sociology of religion at the West University of Timişoara and lecturer in the Advanced Programme “Human Rights and Religious Freedom” at Oxford University (Regent's Park College, Oxford). Schirrmacher was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Gebende Hände gGmbH (German: Giving Hands charitable Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), an internationally active relief organisation, and now is its senior advisor. He is member of the commission for religious freedom of the World Evangelical Alliance and since 2008 president of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Brussels/Geneva, Cape Town, Colombo, Brasília). He also is their speaker for human rights. According to media he is one of the leading experts on the topic of persecution of Christians. Several times he was speaking as expert on human rights in the German Parliament. In October 2015 he was the only evangelical member of the Catholic synod on family lead by Pope Francis. He is president of the International Society for Human Rights, manager of the Religious Liberty Commission of the German and the Swiss Evangelical Alliance, and director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom with regional offices for most continents: Brasilia (Latin America), Brussels/Bonn (Europe), Cape Town (Africa), Colombo and Delhi (Asia), which cooperates with the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief. In 2016 he was ordained as bishop of the Communio Christiana (a church in the Anglican realignment). On October 27, 2020, Schirrmacher was elected the next General Secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance. His term of office begins in March 2021. Another main focus of the work of Schirrmacher besides religious freedom in the area of human rights is the fight against human trafficking. He speaks with church leaders like Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and gives lectures all around the world. He is also consultant of the Faith and Order Commission, the Theological Commission of the World Council of Churches, chair of the Board of Advisors of the Central Council of Oriental Christians in Germany (ZOCD), and Member of the International Committee of the Global Christian Forum. He has authored and edited more than 100 books, which have been translated into 17 languages. Honours Schirrmacher received the following honours: 1996: Honorary doctorate for his “Ethics” from Whitefield Theological Seminary (Lakeland/Florida) 1997: Honorary doctorate from the Anglican Cranmer Theological House 2002: ‘Man of Achievement’ in ethics of international development, International Biographical Center