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The Lutheran Evangelical Church named in German Christuskirche (Church of Christ) is located in the Ludovisi district. The sober façade of travertine is adorned with pilasters and three niches each containing a statue: from the left Peter, Christ and Paul. The interior is in Romanesque style, with round arches and mosaics. The icon of the Christ Pantokrator is found in the apsidal basin, while the other mosaics present almost exclusively geometric patterns. The eagle of the pulpit recalls the ornaments of the pulpits of Southern Italy of the XII-XIII century. and alludes both to the evangelist John and to the art linked to the House of Swabia.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rome has nearly 200 years of history. It started when Christian Josias Bunsen was appointed Prussian minister to the Vatican in 1817, and he gave a place to celebrate the Reformation at the home of the Secretary of the Prussian embassy in the Holy See. Two years after the Prussian King, Friedrich Wilhelm III, sent the first Protestant minister to Rome. When, in 1870, Rome became the capital of a united Italy, it was possible, for the first time, to build non-Catholic churches, too. In 1911 the first stone of the church was laid, which, after the interruption of the works, due to the First World War, could be inaugurated in 1922. The church is until today the central point of the life of the Roman Lutheran community, also in relation to Protestants from other parts of the world for representation or tourism.

The sensitivity in ecumenical dialogue and disagreement regarding the authenticity of other religions and denominations are a crucial feature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy. In Italy, it cooperates with the Waldensians, Methodists, Baptists and the Salvation Army, a founding member theFederation of Protestant Churches in Italy. With the Catholic Churc holds an active dialogue that covers practical, pastoral aspects, especially: There are a lot of families in Italy with both denominations, the Lutheran and the Catholic Church, together. In 1983, on the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther, John Paul II entered the Lutheran church for the first time. The visit was repeated by Benedict XVI, who emphasized, together with the Lutheran pastor Jens-Martin Kruse, the common faith in Christ. Finally, Pope Francis, also a guest of the community of Rome, asked pardon for the non-evangelical behaviors held by Catholics against Christians of other Churches. The Evangelical Lutheran community is also engaged in dialogue with the Jews especially regarding the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and the figure of Jesus. It is in fact a member of the European Lutheran Commission for Church and Judaism (Lutherische Europäische Kommission für Kirche und Judentum) from 1998. Finally, the Lutheran Protestants of Rome, together with the Union of Islamic Communities of Italy, undertook a path, entitled "Protestantism and Islam: roads of dialogue".

In the Rome of the Popes it was forbidden to build religious buildings belonging to religious confessions other than Catholic. For this reason, once emancipated, the Lutherans designed a magnificent church, which should have expressed the strong self-awareness of the German Protestants present in Catholic Rome. The bells of the new Lutheran church of Rome thus have the sound of those of the church of Wittenberg Castle, a symbolic church of the Reformation begun in 1517 by Martin Luther.

Direct visit: with local guides.

Virtual visit: presentation of the religious site through the video-tour

Classroom activity (pre and post the visit):
Artistic itinerary through some information sheets on the Lutheran community of Rome.
Ecumenical journey with detailed information on the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" of 1999 and the document "From the conflict to communion" of 2013.
Activity of verification of the acquired knowledge and skills.