Contemporary The term "pastoral care" has evolved from its historical association with
Christian ministry. Modern institutional pastoral care in
Europe includes
multi-faith,
secular, and
humanist approaches. Services offered vary by institution and may include
counseling,
meditation, and various forms of
psychological support. In some cases, clients can request their preferred type of care. Pastoral care can also be associated with
palliative care, depending on the provider. Pastoral care typically involves the practitioner and client sitting together, with the client sharing personal details. The practitioner listens attentively, keeps the information confidential, and, depending on their training and approach, offers guidance and counsel. This model for pastoral care is based on the Biblical stories of Jesus healing others. In the
New Testament, the interactions described with the term "pastoral care" are also described with
Paraklesis (Greek: παράκλησις
paráklēsis), which broadly means "accompaniment," "encouragement," "admonition," and "consolation" (e.g.,
Romans 12:8;
Philippians 2:1;
1 Timothy 4:13;
1 Thessalonians 5:14). Pastoral care occurs in various contexts, including congregations, hospital
chaplaincy, prison chaplaincy, psychiatry, crisis intervention, telephone helplines, counseling centers, senior care facilities, disability work, hospices, end-of-life care, grief support, and more. The term "pastoral
ministry" relates to
shepherds and their role of caring for their sheep. Christians were the first to adopt the term for metaphorical use, although many religions and non-religious traditions also place an emphasis on care and social responsibility. In the West, pastoral ministry has since expanded into pastoral care, embracing many different religions and non-religious beliefs. The Bible does not explicitly define the role of a pastor but associates it with teaching or "shepherding the flock". …Shepherding involves
protection, tending to needs, strengthening the weak, encouragement, feeding the flock, making provision, shielding, refreshing, restoring, leading by example to move people on in their pursuit of holiness, comforting, guiding (Ps 78:52; 23).
History In the ancient church, pastoral care primarily revolved around the Christians' struggle against
sin, which jeopardized their ultimate
salvation. The theologians
Clement of Alexandria,
Origen, and
Eusebius of Caesarea understood this as mainly the concern of individuals for their own souls. Increasingly, the role of pastoral caregivers was seen as assisting individual Christians in this endeavor. The first pastoral movement emerged among the
Desert Fathers, who were often visited by Christians seeking advice, though this was not yet referred to as pastoral care. Similarly, the early monastic-like communities served as such pastoral care centers. The letters of
Basil of Ancyra,
Gregory of Nazianzus, and
John Chrysostom contain numerous examples of pastoral counsel; the term "pastoral care" shifted towards a concern for the souls of others. At the transition to the
Middle Ages,
Gregory the Great composed the
Liber Regulae Pastoris (''The Book of the Shepherd's Rules
) directed towards the pope, one of the most influential books on pastoral care (cura''). During the Middle Ages, pastoral care was closely tied to the practice of the sacrament of penance, which included confession of sins, making amends, and absolution by the priest. Against the often mechanized routine, particularly from the monastic tradition, efforts were made to address this, such as by
Bernard of Clairvaux. The Latin term
cura animarum (care of souls) emerged as the proper responsibility of the bishop as the pastor responsible for individual Christians, which he usually delegated to a priest, typically the parish priest. In this sense,
cura animarum is also used in today's canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.
Humanist, secular and non-religious Humanist groups, which act on behalf of non-religious people, have developed pastoral care offerings in response to growing demand for the provision of like-minded support from populations undergoing rapid
secularisation, such as in the UK. The terms "pastoral care" and "pastoral support" are preferred because these sound less religious than terms such as "chaplaincy." Surveys have shown that more than two thirds of patients support non-religious pastoral care being available in British institutions. Similar offerings are available from humanist groups around Europe and North America. ==Pastoral ministry==