Aus der Werkstatt Harnacks

Only recently three notebooks by Hans von Soden (1881-1945) were found in which he recorded four seminars Adolf Harnack taught between the summer of 1904 and early 1906. The seminars were devoted to the following subjects: Justin's Apologies, Gnosticism, Augustin's Confessions (Books 1 to 6), and the Works of Sulpicius Severus. These records with their detailed accounts provide a precise insight not only into patristic research a hundred years ago, but also into the teaching in a department of the Berlin University at that time. Harnack's scholarly interests in the very varied patristic topics from the 1st to 5th centuries are clearly expressed, as too is his strong theological interest in education, which becomes apparent through his polemics.

Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte first began publication in 1925 and can claim to be one of the most tradition-rich historical book series. It presents research on the history of Christian churches and dogmas through the ages but also publishes papers on related disciplines such as archeology, history of art and literary studies. One of the series’ leading features is its consistent striving to combine historical-methodical precision with systematic contextualization of each examined topic. In recent years the series has increasingly published studies on themes relating to the history of Christian culture and ideas, viewed within a methodically open perspective on the history of Christianity.

Im Nachlass von Erika Dinkler-von Schubert fanden sich drei Protokollhefte, in denen Hans von Soden vier Seminare Adolf Harnacks aus den Jahren 1904 bis 1906 dokumentiert hat. Seminarthemen waren: Justins Apologien, "Untersuchungen über den Gnosticismus", "Augustins Confessionen" (Bücher I-VI) und die Werke des Sulpicius Severus. Die bis ins Detail ausformulierten Protokolle vermitteln nicht nur einen präzisen Einblick in die patristische Forschungsarbeit vor 100 Jahren, sondern auch in den damaligen Lehrbetrieb in einem Seminar der Berliner Universität. Dabei kommt bei allem fachlichen Interesse an den sehr unterschiedlichen patristischen Themen des 1. bis 5. Jahrhunderts sehr deutlich Harnacks theologisches Bildungsinteresse - gerade auch durch seine Polemik - zum Ausdruck.