Since that time, St Edward’s has remained a parish church but is unique in that it remains under the authority of the master of Trinity Hall rather than the Bishop of Ely. Due to this arrangement, St Edward’s became a church of safe harbor for priests during the Reformation period who wanted to preach reformed ideas that were filtering through the university in the 16th century. Catholic priests such as Hugh Latimer, Thomas Bilney and Robert Barnes were among those who were able to speak on subjects of faith and living that could not be censored by the Bishop. Other scholars also found a safe haven at St Edward’s and thus the church became the cradle of the English reformation in Cambridge.

Welcome to the St Edward’s Institute for Christian Thought (SEI). The SEI seeks to promote academic scholarship that engages with contemporary culture and the Christian faith. We value the intersection between rigorous and critical academic learning with the life of prayer and devotion to the beauty of the Gospel. These types of engagement occur across all academic disciplines and the SEI supports such scholarship taking place in, and arising from, the heart of the church—in particular, the Anglican Church of England.

St Edward, King & Martyr, is located in city-centre Cambridge in the midst of one of the oldest and most significant universities in the world. The church was established around 1000 AD but later, in 1446, King Henry VI gave the parish church to Trinity Hall and Clare College so that he might build King's College Chapel where it stands today.

These scholar-priests engaged with and discussed the biblical text and theological ideas that were critical to the formation of the English church and society. They sought to express the fullness of the Gospel in their culture and within the university. And this is what we want to achieve through the outlets of the SEI. We hope it will be a place where Christian ideas can be expressed and discussed for the benefit of the church and the broader culture without the current polarization that affects so much of the dialogue in the world today.

The pieces published in our online journal will reflect a wide variety of disciplines but will not always express the views of St Edward’s church. They will all, however, share a common theme of offering Christian viewpoints on contemporary topics with the hope of articulating and revealing the truth of the Gospel and its relevance to the contemporary world. The writings will come from both emerging and established scholars. Many of our writers will be PhD students who participate in our weekly Scriptorium at the church. This is a small community dedicated to the life of prayer, fellowship and study. Other articles will be from scholars and friends associated with the SEI who have a similar vision for the church, academic scholarship, and the university. Similarly, our termly StED Talks bring leading scholars to St Edward’s to lecture on the intersection between a particular area of intellectual inquiry and the Christian faith, with the opportunity for Q&A and further discussion.

We hope you enjoy and are enriched by the writings on our online journal and our StED Talks. And we hope that in a digital age of so much misinformation, you may discover reflections of truth from scholars committed to a life of discipleship within their academic pursuits here in Cambridge and from others associated with the SEI.

Mark W. Scarlata

Director of the SEI and Vicar-Chaplain of St Edward’s