According to the latest ‘QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026’, the theology and religious studies programmes at Münster are among the best in the world. The subjects were ranked 20th in reputation surveys. In a national comparison, they are even in third place.

The ‘World University Ranking by Subject’ by the British education provider Quacquarelli Symonds is based primarily on reputation surveys among academics and employers, as well as on the number of citations of individual publications. The weighting of reputation surveys and bibliometric indicators varies depending on the subject area. The number of institutions included in the ranking varies depending on the size of the subject field.

What looks like a common book of hours from the outside turns out to be a sophisticated storage place for a Catholic priest's travel gear when you open the book cover: in the wooden box hidden in the book cover, there are silver jars with oils and a communion plate made of the same material. This rare piece, which probably dates from the late 18th century, is one of the highlights of the museum's Easter exhibition, which opens on 17 March and runs until 19 April. There is an open guided tour every Sunday at 3 p.m., for which no registration is required. The museum will be closed over Easter from 3 April (Good Friday) to 6 April (Easter Monday).  

At the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in Boston at the end of November, the INTF was represented by Prof. Holger Strutwolf, Dr. Annette Hüffmeier and David Vasquez. They presented the current status of work on the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) of the Gospel of Matthew.

The SBL is the oldest interdenominational society for biblical studies in North America and, with over 8,000 members from more than 100 countries, one of the largest of its kind. This year's annual conference featured more than 900 academic sessions and workshops on biblical studies and research, religious studies, and theology.

On 7 October, the Institute for New Testament Studies of the Department of Protestant Theology at the University of Hamburg visited the INTF. The guests included Professors Dr. Martina Böhm and Dr. Eckhart David Schmidt, language lecturer Dr. Christiane Krause, research assistant Lea Dohrmann, and a group of students. At the INTF, Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf gave the students an insight into current research in New Testament textual criticism. They also had the opportunity to get a preview of the new special exhibition ‘Global Bible’ at the Bible Museum.

Until 1 March 2026, the Bible Museum is showing the exhibition ‘Legacy of (post)colonial Bible translations in the Arctic, Oceania and West Africa’. It was developed in cooperation with ‘Global Bible (GloBil)’, an international project led by PD Dr Felicity Jensz from the Centre for Religion and Modernity at the University of Münster and Prof Hilary Carey from the University of Bristol.

Since 2023, the research team has been conducting a critical examination of British and German contributions to the creation of a ‘global Bible’. In particular, three case study regions where German and British colonialism once prevailed were examined: the Arctic, Australia/Oceania and West Africa. The project shows how the Bible, based on its original Hebrew and Greek sources, was disseminated through translations across various historical epochs and imperial contexts into the 21st century. 

Michael Welte, former employee of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF), passed away on 29 August 2025 at the age of 84. He played a decisive role in the establishment of the INTF and was involved in many trips to examine and film Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. He was also heavily involved in establishing the Bible Museum.

The commemorative publication ‘Die Bibel zum Sprechen bringen’ (Bringing the Bible to Life) has just been released, honouring Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf, Director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) and the Bible Museum at the University of Münster, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. In over 40 articles, internationally renowned scholars shed light on the current state of research in the field of reconstructing the ‘original text’ of the Greek New Testament.

On 14 April at 6 p.m., Montoro will present the conclusions for New Testament textual criticism that result from his investigations into the evaluation of Pauline citations in Chrysostom. External listeners are also welcome to attend the lecture ‘Counting with Coherence: Why Commentary Manuscripts should be included systematically in the “Liste” and treated distinctively in the ECM’ in the INTF meeting room (Pferdegasse 1).

The resurrection of Jesus from the grave at Easter is seen by Christians as part of a larger divine plan that is already laid out in the Old Testament. There are numerous references to overcoming death and the hope of an afterlife. This is why the Bible Museum's Easter exhibition ‘From the Scriptures to the Cross: Prophecy and its Interpretation at Easter’ sheds light on the continuities between the Old and New Testaments. The Easter exhibition can be seen from 20 March to 7 June, Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is free of charge.

The Federal President received the Board of Trustees of the Hermann Kunst-Stiftung at Bellevue Palace in Berlin yesterday (Monday, 17 February). Frank-Walter Steinmeier is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hermann Kunst-Stiftung, which supports the work of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF). Prof Holger Strutwolf, Director of the INTF at the University of Münster and Managing Director of the Hermann Kunst Foundation, was represented from Münster. Prof Strutwolf was accompanied by Dean Prof Arnulf von Scheliha (member of the Board of Trustees) and Dr Jan Graefe, curator of the INTF-affiliated Bible Museum.

The Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der neutestamentlichen Textforschung mourns the death of former German President Prof Dr Horst Köhler. He chaired the Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2019. Horst Köhler was closely associated with the Foundation and the INTF. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of the INTF and the memory of Kurt Aland with us. Horst Köhler worked tirelessly to promote research into the Urtext. He remains in our grateful memory.

Mourning for Prof. a.D. Dr phil. Dr theol. h.c. Barbara Aland D.D. (USA), D. Litt. (USA) (1937-2024)

The former long-standing director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Prof. Dr. Barbara Aland, passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning. Barbara Aland headed the Institute from 1983-2002 and was managing director of the Hermann Kunst-Foundation. She remained closely associated with the INTF, the Bible Museum and the Foundation. Our thoughts are with her family. She will be missed by us and by the scientific community.

‘Our museums are not just a small hobby for the university, but essential for social transfer’. Prorector Prof. Michael Quante was enthusiastic about the ‘Körper.Kult.Religion’ exhibition at the opening on Friday 25 October. It is ‘exemplary for the provision of socio-cultural knowledge, without which we will not be able to cope in our society in the long term’. In particular, he emphasised the intercultural multi-perspectivity of the project, which was realised by the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’. Representatives from around 15 disciplines at the university, such as Classical Studies, Theology, Sociology and Cultural Studies, took part.