[German Version]

In the broad sense, pastoral office is simply the ministry of a member of the clergy; in other words, an area of responsibility independent of its incumbent, defined for a particular, limited domain within the larger structure of the church and involving proclamation of God’s Word and administration of the sacraments. Usually this ministry is exercised within a defined body or territory such as a local church (Community) or parish. In recent decades, however, a substantial number of functionally defined ministries have been established – for exampl…