With development of the liturgical year in the Middle Ages, readings on the last things were connected with the last Sundays of the liturgal year. While on the antepenultimate Sunday the focus is on death, the penultimate Sunday has the topic Last Judgment and the last
Eternal Life. Traditionally, the last Sunday of the liturgical year deals in a special way with the expectation of
Judgment Day. The Gospel is that of
Parable of the Ten Virgins. In 1816, King
Frederick William III of Prussia issued a decree that required all Lutheran churches in the areas under
Prussian rule to observe the last Sunday before
Advent as a "general celebration in memorial of the deceased". Other Lutheran churches in the remainder of
Germany followed, eventually, as well. In the United States, some Protestant churches celebrate this service of remembrance as
Totenfest. == Special protection ==