Edmund Schlink (1903-1984), Professor of Dogmatic Theology and Ecumenism at Heidelberg University, was delegated to Rome as an official observer of Vatican II (1962-1965) by the Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - EKD). At the intersection between contemporary church history and ecumenism Hopf investigates the motives and circumstances of Schlink’s delegation. She studies so far unpublished archival material to show how Edmund Schlink tried to influence the Council proceedings and to distil the observer’s judgement on central Council documents and their authors.