AFTER completing his studies he took a pastorate in Safenwil (Aargau) in 1911, and then devoted himself to theology. In 1921 he accepted a call to Göttingen as Professor of Systematic Theology. He also taught at Münster and Bonn, and finally returned to Basel, when in 1935 he was deprived of his office because of his opposition to National Socialism. He gained a reputation not only in Protestant but also in Roman Catholic circles through his commentary on Romans, which first appeared in 1919 and in which he became the spokesman of the dialecticel theology. He is now even better known for his larger "Church Dogmatics," which is regarded as the most significant work of Protestant theology in our generation.