The Melanchthon Centre is the ecumenical study centre founded in 2002 by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy (ELKI/CELI) and the Waldensian Faculty of Theology. In the spirit of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE), the centre sees itself as a platform for Protestant theologians from all over Europe who wish to study the Christian metropolis of Rome in its many facets more closely.
The most important activities of the Melanchthon Centre are the academic year and the summer course in Rome for students of theology from other countries. The Centre also organizes conferences and refresher courses for international theologians who are active in the scientific-academic domain as well as the pastoral one and the teaching profession.
In addition to the founding institutions, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the Evangelical Lutheran Community of Rome and the Evangelical Church of Württemberg (Ev. Landeskirche in Württemberg) currently offer financial support to the Centre’s activities. There is the possibility to support specific projects, something which has involved many other partners in the Centre’s activity over the past years.
In addition, there exists an Association in Germany, the Friends of the Melanchthon Centre (Freundeskreis Melanchthon Zentrum e.V), the goal to promote the Study Centre.