The Fathers of the Church are of great importance for the dialogue between protestant and orthodox churches. While the former have learnt about the ecumenical impact of the patristic period, the latter are confronted with the shape and content of reformation theology. For nearly three decades, Wolfgang Bienert has participated in the dialogue of the German Protestant Churches with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Regularly, he has published his lectures and also made remarks on success and failures of the meetings. The select studies may be read as a concise summary of method...

English summary: Seventh-Day Adventists experienced National Socialism in Germany as a time of extreme challenges. While the Nazi leaders strived to establish a 1000-year Reich, the Adventists awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ. Saturday as day of rest and the adherence to Old-Testament dietary commandments made them appear to many to in fact be Jews. This was a life-threatening situation for the Adventists. Following a short-lived ban in 1933, the church leaders developed a survival strategy that gave highest priority to the survival of the organization as such. Although most...