Preacher

{{Short description|Person who talks to groups about religious topics}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Multiple issues|
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[[File:Jesus-SermonOnTheMount (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jesus]] was an [[Itinerant preacher|itinerant]] [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] preacher in 1st-century [[Judea (Roman province)|Judea]].]]
[[File:Predicador.JPG|thumb|upright|Street preacher in [[Praça da Sé]], [[São Paulo]], [[Brazil]].]]
A '''preacher''' is a person who delivers [[sermon]]s or [[homilies]] on [[religious]] topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who [[Open-air preaching|preach on the street]], or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a moral or social [[worldview]] or [[philosophy]].

==History==
Preachers are common throughout most cultures. They can take the form of a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] on a Sunday morning, or an Islamic [[imam]]. A Muslim preacher in general is referred to as a ''[[dawah|dā‘ī]]'', while one giving sermons on a Friday afternoon is called a ''[[khatib]]''.

The sermon or homily has been an important part of Christian services since Early Christianity, and remains prominent in both [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism]]. [[Lay preacher]]s sometimes figure in these traditions of worship, for example the [[Methodist local preacher]]s, but in general preaching has usually been a function of the [[clergy]]. The [[Dominican Order]] is officially known as the ''Order of Preachers'' ({{Lang|la|Ordo Praedicatorum}} in [[Latin language|Latin]]); [[friar]]s of this order were trained to publicly preach in [[vernacular]] languages, and the order was created by [[Saint Dominic]] to preach to the [[Cathar]]s of southern France in the early thirteenth century. The [[Franciscans]] are another important preaching order; Travelling preachers, usually friars, were an important feature of late medieval Catholicism.

In most denominations, modern preaching is kept below about 40 minutes, but historic preachers of all denominations could at times speak for well over an hour, sometimes for two or three hours,{{cn|date=April 2022}} and use techniques of [[rhetoric]] and theatre that are today somewhat out of fashion in mainline churches.

In many churches in the United States, the title ''preacher'' is synonymous with [[pastor|''pastor'']] or [[Minister (Christianity)|''minister'']], and the church's minister is often referred to simply as "our/the preacher" or by name such as "Preacher Smith". However, among some Chinese churches, 'preacher' ({{Lang-zh|c=傳道|links=no}}) is different from 'pastor' ({{Lang-zh|c=牧師|links=no}}). A preacher in the Protestant church is one of the younger clergy, but they are not officially recognised as pastors until they can prove their capability of leading the church.

==Other uses==
{{See|Ecclesiastes#Composition}}
''Preacher'' is also the supposed author of the Book of [[Ecclesiastes]]. Preacher is one translation of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word [[wikt:קהלת|קהלת]] ({{Lang|he-latn|Qoheleth}}). There is much debate about the identity of this preacher; many believe it is [[Solomon]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Britannica |first1=The Editors of Encyclopaedia |title="Ecclesiastes"|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ecclesiastes-Old-Testament |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Child preacher]]
* [[List of Christian preachers]]
* [[Clergy]]
* [[Da'i]]
* [[Maggid]]
* [[Preacher's kid]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book |last=Francis |first=Keith A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G8EgmQCCyvQC&pg=PA14 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the British Sermon 1689–1901 |last2=Gibson |first2=William |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=et al. |isbn=978-0199583591 |via=[[Google Books]]}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Preachers}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Christian clergy by type]]
[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Religious occupations]]