The Lambeth Conference is a hugely significant event in the life of the worldwide Anglican Communion, bringing together all active bishops from more than 165 countries. This Conference takes place once every 10-12 years and seeks to discern the figure of the Anglican/Episcopal Church for the decades ahead. The next Lambeth Conference will take place in July 2020 and an international group of 35 theologians from Anglican and other Churches around the world make up an essential part of the Conference planning, known as the St Augustine Seminar. Funded by a significant grant from the St Augustine Foundation (a charity which seeks to support theological education), the work of the St Augustine Seminar will lay the theological foundations for the Lambeth Conference.
The scholars have been drawn from Australia, Bostwana, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Egypt, India, Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US and are convened by Professor Jennifer Strawbridge, Associate Professor in New Testament Studies at Oxford. The first seminar met at Lambeth Palace in November 2018 and the second gathering will be in May 2019. These gatherings, which include the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, play a significant role in developing and refining the themes for the 2020 Lambeth Conference and will also create resources for the conference worship, discussions, and daily Bible studies, as well as pre-Conference materials which will be distributed to all delegates around the world.
