Pietism is a comprehensive term for a widespread and manifold movement within Protestantism in the early 17th century. The first half of the 18th century was its heyday but it made itself felt in 19th-century revivalism and is still a force even today (e.g., among the Moravian Brethren and some types of Methodism). Pietism does not look on the Reformation as a mere occurrence in the past that is now embodied in an institution, but as an event that the Church must constantly actualize if Christ’s kingdom is to be a living reality. The substance of all pietism is a longing for praxis pietatis, the …