Current projects

How did the early Christian movement manage to survive Later Antiquity? What set it apart? What made it attractive to a range of different persons from (almost) all social strata? How was it embedded in the cultural, religious, and social life of the metropolises of the Roman Empire? The project ECCLESIAE pursues answers to these timeless and fascinating questions using new methods and aims to develop a vivid image of the first Christian groups present in the leading centers of early Christianity: Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth, and Rome.

The Theological Reference Commentary to the New Testament series (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt) was grounded in 1928 and revised editions have been produced since the 1950s. This commentary series aims above all to elucidate the statements intended by the text and the text's context and thereby to provide a firm foundation for exegetically and theologically informed teaching and preaching. The series' clear and compact layout renders it commendable not only for research and university and school instruction, but also and especially for students of theology and for those involved in congregational ministry (publisher's text, trans. Institute for NT – Bern).  

The series "New Testament Outlines" (Grundrisse zum Neuen Testament [GNT], Göttingen; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) is published as a supplement to the series Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD) and is an internationally recognized commentary series. Each volume offers translations, explanations, overarching thematic excurses, and suggestions for further reading. Scholarly quality, lucid expositions, and a sensible pricetag have established this series as a go-to resource for pastors, teachers, students, and ecclesial personnel (publisher's text, trans. Institute for NT – Bern).