Book Presentation: "Bible Reception, Censorship Mechanisms and Homiletic Questions in the Catholic GDR Diaspora"

How did life in the GDR shape the view of the Bible and the understanding of the texts? To what extent can connections be made between the concrete exegesis of the biblical text and the ecclesiastical, political and social situation of that time? The interpretations of the Bible by theologians from the GDR are texts that have so far been little received. The research project "Scripture Reception in the Catholic GDR Diaspora", for which Dr Martin Nitsche and Dr Marlen Bunzel are responsible, has addressed this desideratum. Together with scholars from exegesis, church history, pastoral theology and Literary Studies, they examined the only Catholic sermon series published in the GDR, Das Wort an die Gemeinde (1971–1979, edited by Karljosef Lange). The results are documented in the conference volume "Bible Reception, Censorship Mechanisms and Homiletic Issues in the Catholic GDR Diaspora", published in May 2023.

On 2 November, all those involved in the research project will present the book. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Catholic and Protestant representatives from academia and the church about "Bible and preaching culture in the East". Panel guests are: Retired parish priest and co-author of The Word to the Parish Erika Buhl (Frankfurt/Oder), retired Bishop Ilse Junkermann (Leipzig), Bishop Dr Gerhard Feige (Magdeburg), Professor Wolfgang Ratzmann (Leipzig) and Professor Norbert Clemens Baumgart (Erfurt).