Markschies is a renowned theologian, church historian and expert on ancient Christianity and marginalized movements in the majority church. His recently published book Körper – jüdische, christliche und pagane Gottesvorstellungen in der Antike (Body – Jewish, Christian, and Pagan images of god in antiquity, C.H. Beck) presents an astonishingly alien Christianity deeply rooted in the world of Pagan ideas about god. Between philosophical and theological debates, he tracks links between the ancient religions.
Christoph Markschies studied protestant theology, classical philology and philosophy in Marburg, Jerusalem, Munich and Tübingen. From 2006 to 2010 he was president of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is currently vice president of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 2001 he was awarded the Leibniz Prize for his work.
