takes place at the divine service. Divine service can be celebrated only if there is a public order and a clergy, which is established by God’s commandment. Thus the difference between the laity and the clergy is not only part of the public order but also of God’s economy since the creation of the world. In

The impression gained thus far is that laypeople had little alternative but to fit into the pattern set by the clerical church and to remain silent, or to develop religious activities on the fringe of the church, or even outside it altogether, in the knowledge that they would experience opposition from the clergy. Yet such an interpretation is too simplistic for the relationship between laity and clergy was complex. Even before the Reformation laypeople had held leading positions in the administration of the church. Acting as patrons or as churchwardens they often exercised tight control over the clergy. Above all many orthodox Lutheran clergy were concerned to strengthen and deepen the religious convictions of their parishioners and some called for greater theological instruction of the laity. Gradually, therefore, the relationship between laity and clergy changed. Inevitably laymen who had been theologically educated and whose interest in religious matters had been awakened constituted a challenge for both clergy and church.