My research moves at the intersection of dogmatics and ethics. My starting point is the theology of Karl Barth, which I read as a movement of thought rather than a closed system. From there I ask how God’s Spirit and the life of the church can be spoken of in a way that carries weight for society and the public sphere today.
Karl Barth and Pneumatology
At the center is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. In my habilitation thesis, “The Holy Spirit, the Most Intimate Friend of Common Sense. A Contribution to the Pneumatology of Karl Barth,” I bring the pneumatology of the Church Dogmatics to light anew. I read Barth’s work on several levels: according to the shifts in his emphases, the structure of his guiding theses, and the change in his language, from scholarly exposition to doxological, prayerful speech.
I answer the often-raised question of a “pneumatological deficit” in Barth in a nuanced way. A more independent doctrine of the Spirit would have been desirable. At the same time, the Spirit shapes the structure and argumentation of the Church Dogmatics more strongly than it first appears. For me, the Spirit is not only the guarantor of God’s unavailability, but also an identity-forming, liberating power that opens up space for people to live their own story within the story of God.
Church and the Public Sphere
Questions of ecclesiology arise from pneumatology: What form and what task does the church have in a postmodern, plural society? In conversation with Barth, Erik Peterson, and social theory (including Luhmann and Habermas), I examine how worship, witness, and diakonia make the church a public space. In this “counter-space,” different rules apply. It can render a service to society and provide impulses for what Avishai Margalit calls a “decent society.”
Protestant Ethics
My ethical work, for example on a postmodern political ethics, proceeds from the same basic question: How can one act responsibly when the great shared narratives have become fragile? In research and teaching, I deal with general, Protestant, social, bioethics, sexual, and political ethics.
Current Projects
- Translation and commentary of K. H. Miskotte’s Wenn die Götter schweigen (When the Gods Are Silent) into Hungarian (2025–2026, publication expected 2026/27). This makes a key theological work accessible to Hungarian-speaking readers for the first time.
- Lectures and research exchange “in matters of Barth,” including at Reformed theological colleges in Hungary (most recently in Sárospatak).
- Revision and publication of the habilitation thesis with Exit Publishing, Cluj.
Research Environment
From 2007 to 2015, I directed the Central and Eastern European Karl Barth Research Institute at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University. There I also served as Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology (2005-2014) and as Assistant Professor (2014-2015). From 2013 to 2015, I was General Secretary of the Hungarian Society of Theology (Collegium Doctorum) and editor of the journal of the same name. Collaboration between Swiss, German-speaking, and Central and Eastern European theology remains a concern of mine to this day.
Profiles and Publications
My profile on Academia.edu and my ORCID profile offer further information on publications and academic activities. You can also find an overview under Publications. For inquiries about lectures or academic collaboration, please use the contact form.