Doctoral Candidate Heindrikje Kuhs

Heindrikje Kuhs studied theology (Magister) and philosophy (BA) in Heidelberg and Prague. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Church History at the Faculty of Theology in Heidelberg. Her work is supported by the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and supervised by Prof. Dr. Winrich Löhr.

Her project, provisionally titled “Visio Dei in Augustine,” argues that the vision of God is a fundamental and continuous theme across Augustine’s corpus and offers a new lens for understanding the coherence and development of his philosophical theology. By examining related concepts such as the ascent of the soul and the theory of the spiritual senses, the study situates the visio Dei within Augustine’s epistemology, ethics, Trinitarian theology, and eschatology, while also placing his thought in dialogue with the Platonic tradition. Particular attention is given to the communal dimension of the visio Dei, highlighting its role in shaping Augustine’s understanding of the civitas Dei as a shared orientation toward the contemplation of God.