Theodore House hosts Canterbury Institute retreat

Theodore House was delighted that the Canterbury Institute chose its facilities to hosts its retreat for reading, studies as well as a well-earned get-away from the pressures of their ongoing study life in Oxford, during the first week of December.

Twenty-seven postgraduate students spent three nights at Theodore House, where activities included talks, study sessions, reading periods as well as walking excursions around the beautiful Ribble Valley area. In the evenings, after dinner, the group we able to relax enjoying drinks as well as bringing their own music and entertainment to round off their day.

The Canterbury Institute is an independent centre for research and learning in Oxford. It aims at rediscovery of the academic vocation through truth and humility. Canterbury awards graduate scholarships and coordinates academic programmes that return academics to the wider purpose of the pursuit of truth.

Humility is fundamental to the academic vocation all the way down; omission of it in the work ethic of contemporary higher education impoverishes human development and the unique contribution of one’s academic discipline.

In academia, humility means respecting the work that precedes or challenges one’s own, seeking appropriate collaboration when problems are multifaceted, and above all being willing to change one’s work habits, methods and opinions in dialogue with others. Ultimately, academia is a responsibility and a vocation in service of the truth.

The Canterbury Institute is separate and distinct from the University of Oxford. The Institute enjoys close ties with numerous scholars and students across the University, engaging in complementary research activities and providing independently sourced scholarships for graduate study within the University.

The Canterbury Institute guests were delighted with every aspect of their retreat stay at Theodore House, so hopefully we will have the pleasure of seeing them again as guests in 2023.