About this Volume

Few other books communicate the Gospel to Luther's contemporaries so powerfully as Luther's Church Postil (sermons for the church year). Now for the first time, Luther's authorized, final edition of the Church Postil, edited originally by Caspar Cruciger for the summer half of the year, is presented here in English. This volume brings forth Luther's sermons on Epistle and Gospel texts from Easter through Pentecost.

In 1535, Luther wrote to a friend, "Concerning the [earlier version of the] postil, you have more respect for it than I do. I would like the whole book to be destroyed. And this is what I am doing: I am entrusting to Dr. Caspar Cruciger the work of re-editing the whole into a new and better form, which would be of benefit to the whole Church everywhere. He is the sort of man, unless love deceives me, who will correspond to Elisha, if I were Elijah (if one may compare small things with great), a man of peace and quiet, to whom I shall commend the church after [I depart]; Philip does this too."

Benefits of Luther's Works, American Edition, vol. 77 (Church Postil III):

• Accurate and clear translation (An early 20th-century version of these sermons was inaccurate and stilted.)
• Commentary on the chief biblical text for the seasons of Epiphany, Ascension, and Pentecost
• Includes the careful, explanatory introductions and footnotes that have become a hallmark of Luther's Works: American Edition
• Fully indexed

Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and James L. Langebartels

About the Series

The 28 planned new volumes are intended to reflect both modern and sixteenth-century interests and to expand the coverage of genres underrepresented in the existing volumes, such as Luther's sermons and disputations. The primary basis for the translation is the comprehensive Weimar edition.