Martin Keßler

Prof. Dr. Martin Keßler is the Schlegel Professor of Church History with a focus on Reformation and Enlightenment at the University of Bonn, Protestant Theological Faculty, since February 2022. Previously he held professorships at the University of Basel (2020–2022) and Goethe University Frankfurt (2018–2020) as Heisenberg Professor, and earlier positions in Göttingen and Bonn.

Education:

• Habilitation, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 2013 (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Dr. hc Thomas Kaufmann)
• Dr. theol., University of Jena, 2006 (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Volker Leppin)
• Studies in Protestant Theology, 1995–2000, Heidelberg, Erlangen, Munich
• German Academic Scholarship Foundation Scholar, 1995–2000

Research Focus:
Prof. Keßler’s work integrates Reformation history, Enlightenment theology, and digital humanities. He explores the history of biblical interpretation, the reception of the Church Fathers in modernity, and the theological and homiletical culture of the 18th and 19th centuries. His projects often combine archival philology with digital scholarly editing and reception studies.

Awards & Fellowships:

• Duke of Gloucester Essay Prize (Prince Albert Society), 1994
• Hanns Lilje Prize, Göttingen Academy of Sciences, 2006
• Heisenberg Professorship, German Research Foundation (2018–2020)

Professional Service:
He serves as Treasurer of the Association for Reformation History, President of the International Herder Society, and on the editorial boards of Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte and Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte.