Pastoral
The Pastoral is the area of pastoral care in the Roman Catholic Church. The term is also used as a synonym for pastoral care , but is not exactly congruent. The word goes back to the Latin adjective pastoralis , a derivation of pastor "shepherd".
Pastoral and pastoral care
The term pastoral first emphasizes the aspect of the pastoral service of Catholic pastors (in the sense of spiritual guidance and instruction). The supreme shepherds of the Roman Catholic Church are the Pope and the bishops . Pastoral care is therefore linked to the exercise of Roman Catholic authority . In the other Christian churches the pastoral offices are justified and organized differently.
The term pastoral also refers to the personal location of pastoral care (church structures with priests , deacons and other agents, e.g. pastoral officers ). Pastoral care rather relates to the pastoral work, which also has teaching and liturgical aspects.
The preferred method today is dialogue with people, pastoral discussions. Pastoral theology deals with this in a scientific and theological way . In the field of Protestant theology , the concept of a - broader - practical theology is preferred.
See also
The adjective pastoral
The adjective pastoral in the area of the church refers to the pastor and his duties as shepherd of the community. It means something like "pastoral care" or more generally "concerning the pastor and his office". This is the meaning of the adjective in compositions such as pastoral letter and pastoral theology . A pastoral style or a corresponding demeanor is also referred to as pastoral .
The adjective pastoral literally refers to shepherds (e.g. “ pastoral animal husbandry ”), it can also mean “rural” or “ idyllic ”. In music , literature and painting , pastoral is a term for works that depict the shepherds' natural life ( bucolic poetry , shepherd poetry , shepherd game ). The character of these works is described as pastoral (e.g. "pastoral music").
See also
- Pastoral (disambiguation)
Web links
- Pastoral department at the German Bishops' Conference