Author: Austra Reinis

In the Christian tradition, pastoral care to the dying has a long history. ​​Reinis particularly explores ​​the medieval literary genre of self-help books known as the ars moriendi, or “art of dying.” Martin Luther contributed to this genre with his Sermon on Preparing to Die (1519); dozens of Lutheran pastors, among them Wenzeslaus Linck in Nuremberg and Martin Moller in G​​örlitz, followed in his footsteps. All of them offered spiritual comfort to the dying in ways that addressed contemporary concerns. The recently-published The Divine Art of Dying (2014) by Karen Speerstra and Herbert A​nderson heralds a long-overdue renaissance of this genre. Reinis considers how ​the practices of the past can inform our actions today in our increasingly secularized society.