On 14 September, the participants of the ecumenical summer course of the “Centro Melantone” in Rome visited the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU). Students of Protestant theology from Germany, Switzerland and Hungary were accompanied by Professor Dr Katharina Heyden (Bern) and the director of studies of the Centre, Reverend Dr des. Vanessa Bayha.

Reverend Father Dr Augustinus Sander, OSB, staff member responsible for relations with the Lutherans, spoke about the history of the DPCU, the current challenges of the Catholic‒Lutheran dialogue, and theological focal points of a common pre-confessional research of the Confessio Augustana.

The “Centro Melantone” is an ecumenical study centre founded in 2002 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy (ELCI) and the Waldensian Faculty of Theology. In the spirit of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE), the Centre sees itself as a platform for Protestant theologians from all over Europe who wish to study more closely the Christian character of the city of Rome in its many facets.