Das weite Feld der Kasualpraxis

In reference to the broad spectrum of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century occasional sermons, this article critiques the tendency of the theory of the church's occasional offices to focus on the four occasional offices of baptism, confirmation, the solemnisation of matrimony, and funerals. In calling for the practical-theological theory of occasional offices to reassume a specific awareness of the essentially occasional character of all acts and offices of the church, the author seeks to counter the limitations and disconnection from a public sphere of reference which this narrow focus has imposed upon the theory and hopes to provide a fresh emphasis on the occasional aspect of the church's practical acts and activities.