To study theology in the land of the Bible.
The Holy Land has always attracted unusual people and produced unusual people. The group of the twelve apostles, the apostle of the gentiles and the Easter witness, Mary Magdalen, may serve as illustrious examples. In this respect not much has changed since then. Another eloquent example of this is the Theological Study Year of our Abbey and especially its founder and spiritual father, Laurentius Klein (1928-2002).
The Abbot Primate had sent this Benedictine from the Abbey of St. Matthias in Trier to Dormition in 1969 to develop perspectives for the future for the crisis-shaken community. And that is exactly what he did. What was originally planned as “90 Days in Israel” chiefly for Catholic seminarians, quickly developed into an attractive program with an ecumenical stamp: to study the Bible in the land of the Bible, archaeology, history and politics, confessions and religions, culture and languages - and all of this not only in the lecture hall but locally in the field, so to speak. For, an integral part of the two-semester program is a multitude of sometimes several-day excursions with expert professors from Europe or expert scholars and local guides.
Since 1973 almost a thousand students, both men and women, both Catholics and Protestants from German speaking areas, have passed through the Study Year. From the beginning the program has been supported financially and structurally by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and belongs to the latter's most constantly promoted programs.
In February 2010 the Study Year received an additional sign of support through the establishment of the “Laurentius Klein Chair for Biblical and Ecumenical Theology” for the dean of studies and the two assistents who are entrusted with the direction of the program. Financially the project has the backing of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, which likewise is administered by the DAAD. The academic umbrella for the Study Year is provided by the Benedictine Athenaeum of Sant'Anselmo in Rome, to which it is affiliated.