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1. DefinitionIn the narrower sense,  homiletics (from Greek  homilía, “conversation, speech”) denotes a theory of preaching (Sermon) developed for the purpose of didactic communication and set down in writing or a theoretical guide to the practice of preaching; in the extended sense, however, it also includes all the other bodies of knowledge, tools, and practices that target the acquisition of homiletic competence. The socio-historical locus of homiletics in the early modern period was qualification t…

1. Terminology Etymologically, alethophiles are “friends” or “lovers” (Greek phíloi) of “truth” (Greek al ḗtheia). In the early modern period, authors repeatedly published under the pseudonym Alethophilus in the context of various controversies in order to present their concerns onomastically. In the 18th century, the alethophiles were popularized by the Enlightenment philosopher  Christian Wolff (1679-1754), who identified his readership in the titles of his major works: “ … shared with the lovers of truth.” Thus in this period the name Alethophile came to stand generally…

1. Overview Preaching (from Latin  praedicatio, “proclamation”) denotes public proclamation in the setting of Christian worship. It can be divided into two genres: (1) the homily (Greek  homilía; Latin  tractatus, “speech,” “exposition”), that is, the interpretation of previously read Bible texts (“lections”) – a practice adopted by Christianity from Judaism – and (2) the sermon (Latin  sermo, “speech”), which develops a topic systematically and is based on the church year (Latin  sermo de tempore, “sermon on the season”), the feasts of the saints ( de sanctis, “on the sai…