Alexander-Böhlig-Gedächtnisvorlesung

Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture

[Translate to English:] Böhlig — © Claremont Graduate University Pahor Labib, Alexander Böhlig, and Gertrud Böhlig at the Nag Hammadi exhibition in the Coptic Museum, where Codex III is being displayed.

Who Was Alexander Böhlig?

Alexander Böhlig (2 September 1912, Dresden – 25 January 1996, Tübingen) was a German Protestant theologian, Coptologist, and Orientalist and is considered one of the leading figures in the study of Eastern Christianity in the twentieth century. His scholarly work was closely connected with the history, languages, and textual traditions of Oriental Christianity, particularly the Egyptian Christianity of Late Antiquity.

After studying Protestant theology, Egyptology, Semitic studies, and Iranian studies in Berlin, Böhlig received his doctorate in 1934. His academic career initially led him to the Prussian Academy of Sciences before he accepted a professorship in the History of Eastern Christianity at the University of Halle in 1954. In Halle, he taught not only Church History but also languages of Eastern Christianity, including Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopic, and left a lasting impact on the discipline in both research and teaching.

Alexander Böhlig became internationally renowned above all through his major involvement in the study of the Nag Hammadi codices. From the late 1950s onward, he worked closely in Cairo with Egyptian scholars, especially within the context of the Coptic Museum. His studies, editions, and interpretations of these fourth-century Coptic texts remain among the foundational contributions to the understanding of the religious diversity of early Christian Egypt and of Eastern Christianity as a whole.

After the construction of the Berlin Wall, Böhlig did not return to the GDR in 1963, but instead accepted a professorship at the University of Tübingen. There he established his own department for the languages and cultures of Eastern Christianity, which he directed until his retirement. Even after his retirement, he remained academically active and continued publishing on Coptic literature, Gnosticism, and early Christian theology.

Alexander Böhlig exemplifies a philologically grounded and historically oriented approach to the study of Eastern Christianity, one that sought dialogue between Oriental sources, European scholarly traditions, and international academic cooperation. His scholarly legacy continues to shape Coptology, Church History, and the broader study of Eastern Christianity to this day.

What Is the Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture?

The Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture is a regularly held academic lecture event dedicated to the memory of the Coptologist and theologian Alexander Böhlig. Its aim is to bring central topics in the study of Eastern Christianity into public discussion in their historical, theological, and cultural breadth, while at the same time keeping Alexander Böhlig’s scholarly legacy alive.

The memorial lecture focuses on questions relating to the history of Eastern Christianity, its languages and literatures, the early Church, Gnosticism, and the diverse encounters between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Eastern Mediterranean. The invited speakers are distinguished specialists from the fields of theology, church history, religious studies, and Oriental studies. The lecture series is consciously addressed not only to a specialized academic audience, but also to students and to a broader public interested in history and theology.

The Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture is made possible through the Gertrud and Alexander Böhlig Foundation. The foundation was established by Gertrud Böhlig in 1999, in memory of and in continuation of the life’s work of the couple, and pursues the goal of sustainably promoting academic research and scholarly exchange in the field of Eastern Christianity.

In particular, the foundation supports projects, events, and initiatives dedicated to the historical-critical study of Oriental Christian traditions and to strengthening international dialogue between the disciplines involved. The memorial lecture reflects this mission of the foundation: it combines academic excellence with public outreach and makes research on Eastern Christianity visible beyond the narrower academic sphere.

The Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture thus represents a scholarly attitude that combines philological precision, historical depth, and international openness — entirely in the spirit of its namesake.

Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lectures in Eichstätt

WiSe 2025/26: Dr. Georg Röwekamp: "Christen in der Region Gaza. Eine vergessene Geschichte"

On Thursday, 29 January 2026, the Alexander Böhlig Memorial Lecture for the winter semester 2025/26 took place in the elegant setting of the Holzer Hall in the Summer Residence. Dr. Georg Röwekamp was invited as guest speaker and delivered an impressive, academically well-founded, and deeply moving lecture entitled “Christians in the Gaza Region: A Forgotten History.”

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Not only since the horrific massacre of 7 October 2023 has “Gaza” become, for many people, synonymous with Islamist terror and war. Röwekamp countered this reductive image with a differentiated historical perspective: for centuries, Gaza and its surrounding region had constituted a diverse cultural landscape in which Christianity had left lasting traces. At times, the region was regarded as an important center of monasticism, theology, and scholarship. Drawing on numerous source texts from different periods of church history, the speaker reconstructed the Christian history of Gaza from Late Antiquity to the present day. Particularly striking were his descriptions of the archaeological remains that were still visible before 7 October 2023 — churches, monastic ruins, and cultural landscapes bearing witness to a Christian presence of around 2,000 years. Röwekamp combined these reflections with the hope that not only the Christians currently living in Gaza under extremely difficult humanitarian conditions might survive the ongoing war, but also the material testimonies of their history.

The lecture met with great interest: numerous attendees filled the Holzer Hall, while many others participated online. In the lively discussion that followed, both historical questions and contemporary political and humanitarian issues were explored in greater depth. The conversations continued intensively during the subsequent reception.

Georg Röwekamp (*1959 in Duisburg) studied Catholic theology with a focus on Early Church History in Bonn, Jerusalem (Dormition Abbey), and Bochum. Following positions in church ministry, he worked, among other roles, as a tour guide, author, and research associate. In 2004, he received his doctorate from the University of Paderborn with a dissertation on the Origenist Controversy. From 1998 to 2016, he directed the Ecumenical Working Group for Biblical Travel; later, he served as managing director of Biblische Reisen GmbH in Stuttgart before acting as the representative of the German Association of the Holy Land in Jerusalem from 2016 to 2020. Most recently, from 2020 to 2025, he headed the DVHL Pilgrims’ House in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee. His numerous publications have established him as a distinguished expert on Christianity in the Holy Land.

The event was generously supported by the Gertrud and Alexander Böhlig Foundation and sent a strong signal of how necessary historically grounded perspectives are, especially in the context of highly topical and emotionally charged issues.

Text: Joachim Braun
Fotos: Yuliia Kolodchyn