10th Annual Costan Lecture in Early Christianity: Thomas Williams Discusses “Augustine on the Saving Work of Christ”

More poetic than argumentative, more experiential than systematic, Augustine’s approach to the saving work of Christ repays sustained attention that it does not often receive. In this lecture philosopher Thomas Williams will give particular attention to Augustine’s multifaceted approach to the Incarnation (and not just the passion) as the principal means by which sinful humanity is reconciled to God, the role of the Holy Spirit “by whom the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts,” and the centrality of the sacraments.

The 10th Annual Costan Lecture in Early Christianity will be delivered by Thomas Williams, the Isabelle A. and Henry D. Martin Professor of Medieval Philosophy at Georgetown University. A reception will follow the event in Dahlgren Quad.

This event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Please email costan.lecture@georgetown.edu by September 20 with any accessibility requests. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill all requests made after this date.

Thomas Williams is the Isabelle A. and Henry D. Martin Professor of Medieval Philosophy at Georgetown University. He has written widely on medieval philosophy and theology, with particular interests in ethics, philosophy of religion, and the theology of atonement. His translations include Augustine’s Confessions (2019), John Duns Scotus: Selected Writings on Ethics (2017), and Anselm: The Complete Treatises with Selected Letters and Prayers and the Meditation on Human Redemption (2022). His book on Anselm for Oxford University Press’s Very Short Introductions series is in press. An Episcopal priest, Williams has served for several years as the canon theologian of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg, Florida.