Comenius
The origin of Comenius
The name of the partnership is an acronym: the letters stand for Commissie voor Oost/Midden-Europese en Nederlandse Inter-Universitaire Samenwerking (Commission for Eastern/Central European and Dutch Inter-University Cooperation). At the same time the name of course refers to the great Protestant scholar Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Komenský, as his original name reads, was born in Moravia (Czech Republic), studied in Germany, and later lived because of religious persecution in various Western and Eastern European countries. He taught for some time in Sárospatak (Hungary), discussed with Descartes in Leiden and spent his last phase of life in Amsterdam. Everywhere he worked to improve education, so that people from all walks of life would flourish. Comenius is buried in the Netherlands (Naarden). Our network is proud of the fact that Comenius was not only an pedagogue but also a theologian, and sees him as an excellent patron for his ideal: to promote Europe-wide contacts in order to facilitate international cooperation and to develop mutual understanding for the different contexts in which European Protestants theologize.
Biennial conference
Every two years, Comenius holds a conference, either in the Netherlands/Belgium or in one of the participating Central/Eastern European countries. The conference languages are English and German.
