In its third edition (1993-2001), the "Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche" - which as "LThK" has become a trademark for theological and historical expertise - is one of the great, internationally recognised standard works that are indispensable for both theological scholarship and church practice. The "LThK" is a German-language Catholic encyclopaedia with a world church and ecumenical openness. It focusses on Catholic theology and Catholic-ecclesial relations in the German-speaking world. The European-North American area, the young churches and Protestant and Orthodox theology are also included. The eleven-volume encyclopaedia offers 25,000 keyword entries in over 16,000 columns of text, written by more than 4,500 authors. Each article concludes with an overview of the most important literature,.