Totensonntag

Totensonntag
A congregation of the United States-based denomination Evangelical and Reformed Church observing Totensonntag by lighting votive candles in memory of the faithful departed
Also called	Ewigkeitssonntag Totenfest
Observed by	Lutherans and Reformed in Germany
Significance	Remembrance of the Faithful Departed
Observances	church services, praying for the dead, lighting votive candles, visiting cemeteries and graveyards^[1]
Date	First Advent Sunday – 7 days
Related to	Allhallowtide, Advent

Totensonntag (German: [ˈtoːtn̩zɔntaːk] ^ⓘ, Sunday of the Dead), also called Ewigkeitssonntag (Eternity Sunday) or Totenfest, is a Protestant religious holiday in Germany and Switzerland, commemorating the faithful departed. It falls on the last Sunday of the liturgical year in the Protestant Church in Germany and the Protestantse Kerk in The Netherlands.

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History

With development of the liturgical year in the Middle Ages, readings on the last things were connected with the last Sundays of the liturgal year. While on the antepenultimate Sunday the focus is on death, the penultimate Sunday has the topic Last Judgment and the last Eternal Life. Traditionally, the last Sunday of the liturgical year deals in a special way with the expectation of Judgment Day. The Gospel is that of Parable of the Ten Virgins.

In 1816, King Frederick William III of Prussia issued a decree that required all Lutheran churches in the areas under Prussian rule to observe the last Sunday before Advent as a "general celebration in memorial of the deceased".^[2] Other Lutheran churches in the remainder of Germany followed, eventually, as well.

In the United States, some Protestant churches celebrate this service of remembrance as Totenfest.^[3]

Special protection

Totensonntag is particularly protected in all German federal states. The public holiday laws of all federal states determine Totensonntag as a day of mourning and remembrance or as a so-called "silent day", for which special restrictions apply.^[4]

Sunday in ecumenism

In the Roman Catholic Church, the last sunday of the liturgical year is celebrated as Solemnity of Christ the King. The feast emphasizes the rule of Christ in eternity and shows parallels to Eternity Sunday. English Lutheran churches that follow the Revised Common Lectionary also celebrate Christ the King Sunday. In the Catholic tradition, the faithful departed are remembered on All Souls' Day.

References

^ Black, Monica (10 May 2010). Death in Berlin: From Weimar to Divided Germany. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780521118514. Totensonntag was an occasion for remembering and praying for the dead and was celebrated by attending church services and making cemetery pilgrimages.
^ RGG, 3. Aufl.; Band VI Spalte 957
^ "Totenfest." "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2013-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), accessed 2013-11-20
^ "§ 2(1)III Gesetz über Sonntage, Feiertage, Gedenktage und Trauertage vom 16. Oktober 1953" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-21.

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