The papers in this volume represent the proceedings of a conference on the work of Donald MacKinnon, Norris-Hulse Professor Emeritus of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. Through the good offices of the conference chairman, Professor Stephen Sykes, it was possible to hold the conference at St John's College, Cambridge, on 22–5 July 1986. The editor is grateful to Professor Sykes for his work in chairing the conference and for facilitating the publication process.

The conference would not have been held but for a very generous subvention provided by St John's College. A subvention and conference reception were also provided by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. A grant from the College of St Paul and St Mary, Cheltenham, subsidized the cost of organizing the conference, and the travelling expenses of the conference speakers were met by grants from the British Academy and the Cadbury Trust. Illness prevented Dr Paskins from presenting his own paper, and the editor is very grateful to Professor Rowan Williams for reading Dr Paskins's paper at short notice, and to the Revd Dr Peter Sedgwick for auditing the subsequent discussion. Professor MacKinnon was present throughout the proceedings, and the speakers are grateful to him for his generous and penetrating responses to their presentations. These essays, by colleagues, students and friends, are presented to Professor MacKinnon on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday.