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[German Version] Luther’s marriage with K. v. Bora in 1525 was an action with confessional and political implications of enormous impo…

[German Version] The pastoral profession exhibits extreme variation both in its historical development and in its denominational realizations throughout the world. The spectrum of its contextually determined structures extends from individuals with no academic training to those who are highly professionalized academically, from people who are poor, disdained, or oppressed to those who enjoy social prestige and wealth, from mandatory singleness to preprogrammed life in an extended family, from acti…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. History – III. Theology – IV. Sociology – V. Law – VI. Statistics I. Concept The term “clergy” refers to persons who are ordained and who are ordinarily called to full-time (recently also part-time or non-stipendiary) service to carry out the preaching office. Etymologically, “clergy” is derived from the Gk kleros, meaning “lot” or “inheritance,” possibly a reference to the tribe of Levi having the Lord as their lot (Deut 18:2). The etymological derivation of the German term Pfarrer is not completely clear. If it is derived from Lat. parricus, “fold, pen,” and/or Gk παροικία/ paroikía, “village community,” then it refers to the intrinsic relation to the community. If it is derived from Gk …