Name: Religion, Politics, and Revolution in The Ancient City
Start: 2025-11-12T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-11-12T19:30:00-06:00
Location: Gavin House

List
Month

October 2025
Magis Lectures

October 30th @ 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Magis Lecture | Why Do We Need Saints and Miracles?

Saint Ignatius College Prep 1076 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL

Carlos Eire

Please join the Lumen Christi Institute, the Bollandist Society, and St. Ignatius College Preparatory School as we welcome the acclaimed Yale scholar, Carlos Eire. Eire's 2023 book, They Flew: A History of the Impossible, explores how historians have grappled with evidence of miracles during the early modern period, a time marked by scientific advancement and rejection of the supernatural. In this lecture, Eire will take a closer look at the human person - what is it about these supernatural accounts that speaks to the human heart so powerfully?
Reading Groups

October 30th @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

InThe Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien spins out the cosmological and mythic stories that undergird The Lord of the Rings. In this group, we will discuss what Tolkien has to say about death, mortality, and suffering, along with his rich worldbuilding and epic tales.
Lectures & Symposia

October 31st @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Faculty Colloquium on They Flew by Carlos Eire

The Catholic Theological Union 5416 S Cornell Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

Richard Kieckhefer, Northwestern University | Carlos Eire | Barbara Newman, Northwestern University | Rev. Andrew Summerson, University of St. Michael’s College

This event is by invitation only. For more information contact Geoffrey Zokal gzokal@lumenchristi.org The Lumen Christi Institute will host a faculty colloquium with Carlos Eire on his book They Flew: A History of the Impossible. Remarks will be given by Richard Kieckheffer (Northwestern University) and Barbara Newman (Northwestern University) with responses followed by Carlos Eire. The colloquium will be moderated by Father Andrew Summerson.
Reading Groups

October 31st @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Greek New Testament

Greek New Testament

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

This quarter, the Greek New Testament reading group will take up the Letter to the Hebrews. All levels of Greek proficiency are encouraged to join. Advance preparation is recommended but not required.
November 2025
Reading Groups

November 3rd @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Vice of Curiosity

The Vice of Curiosity

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

In the Vice of Curiosity and Intellectual Appetite, esteemed theologian Paul J. Griffiths outlines an Augustinian critique of the modern academy’s ways of knowing, including the history of how modernity turned curiosity from vice into virtue, a theological criticism of patent law, and analysis of why plagiarism is not in fact theft.

Each week, a short essay from Vice of Curiosity will be read and discussed, with optional supplementary readings from Intellectual Appetite.
Non-Credit Courses

November 4th @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Cassandra Sever | Scott Moringiello, DePaul University | Ryan Coyne, University of Chicago | Willemien Otten, University of Chicago | Fr. Peter Funk, OSB, Monastery of the Holy Cross | Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a Tuesday evening non-credit course. Survey-style lectures are given over dinner.

This fall, faculty from the University of Chicago and beyond will investigate the works and legacy of St. Augustine. The fifth-century North African bishop stands as a giant in the history of theology and philosophy. He is also cited as an influence by Pope Leo XIV.

Join us over dinner to learn more about the City of God, On The Trinity, the Confessions, and more!
Reading Groups

November 6th @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Macintyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, Lumen Christi Institute

Lumen Christi Institute reading courses are faculty-led explorations of an important text. The reading courses are held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

Fr. Peter Bernardi SJ, LCI’s scholar-in-residence, will lead an exploration of Alisdair MacIntyre’s important late-20th century work, Dependent Rational Animals. MacIntyre both draws from and critiques Aristotle in order to describe our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.
Reading Groups

November 6th @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

InThe Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien spins out the cosmological and mythic stories that undergird The Lord of the Rings. In this group, we will discuss what Tolkien has to say about death, mortality, and suffering, along with his rich worldbuilding and epic tales.
Reading Groups

November 7th @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Greek New Testament

Greek New Testament

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

This quarter, the Greek New Testament reading group will take up the Letter to the Hebrews. All levels of Greek proficiency are encouraged to join. Advance preparation is recommended but not required.
Reading Groups

November 10th @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Vice of Curiosity

The Vice of Curiosity

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

In the Vice of Curiosity and Intellectual Appetite, esteemed theologian Paul J. Griffiths outlines an Augustinian critique of the modern academy’s ways of knowing, including the history of how modernity turned curiosity from vice into virtue, a theological criticism of patent law, and analysis of why plagiarism is not in fact theft.

Each week, a short essay from Vice of Curiosity will be read and discussed, with optional supplementary readings from Intellectual Appetite.
Non-Credit Courses

November 11th @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Cassandra Sever | Scott Moringiello, DePaul University | Ryan Coyne, University of Chicago | Willemien Otten, University of Chicago | Fr. Peter Funk, OSB, Monastery of the Holy Cross | Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a Tuesday evening non-credit course. Survey-style lectures are given over dinner.

This fall, faculty from the University of Chicago and beyond will investigate the works and legacy of St. Augustine. The fifth-century North African bishop stands as a giant in the history of theology and philosophy. He is also cited as an influence by Pope Leo XIV.

Join us over dinner to learn more about the City of God, On The Trinity, the Confessions, and more!
Fundamental Questions Seminar

November 12th @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Religion, Politics, and Revolution in The Ancient City

Religion, Politics, and Revolution in The Ancient City

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Eric DeVilliers | Yousef Casewit, University of Chicago

The Fundamental Questions seminar is the Lumen Christi Institute’s flagship undergraduate program. This three-session seminar meets over dinner to read a great text together and discuss questions of existential importance. Participants will be provided a copy of the text and will be eligible for consideration as Nicklin Fellows.

This fall, Eric DeVilliers (LCI Postdoctoral Scholar) and Yousef Casewit (Chair of Islamic Studies, University of Chicago Divinity School) will lead students through The Ancient City, Numa Fustel de Coulange’s dramatic re-consideration of the ancient world.

Join us as we read selections of The Ancient City and discuss Fustel’s theses about the beginnings of religion, the birth of political life, and the nature of human society.

Our Events

Featured Events & News

Magis Lectures

Magis Lecture | Why Do We Need Saints and Miracles?

Reading Groups

The Silmarillion

Lectures & Symposia

Faculty Colloquium on They Flew by Carlos Eire

Reading Groups

Greek New Testament

Reading Groups

The Vice of Curiosity

Non-Credit Courses

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Reading Groups

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Reading Groups

The Silmarillion

Reading Groups

Greek New Testament

Reading Groups

The Vice of Curiosity

Non-Credit Courses

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Fundamental Questions Seminar

Religion, Politics, and Revolution in The Ancient City

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