Publication of texts in the annual journal Studia Oecumenica is carried out in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process — the Editorial Board, authors, and reviewers — are required to comply with the ethical standards adopted by the journal.

 Authors’ Responsibilities

Research integrity is a fundamental prerequisite for the quality of scholarly research and publication. Authors should present their research findings in a reliable, credible, honest, and unambiguous manner.

Studia Oecumenica publishes only original scholarly articles that have neither been previously published nor simultaneously submitted for publication in another journal, monograph, or edited volume. Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to several publication venues is unethical and will not be accepted.

An important criterion in the assessment of a submitted manuscript is also the objectivity of the analysis and the clear and unambiguous presentation of the research problem. False statements, falsification of research results, and data manipulation constitute breaches of publication ethics and will not be accepted.

Whenever a manuscript refers to claims, research findings, or data developed by other authors, the relevant passage must be accompanied by an appropriate reference and/or presented as a quotation. Authors should prepare their manuscripts on the basis of current and relevant literature essential to the research problem under consideration. Information obtained through conversation or correspondence with third parties may be included only with their explicit written consent.

Cases of so-called guest authorship and ghostwriting are considered unethical and will not be accepted. Authorship is limited to persons who have made a significant contribution to the conception of the study, its assumptions, research methods, or the implementation of the research project. Where a manuscript has been prepared by several authors, each author is required to submit a statement specifying their contribution to the preparation of the text. Each co-author must also separately consent to the submission of the article for publication in Studia Oecumenica.

 Responsible Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in Manuscript Preparation

Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies, provided that such tools do not replace independent critical thinking, scholarly expertise, or the author’s responsibility for the content of the work. AI tools should always be used under human oversight and control.

Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the content of their submitted manuscript, including the accuracy, completeness, impartiality, and originality of any material prepared with the assistance of AI tools.

Authors must review the terms and conditions of any AI tool they use in order to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of their data and inputs, including unpublished manuscripts. Particular care should be taken with any personally identifiable data.

Images that duplicate existing copyrighted works or directly refer to them, depict real individuals, or reproduce identifiable products or brands belonging to third parties must not be generated. Nor may an individual’s voice be imitated. Authors are responsible for checking AI-generated content for factual errors, fabricated or inaccurate references, and potential bias.

Authors should also ensure that the terms and conditions of any AI tool do not grant the provider rights extending beyond those necessary to provide the service, in particular the right to train the AI model on materials submitted by the author. They must also ensure that the AI tool does not impose restrictions on the use of generated outputs that could hinder or prevent the subsequent publication of the relevant article.

 Disclosure of AI Use

Authors should disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation in a separate AI declaration statement included in the manuscript upon submission. An appropriate statement may also appear in the published version of the article.

The disclosure should identify the AI tool used, the purpose of its use, and the extent of human oversight. Disclosure of AI use promotes transparency in the publication process, strengthens trust among authors, readers, reviewers, and editors, and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant AI tool.

Basic checks of grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not require a separate declaration. The use of AI as part of the research process, however, must be explicitly disclosed and described in detail in the methodology section of the article.

 Authorship and Artificial Intelligence

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors, nor cited as authors. Authorship entails responsibilities and tasks that can be attributed only to human beings.

Each author and co-author is responsible for ensuring that any questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authorship also requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and consent to its submission for publication.

Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the work is original, has not been previously published, that all persons named as authors qualify for authorship, and that the work does not infringe the rights of third parties. Before submitting a manuscript, authors should familiarize themselves with the Studia Oecumenica Ethics in Publishing Policy.

 Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Tools in Figures, Images, and Artwork

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts is not permitted. This includes, in particular, enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or introducing specific features within an image or figure.

Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or colour balance are acceptable, provided that they do not obscure, distort, or eliminate any information present in the original material. Where necessary, the Editorial Board may use specialist software or image-forensics tools to identify potential irregularities in submitted images.

The only exception applies where the use of AI or AI-assisted tools forms an integral part of the research design or research methods, for example in AI-assisted imaging approaches used to generate or interpret underlying research data.

In such cases, the use of AI must be described in the methodology section in a reproducible manner. This description should explain how AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the image creation or alteration process and should include the name of the model or tool, its version, extension number where applicable, and the manufacturer.

Authors should comply with the specific terms of use of the relevant AI software and ensure appropriate attribution of content. Where appropriate, authors may be asked to provide the Editorial Board with pre-AI-adjusted versions of images and/or the composite raw images used to create the final submitted versions.

