C.S. Lewis Institute Belfast

21/10/2026

20/10/2026

We were back to the Old Inn yesterday for the first of our quarterly gatherings for Speakers and Pastors. Our very own Aaron Williamson from Holywood Baptist Church lead discussions on the role of emotions in preaching and teaching the Bible. An important topic well explored. We look forward to hearing from Andrew Roycroft in January at our next gathering.

09/10/2026

If you enjoyed the documentary about C.S. Lewis broadcast last night on RTE One, The Lion, the Witch and the Ulsterman (see previous post) perhaps you might enjoy seeing round the Old Rectory at St Marks. We hope to have some more news on the exciting re-development project soon so watch this space!

07/10/2026

If you are interested in Lewis and his Belfast roots, this might be worth a watch on Thursday evening.

🦁 A new journey into the life behind Narnia…

Former rugby international Andrew Trimble explores the Belfast upbringing and Ulster-Scots roots of C.S. Lewis in The Lion, The Witch and the Ulsterman.

From Lewis’ childhood home in East Belfast to Oxford, the documentary uncovers how family, loss and leaving the city he loved helped shape the man who would go on to create The Chronicles of Narnia.

Featuring insights from historians, writers and Lewis scholars, the documentary airs Thursday, 8 October, 10:15pm on RTÉ One and will be available to watch on RTÉPlayer.

Produced by NPE Media & funded by the Northern Ireland Screen Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund (USBF).

C. S. Lewis

06/10/2026

05/10/2026

First of our Fellows lectures at Stranmillis College Belfast for 26/27 on Saturday 3rd October. Also first time for us at CSLI Belfast hearing from the excellent Revd James Burnett from Belfast School of Theology on Walking in the Holy Spirit. Delighted to be joined via live stream by our Satellite @ CSLI Edinburgh as well as one of our Alumni Fellows in Vienna, a Fellow in India and a Mentor from his hospital bed, recovering from surgery. Ken we hope you get well soon and are back with us in person. Great start to our lecture series at Stranmillis. Our next lecture is Saturday 7th November from 8:30am. The topic will be Being Transformed by Scripture and the speaker will be Dr William Ford again from Belfast School of Theology. If you are interested please contact Stuart Horner, Belfast City Director [email protected]

05/10/2026

Quick reminder that the second of the lectures at Union Theological College is tomorrow night - Tuesday 6th October @ 7:30pm. Don’t worry if you missed the first one. Go ahead and register and we will see you there!

THEOLOGY FOR ALL: AUTUMN 2026
The Life and Thought of C.S. Lewis
with Prof John Gillespie and Sophie Jones (UTC PhD student)
UTC, 7.30pm for all sessions

Register for free by emailing [email protected]

CS Lewis, renowned as an academic, writer, academic, apologist and public theologian, influenced many for Christ throughout the world during his life, but even more since his death. Scarcely a day passes him being referenced in the media, nor a month without the publication of another new book about him. He is the subject of numerous PhD theses and the focus of numerous CS Lewis centres and associations worldwide, and his stories continue to be loved and cherished today, as the forthcoming release of new Narnia film adaptions proves.

Initially subject to sustained criticism by his fellow Oxford academics who didn’t appreciate his powerful advocacy of Christianity, Lewis is now recognised as a significant figure, not only for his Christian writings but also for his groundbreaking academic works.

One of the most famous twentieth-century Irishmen, he is rightly celebrated, at last, in his hometown of Belfast. In this course we’ll be looking at his life and thought from his birth in 1898 to his death in Oxford in 1963, selectively focusing on: his journey back to God after many years of atheism; his criticism of scientific materialism and exposure of society’s blindness to spiritual warfare in his science fiction trilogy and The Abolition of Man (foreseeing the advent of AI and transhumanism); his fame and influence during the war in the 1940s as apologist and public theologian through his BBC talks; and finally the richness of his Narnia tales.

01/10/2026