When will the lecture with Christoph Markschies take place?

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Where will the event take place?

The venue is Bielefeld University in Building X, Room X-E0-001, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld.

What is the admission fee?

Admission to the event is free.

What is the lecture about?

Christoph Markschies explores how people in Late Antiquity dealt with time and what concepts they associated with time.

Who is the event suitable for?

The lecture is aimed at teachers and researchers, students, early-career researchers, prospective students, and the interested public.

Who is organizing the evening?

The organizer is the Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Theology at Bielefeld University, Department of History.

When Time Suddenly Seems Strange: Christoph Markschies Opens New Perspectives on Late Antiquity

Name: Christoph Markschies: Did People in Late Antiquity Have Time?
Start: 2026-10-28T18:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-10-28T20:00:00+01:00
Location: Universität Bielefeld, Gebäude X

How did Late Antiquity experience the passage of time?

What did time mean for people in Late Antiquity? Christoph Markschies will address this fascinating question on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during the public opening of the semester at the Faculty Colloquium at Bielefeld University. His lecture connects ancient history, theology, and intellectual history with a question that still reaches into our daily lives.

A lecture on a seemingly self-evident question

Under the title Did People in Late Antiquity Have Time? How did they deal with time? And what did they understand by time?, Christoph Markschies examines familiar notions. The focus is on surprising answers to questions that initially seem obvious: How was time perceived, ordered, and interpreted? What role did religious concepts, social structures, and philosophical traditions play?

Christoph Markschies and Ancient Christianity

Christoph Markschies is one of the prominent German researchers in the field of ancient Christianity and early church history. His research focuses, among other things, on intellectual history, Gnosticism, Montanism, and the transformation of ancient philosophy into Christian theology. In 2001, he received the Leibniz Prize from the German Research Foundation for his research.

As a professor, long-time president of Humboldt University in Berlin, and president of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Markschies brings extensive experience in research, science communication, and academic event planning. The evening is aimed at teachers and researchers, students, early-career researchers, and prospective students and is open to the public.

Historical Perspectives with Contemporary Relevance

The event opens a conceptual space between the lecture hall and historical life worlds. The audience encounters ideas of time that can differ markedly from modern clocks, calendars, and schedules. This shift in perspective makes the lecture a special event experience for all who are interested in antiquity, theology, philosophy, and cultural history.

In the atmosphere of Building X, a concentrated framework for scientific exchange is created. The lecture provides professional context, stimulating ideas, and the opportunity to view central questions of Late Antiquity from a new perspective.

Conclusion: An Evening for Curious Minds

Those who wish to understand historical contexts and discover the ideas of past societies about time will experience an enlightening evening at this Faculty Colloquium. The public lecture with Christoph Markschies combines scientific expertise with a surprising question. Admission is free – a great opportunity to experience the semester opening at Bielefeld University live.