996)
Fr. Richard McCormick, Moral Theology in a Changing World (1995)
Fr. Avery Dulles, John Henry Newman: Faith and the Intellectual Life (1994)
Fr. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Scripture, the Soul of Theology (1993)
Dr. Monika Hellwig, Theology in Service of Spirituality (1992)
Dr. Langdon Gilkey, Religion and Science (1991)
Dr. Sandra Schneiders, Christian Feminism and the Theological Task (1990)
Rev. Jurgen Moltmann, Living a Theology of Hope Today (1989)
Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, Liberation Theology and Spirituality (1988)
Fr. Richard McBrien, Ecclesiology (1987)
Fr. George Tavard, Ecumenism (1986)

Quick Links

Schedule

Location: Pastoral & Administration Offices - Archdiocese of Edmonton, 8421-101 Ave NW Edmonton

Friday, March 20

10:30 - 11:15am - Conference registration

11:30 - 12:15pm - Mass
12:15 - 1:15pm - Lunch at Newman Theological College, Gathering Area

1:15 - 1:30pm - Welcome to Conference

1:30 - 2:00pm - Talk 1 – Dr. Celene Sidloski - The Cost of Ignoring Newman: Utility and Morals in Catholic Education

2:00 - 2:30pm - Talk 2 – Fr. John Kohler - St. John Henry Cardinal Newman: A Catholic Preacher

2:30 - 3:00pm - Talk 3 – Dr. Charles Robertson – Newman and the Faces of the Great Apostasy

3:00 - 3:30pm -  Break

3:30 - 4:30pm - Talk 4 - Dr. Ryan Marr - Learning the New Language of Christ: Newman on the Pursuit of Holiness

4:30 - 7:00pm - Supper on own

7:00 - 9:00pm - RSVP Required. - Free Public Talk 5 – His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins - Why the Church needs Newman Today - Location: St. Joseph Basilica, 10044 - 113 Street NW, Edmonton - Reception to Follow.

Saturday, March 21

9:00 - 9:20am - Coffee
9:20 - 9:30am - Welcome

9:30 - 10:00am - Talk 6 – Dr. Ryan Topping

10:00 - 10:30am - Talk 7 – Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman - “Treasure to be Shared”: John Henry Newman and the Ecumenical Gift Exchange

10:30 - 10:45am - Break

10:45 - 11:15am - Talk 8 - Dr. Richard Bernier - Oxford, Birmingham, and the New Rome: Byzantine perspectives on Newman

11:15 - 12:00pm - Mass
12:00 - 1:00pm - Lunch at Newman Theological College, Gathering Area

1:00 - 1:30pm - Talk 9 – Dr. Darren Dyck - Newman, the Poetic Mind, and Poetry’s Connection with Reality

1:30 - 2:00pm - Talk 10 – Mark Doerksen - St. John Henry Newman and the Glory of the Anglo-Saxon Church

2:00 - 2:30pm - Break

2:30 - 3:30pm - Talk 11 – Fr. Dr. Ian Boyd, C.S.B. - What Catholics can learn from Newman Today: An interview with Fr. Ian Boyd

3:30 - 3:45pm - Thanks and conference close