Dietmar W. Winkler is an expert on
Oriental Christianity and its ecumenical relations. His work focuses on the cultural history and present of the
Eastern Churches, Oriental Christian literature and historical theology in their political contexts. At the University of Salzburg he established a research focus on the spread of
Christianity along the Silk Road to
Central Asia and
China (Salzburg International Conferences on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia). Winkler is a consultant to the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Vatican), a member of the Theological Commission of the Austrian Bishops' Conference and a board member of the
Pro Oriente Foundation. In 2010 he became a member of the
European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Among others, he is a member of the Society for the Study of the Christian East (GSCO), the North American Patristics Society (NAPS) and was chairman of the Association of Catholic Church Historians of Austria (AKKÖ) in 2016–2021. Winkler is editor of the scholarly series (LIT-Verlag, Münster/Germany et al.),
Pro Oriente Studies in Syriac Tradition (Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ/USA) and, together with , of
Wissenschaft und Religion (Peter Lang, Berlin et al.), as well as on the editorial board of
Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity (Brill, Leiden/NL et al.),
Handes Amsorya: Journal of Armenian Studies (Mechitaristenverlag, Vienna) and
The Harp: A Review of Syriac and Oriental Studies (Kottayam/India). ==Books==