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to produce artwork such as graphical abstracts is not permitted. In exceptional cases, the use of generative AI in the production of cover artwork may be allowed with the prior approval of the Editorial Board and the publisher, provided that the author can demonstrate that all necessary rights have been secured and that the origin of the material is properly acknowledged.

 Editorial Responsibilities

The Editorial Board of Studia Oecumenica decides whether a submitted manuscript should be published, taking into account primarily its scholarly merit, its consistency with the thematic profile of the journal, and the need to prevent plagiarism and practices referred to as guest authorship and ghostwriting.

In the event of complaints concerning breaches of publication ethics addressed to the Editorial Board of Studia Oecumenica, the author or authors of the submitted manuscript are informed in writing of the allegations and invited to respond. In the absence of a response, the institution with which the author or authors are affiliated may be informed of the matter.

A manuscript that receives positive evaluations from two external reviewers is accepted for publication. In the case of conditional acceptance, where the reviewers indicate the need for revisions and/or additions, the author is informed in writing of the need to make substantive changes to the manuscript. A negative evaluation by both reviewers results in rejection of the manuscript, of which the author is informed in writing.

 Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Each scholarly article submitted for publication is reviewed by two independent external reviewers. The double-blind review procedure adopted by Studia Oecumenica ensures the mutual anonymity of authors and reviewers.

A reviewer selected by the Editorial Board to assess a submitted manuscript is required to inform the Editorial Board if they are unable to evaluate the text owing to insufficient expertise or lack of time. In such a case, the Editorial Board appoints another reviewer.

A manuscript submitted for review must be treated as confidential material. The reviewer may not share or discuss the manuscript with anyone other than members of the Editorial Board of Studia Oecumenica. Research findings, data, opinions, and claims contained in a submitted manuscript may not be used by the reviewer in their own research before the article has been published.

The reviewer’s primary responsibility is to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Criticism motivated by personal considerations is unacceptable. All comments, evaluations, and suggestions should be clearly expressed and supported by appropriate arguments.

The review process takes into account, in particular, the following criteria: the originality and scholarly character of the submitted manuscript; its consistency with the thematic profile of the journal; the manner in which the research objectives are pursued and the clarity with which the research problem is presented; the appropriate use of relevant literature; and the proper substantiation of claims and conclusions.

Detailed rules governing the review procedure adopted by Studia Oecumenica are available on the journal’s website under the “For Authors” section.

The reviewer must inform the Editorial Board of any suspicion that the person submitting the manuscript has committed plagiarism or so-called self-plagiarism, indicating the passage or passages that raise concern.

 Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Peer Review Process

A manuscript submitted for review must be treated as a confidential document. Reviewers must not upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it to a generative AI tool, as this may violate confidentiality, the authors’ rights and, where personally identifiable information is involved, data protection requirements.

The confidentiality requirement also extends to the peer review report, as it may contain confidential information concerning the manuscript or its authors. Reviewers should therefore not upload their review report to an AI tool, even solely for the purpose of improving language or readability.

Reviewing a scholarly manuscript entails responsibilities that can be attributed only to human beings. Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be used by reviewers to perform the scholarly evaluation of a manuscript, because the critical thinking and independent original assessment required in peer review lie beyond the appropriate scope of such technologies. There is also a risk that AI tools may generate incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions concerning the manuscript.

The reviewer remains fully responsible and accountable for the content of the review report.

Under the Studia Oecumenica policy on AI use, authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation prior to submission, provided that appropriate human oversight is ensured and such use is disclosed in accordance with the journal’s Guide for Authors.

A disclosure of AI use should appear at the end of the article in a separate section preceding the list of references.

 Prevention and Detection of Plagiarism

Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes a breach of publication ethics and will not be accepted.

Where plagiarism is suspected, the Editorial Board of Studia Oecumenica conducts an investigation involving the reviewers and the person who submitted the manuscript.

Where the unauthorised use of text, claims, research findings, or data is confirmed, the author of the submitted article is informed in writing that the manuscript has been rejected. In the absence of a response, the institution with which the author is affiliated may be informed of the matter.

In cases of so-called self-plagiarism, where an author includes in a submitted article passages from their own previously published work without appropriate acknowledgement or justification, the Editorial Board of Studia Oecumenica may refuse publication on the grounds of insufficient originality.