A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances. In most episcopal church bodies, clerics are often required to read out pastoral letters of superior bishops to their congregations.
In the Catholic Church, such letters are also sent out regularly at particular ecclesiastical seasons, particularly at the beginning of fasts.
In the non-episcopal Protestant churches a pastoral letter is any open letter addressed by a pastor to his congregation, more especially to one customarily issued at certain seasons, for example, by the moderator of a Presbyterian assembly or the chairman of a Congregational or Baptist union.
The Armenian term for pastoral letter is kondak, also translated as encyclical, statement, or decree.Abraham of Crete | Historians of the Ottoman Empire, at uchicago.edu. Quote: "Kondak i veray T`ek`irdaghu" (Encyclical)...Melkonyan, Christine. On the Preparations of the 50th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. September 2019. Quote: ...Catholicos Vazgen I issued a statement (kondak) on "the martyrdom of the Western Armenian people during World War I"... Accessed 2021-09-15The Activities of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, http://www.genocide-museum.am. Quote: ...the Holy Etchmiadzin Fraternal Relief Committee was created by means of the Catholicos of All Armenians Gevorg V Surenyants' Kondak (Decree)...
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This article also incorporates the definition of "pastoral letter" provided by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia.