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1. Religious Aspects 1.1. General The term “prayer” has to do with a central fact in the divine-human relation, at the root of which is asking. Etymologically, Eng. “prayer” (unlike Ger. Gebet) goes back to OFr. preiere, “act of as…

[German Version] I. Basics – II. History – III. Systematic Theology I. B…

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[German Version] During Holy Week, the last week of the six-week long Passiontide (within Catholicism: Easter time of penitence), Lutheran church services omit Alleluia (II), “Glory to God in the highest” ( Gloria in excelsis ; exception: Maundy Thursday [from Lat. mandatum; “command”]), and “Glory be to the Father.” In 4th-century Jerusalem, a liturgical re-enactment of the course of events of Jesus’ ¶ passion was initiated in Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist: I) is remembered; in early Christian times penitents (Repentance: IV, 2.a) were readmitted to the Lord’s Supper on this day. Holy Week may be understood as “passiontide in a nutshell” (Lutheran Liturgical Conference 10) and serves, on the one hand, as a time of remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death and, on the other, as preparation for Easter. The high point of Holy Week are the “three holy days,” from the evening before Good Friday to the celebration of Easter night and Easter day, commemorating (according to v. Balthasar) “the way of the cross (Good Friday),” “the way to the dead (Holy Saturday)” (that is, to the “place” of human kind’s refusal of God’s comprehensive will for salvation), and “the way to the Father (Easter).” In this way, cross and resurrection are bound together, but may not merge. The Easter night worship, culmination of the liturgical celebrations, begins as a celebration of light, continues in the service of the word and – if possible – with baptism (but always in remembrance of the baptismal promise), and ends with the celebration of th…

[German Version] are days of prayer, repentance (Days of prayer and repentance), fasting and thanksgiving (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, latter also as ordination date) taking place in four weeks of the year. Usually held at the beginning of the four seasons, they have their origin in Rome and have been observed since the 3rd century. Since 1975 mainly the first week in Advent, Lent, the week before Pen-…

[German Version] include a wide variety of worship services, all with young people as the intended congregation; they are often ecumenical. The first such services were held in connection with the Jugendbewegung; they were hailed as beneficial to both young people (Youth/Adolescence) and the community because of their focus on real life, but were also criticized as impeding the familiarization of young people with congregational worship on Sunday morning. This controversy is still alive in the debate over designing worship fo…

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. Early Christianity – V. Church History – VI. Liturgical and Practical Aspects …

[German Version] (Fr. vendredi saint, Ger. Karfreitag from OHG kara, “lament”) commemorates the day of Jesus’ crucifixion (Cross/Crucifixion: III) and death; it is one of the most solemn Christian festivals. Fasting (III, 1) on Good Friday and Holy Saturday…

[German Version] Christ's resurrection (II) is the fundamental fact celebrated in the Feasts of Our Lord, which emphasize particular accents in Jesus' saving work. Each Sunday is a “minor” Easter feast (Easter), and each year the “major” Easter feast constitutes the center of the church year. Easter is the oldest Christian feast (Feasts and festivals) and unfolds in the liturgical tradition in the time after Easter with Christ's Ascension and Pentecost, and in the time before Easter with the pre-E…