Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives
homiliesA homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of
doctrineDoctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined. Preaching is not limited to religious views, but it extends to moral and social world-views as well.
Preachers are common throughout most cultures. They can take the form of a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
minister on a Sunday morning, or an Islamic
ImamIn Sunni Islam, an imam khatib is a leader, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. This compound title is merely a common combination of two elementary offices: leader of the congregational prayer, which in larger mosques is performed at the times of all daily prayers; and...
or
Da'eeDa‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
on a Friday afternoon. The point of Christian preaching is to convince the hearer of their need of
salvationWithin religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
through the
gospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
of Jesus Christ. (cf
Epistle to the RomansThe Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
4:25) In the Book of Acts, Saint Paul travels widely to preach 'God's message'.(13:5)
The preaching of sermons is especially prominent in
ProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, especially among those
denominationsA religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
that feature
revivalismA revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
.
LayIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
preachers often figure in these traditions of worship, for example the
Methodist local preacherA Methodist local preacher is a lay person who has been accredited by a Methodist church to lead worship on a regular basis. Local preachers play an important role in the Methodist Church of Great Britain and other churches historically linked to it, and have also been important in English social...
s. Among
Roman CatholicsThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, the
Dominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
is officially known as the
Order of Preachers (
Ordo Praedicatorum in Latin);
friarA friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s of this order were trained to publicly preach in
vernacularA vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
languages, and the order was created by
Saint DominicSaint Dominic , also known as Dominic of Osma, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán was the founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers , a Catholic religious order...
to preach to the
CatharCatharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
s of southern France in the early thirteenth century.
In many churches in the United States, the title "Preacher" is synonymous with "
PastorThe word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
" or "Minister", and the church's minister is often referred to simply as "our/the preacher" or by name such as "Preacher Smith". Sometimes the minister may even be addressed by using the word, such as "Good morning, Preacher".
However, among some
ChineseChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
churches, preacher (Chinese:傳道) is different from pastor (Chinese:牧師). A preacher refers to the younger clergy in the Protestant church who are not officially recognised as a pastor until they can prove their capability of leading the church. A preacher cannot administer
sacramentA sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
, for example the holy communion and the
baptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
.
Other uses
- Preacher is also the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
according to the King James Version. Preacher is the translation of the HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
word קהלת (Qoheleth). There is much debate about the identity of the Preacher; many believe it is SolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
.
See also