Institute

The Institute was founded in December 1966 as the Institute for History of Dogma and Ecumenical Theology; Johannes Baptist Bauer (1927-2008) was nominated as the first Head of Institute and filled this position until his retirement in 1995. Johannes Bauer was a pioneer within the field of Catholic Bible Studies, very active in researching the links between Antiquity and Christianity and practically involved in the ecumenical movement. His habilitation in Graz in 1962 was the first of a lay theologist in the German speaking countries. (Publication list)

He was succeeded by Anne Jensen (1941-2008) as the first woman professor at the Theological Faculty in Graz who had received her habilitiation in Tubingen in the "theological women studies and ecumenical theology". Her main accomplishment was the fostering of researchin the field of gender studies and an official emphasis on theological gender related research in Graz. She was head of the institute between 1997 and 2008. (Publikationen)

Since 2011, Pablo Argárate holds the position of head of institute; his main interests are pneumatology and orthodoxy.

Current and past academic institute staff: 

Manfred Kertsch (1967-2000)

Wolfgang L. Gombocz (1968-1975)

Justinus Greifeneder (1975-1981)

Livia Neureiter (2000-2013)

since 1981 Anneliese Felber

Grigorios Larentzakis headed a sub-division of the institute for Orthodox Theology from 1990 to 2007.

The institute publishes two different academic series:

Grazer Theologische Studien a series of monographies with currently 23 volumes; there are no further volumes planned (1981-2008)

Ökumenisches Forum - Journal for Ecumenical and Patristic Studies Annual Journal published since 1977 (originally in German only as Ökumenisches Forum). It is now available in a printed version and online (older issues have all been retro-digitised). Volume 39 was published in summer 2018.
Online link: http://unipub.uni-graz.at/oekf