Collegium Oecumenicum Who we are

First and foremost, our circle of Friends, "Collegium Oecumenicum", is a gesture of gratitude. More than 200 former students say thank you – for dialogue lived in a community of differing cultures, countries of origin, confessions and areas of study, for living and studying in an ecumenical community of theologians and non-theologians.

This gesture of thankfulness also is expressed in our objective: support of the Ecumenical Student Hall and the Ecumenical Institute, and in some individual cases of students in residence, within the limits of the opportunities that we have as a small community.

Added to the gratitude is our own profit.  As former residents and now Friends, we participate in activities of the House in the present as guests of the students: at their festivities in summer, at House Evenings during the semester, and at the Advent service and dinner.

As Friends we value the opportunity to keep in contact with one another, to meet new people, for example, in the preparations for and on a trip. We enjoy meeting again at the scene of our efforts, our doubts, and (perhaps, too) our disreputable deeds -- in Heidelberg. Here we also hold our yearly General Meeting, appropriately and stimulatingly combined regularly with a symposium, where former residents speak to a chosen theme.

prodesse et delectare – to benefit the students and to delight us Friends. Also vice versa.

Our hope is that some of the students enjoy their experiences as we did earlier – and that they express their thankfulness by joining our circle of Friends.

We were founded on 13 November 1981 by former Ecumenical Student Hall residents.  Since then, new members, both former residents and others, have joined year by year.

Our goal is to promote ecumenical ideas and to carry on ecumenical community as we experienced these in the Residence Hall.

With our activities we want to:

• maintain the concept and the special character of the house
• nurture relationships among former residents as well as contacts with present residents, for example, through meetings, festivities and lectures
• support the activities of the House (study trips, festivities, necessary purchases) financially
• publish the magazine Oecumenica, containing contributions and current information about the Resident Hall and the Friends. Oecumenica appears online from 2013 on. A printed version is still available for members who explicitly request it.