Prolegomena zur Erforschung der Predigt im Zeitalter der lutherischen Orthodoxie

This article, based on a paper given at a symposium uniting scholars from different academic disciplines on the topic of the »Sermon in the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy«, deals with the fact that the sermon nowadays is the object of several disciplines. As a literary genre it is included in an enlarged definition of »literature«, and it is used as a historical source for social history and the history of mentalities. In this context, the article questions the significance of the sermon for the theologian. Based on Martin Luther's assertion that the sermon is an oral event, the author emphasizes the difference between the sermon as it is held and the printed sermon, and he examines the aspects to be considered in dealing with the sermon in Lutheran Orthodoxy if the sermon is to be taken seriously as an oral event.