Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christoph Markschies studied Protestant Theology, classical Philology and Philosophy in Marburg, Jerusalem, München and Tübingen. He received his doctorate in Theology in 1991 and completed his habilitation in 1994. He was professor in Jena from 1994 until 2000 and Heidelberg from 2000 until 2004. Since 2004, he is professor in Ancient Christianity at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. From 2006 until 2010 he was the president of this university. Since 2012 he is the Vice President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 2001 he received the Leibniz Prize. He holds several international Honorary Doctoral degrees and is a member of several Academies of Sciences in Germany.

He leads numerous research projects as the long-term Academy project “The Late Antique Biblical Exegesis of Alexandria and Antioch” which produces critical editions of select bible commentaries by late antique Christian authors from Alexandria and Antioch. He also currently leads the project “Transfer of Apocalyptic Knowledge in Antique Christianity” within the Collaborative Research Center SFB 980 Episteme in Motion.

In his research, Christoph Markschies focuses on the intellectual history and history of ideas of Ancient Christianity, including the movements as Gnosticism and Montanism, on the transformation of the (Platonic) philosophy in Christian theology and the history of the body in Ancient Christianity within the context of other religions and movements.