20 June 2025 - 22 June 2025, 00:00 - 00:00
Chichester Cathedral
Cathedral Close, Chichester PO19 1PX
The annual conference of the Ecclesiastical Law Society for 2025
Nicaea Received: 1700 years of Canons, Councils and Ecumenism
20th to 22nd June 2025
at Chichester Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace
2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, an event of the highest significance in world history. It is not only the Nicene creed which Christians today still receive from the Council of 325. For the field of ecclesiastical law, Nicaea left its mark indelibly on the centuries that followed, not least in canons – a species of legislation pioneered at Nicaea – in the involvement of the Emperor and the secular powers, and in conciliarity itself. The Conference will explore the effects of Nicaea on ecclesiastical and canon law over the past 1700 years and up to the present day. There will be a particular focus on how reception of the first Ecumenical Council can shape the ecumenical endeavour today, and on the emerging field of juridical ecumenism. The Society is honoured to welcome speakers who contribute on the world stage, and the conference promises to be a landmark event for ecclesiastical lawyers, church historians, and ecumenists.
Keynote addresses
• His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
• Professor Myriam Wijlens, Professor of Canon Law at the University of Erfurt
• The Rt Revd Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Dean of Windsor
The programme, with a full list of speakers, can be found Conference programme for website – 11 Jan 25.
Please note that this is not a residential conference. Attendees will arrange their own accommodation and breakfast.
The conference fee will cover keynote addresses; choice of workshops and seminars; lunch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; dinner on Friday and the Conference Dinner on Saturday; and coffee and tea at various points over the weekend. There will also be a cash bar at the Conference venue.
Delegates are encouraged to book early since numbers at the Conference are strictly limited and accommodation in the area is likely to be in high demand. There are many hotels, guesthouses, and Airbnb venues in the City and nearby. The Keynote addresses will be delivered in the cathedral nave. Some of the other seminars will be held in venues with limited capacity, and places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. On registering, participants will be able to register for the seminars they wish to attend.
The Society is very grateful to the Bishop of Chichester and the Cathedral Chapter for hosting the our Conference this year.
The Society is seeking sponsors for the Conference. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring this historic event, please get in touch with the Rt Revd John Ford, Executive Secretary for a conversation via execsec@ecclawsoc.org.uk.
Registration is now open to ELS members. Registration will open to all on 27 January. Ticket prices are £395 for members, £475 for non-members. No payment is taken at the moment of registering. Within 10 days of registering, you will receive an invoice by email and, separately, a participant information form to indicate which seminars you will attend and other information. Clergy are encouraged to access CMD and other grants to facilitate attendance.
Cathedral Image © Len Williams. CC licence.
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