History

The Collegium Oecumenicum has more than 25 years of history.

The idea of founding an ecumenical study dormitory in Munich goes back to Prof. Dr. Leonhard Goppelt. After the foundation of the Protestant Theological Faculty in Munich in 1968, he suggested an ecumenical residence for students from overseas partner churches.

With energy and prudence, the former chairman of the Bavarian Martin Luther Association, Rev. Dr. Hans Roser, was able to realize this vision: The Collegium Oecumenicum was founded in 1986 thanks to financial and personnel support from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, which continues to this day.

Up until today, the cooperation with the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich on the one hand and church scholarship donors, such as the Diakonisches Werk of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation, Mission EineWelt, the Martin Luther Association of Bavaria and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria on the other hand, is an important basis for the Collegium Oecumenicum.

The house has been marked by the study leaders. Almost all of them brought ecumenical experience from partner churches in Latin America. The long-time director of Mission EineWelt, Rev. Peter Weigand, served as director of studies during the initial years from 1986 to 1992. His successor, Rev. Jürgen Reichel led the house from 1993 to 1999, and since 2012 has been general secretary of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS), based in Stuttgart. The current director of the Munich Island, Rev. Norbert Ellinger, shaped the house in the years between 1999 and 2003. Dr. Christoph Jahnel directed the house from 2003 to 2006 and has been dean in Prodekanat München-West since 2013. Rev. Wolfgang Schmitt was in charge of the house from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Janning Hoenen was director of studies from 2010 to 2014 and is now ESG pastor at Augustana University in Neuendettelsau. He was followed from 2014 to 2018 by Roger Schmidt, now director of the Evangelisches Studienzentrum Josefstal. Pastor Tanja Reger led the COe from 2019 to 2021 and is now hospital chaplain in Großhadern and since January 2022 the COe is led by Dr. Michael Press, who is also pastor at the LMU.