The sermon, within the religious sphere, is the speech, dictated by any figure with authority in the ecclesiastical world, which is characterized by having a high moral and religious content, intended to educate the parishioners regarding their behaviors and the possible consequences of this. It is considered one of the branches of oratory and, on some occasions, it can be called a homily. In an ironic context, the sermon is that set of advice, mostly moral, that tends to be tedious and long for the one to whom it is addressed, especially when it is the product of wrong behavior and the desire to correct it.
It is born as part of the act of preaching, of great importance to gain religious followers; this activity was reserved for only the bishops, although some men of lower rank in the hierarchy could, with previous arrangements, preach publicly. Formerly, the sermon was delivered in cult Latin; however, time later, the people could not understand the words used by the priests, so these were transferred to the language vernacular. Some researchers suspect that this is the reason why different cultured stories suddenly appeared in the vulgar language, giving the origin to folk literature. It is considered thatOne of the oldest sermons was the one given by Jesus on top of a mountain, traditionally known as the Sermon on the Mount.
The sermon developed in subsequent centuries, until it declined in the 18th, especially in Spain. It is recovered around the 20th century, by the action of Popes John XXIII and Jan Paul II. Protestant Christians, for their part, cite among their sermons that of other men, such as Luther, Calvin, and Melanchthon.
