A CHURCH in Oxford is preparing to celebrate the life and work of one of its most famous parishioners.

CS Lewis, the author behind the Narnia series of books, worshipped at Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry for three decades while he was living in the area.

And for those Narnia fans who come to Oxford it remains a popular pilgrimage destination.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lewis’s death and the Trinity Road church has planned a number of events.

The Rev Tim Stead, vicar of Holy Trinity, said the church was still putting the finishing touches to a full schedule of events in September.

He said: “Obviously he is our most famous parishioner and this is seen as his church, so it seems a good opportunity to celebrate that.

“We get a lot of pilgrims coming to visit the church and the place where he is buried throughout the year. We are very proud of the link we have with a man who is much loved in all corners of the world.

“Religion was a huge part of CS Lewis’s life. He had a moment of conversion from atheism to Christianity which was very important to him and he spent a large part of his life trying to explain the sense of Christianity to a contemporary society. A lot of his books were trying to do that, including The Chronicles of Narnia.”

To celebrate, the church is hosting a CS Lewis-themed service on Sunday, September 22, and the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, will be visiting.

The church is also planning a Narnia-themed family day with a wide range of activities and Prof Alister McGrath will be visiting to talk about his new biography of the author.

Clive Staples Lewis, a lecturer at Oxford University, lived at The Kilns in Risinghurst for 33 years until his death in 1963.

He is buried in the graveyard of Holy Trinity church near Oxford Eye Hospital founder Robert Doyne.

The pew he sat in with his brother Warnie is marked with a plaque while a Narnia-themed stained-glass window was dedicated in 1991.

Holy Trinity is not the only church to be marking the anniversary. In fact Westminster Abbey has announced it will be placing a memorial stone to CS Lewis in Poets’ Corner on November 22 – the day he died.

This means he will join William Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron in being honoured with a memorial there.

For more information on what Holy Trinity Church has planned visit cslewisjubilee festival.org