Forgotten Truths
Longer Sermons Are Useless
Despite his liberal leanings, Bishop Felix Dupanloup was an internationally renowned ecclesiastic with a flair for public speaking. His following words on the superiority of short sermons should be considered as the objective counsel of an expert orator, regardless of his political or theological positions.
Bishop Felix Dupanloup
With the exception of long sermons for rare occasions, half an hour is largely sufficient: beyond this the audience becomes tired and doesn't listen, it becomes lifeless. Further, what we cannot say in half an hour will not be said in a longer sermon, as long as we know how to summarize our words and avoid what is useless.
Felix Antoine Dupanloup
apud The American Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 66,
Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press, 1922, p. 270
apud The American Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 66,
Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press, 1922, p. 270
Posted September 17, 2016