Venerable

A stained glass image of the Venerable Father Samuel Mazzuchelli in St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa.

The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.

Christianity

Roman Catholic

Main article: List of venerable people (Roman Catholic)

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, a deceased Catholic may be declared a Servant of God by a bishop and proposed for beatification by the Pope through the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Venerable, is the style used for such a servant of God declared to be "heroic in virtue" during the investigation and process leading to possible canonization as a saint. Before a person is considered to be venerable, he or she must be declared as such by a proclamation, approved by the Pope, of having lived a life that was "heroic in virtue" – the virtues being the Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and charity and the Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The next step is beatification, at which point the person is referred to as The Blessed, and finally canonization, at which point the person is referred to as Saint. Two modern and well-known examples of those who have been declared venerable are Popes Pius XII and John Paul II, who were both declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in December 2009.

The 7–8th-century English monk St. Bede was referred to as being venerable soon after his death and, by tradition, is therefore often referred to as "the Venerable Bede" despite his also having been canonized. St Bede was the first person to be recorded as The Venerable.

This is the honorific used for hermits of the Carthusian Order, in place of the usual term of "Reverend."

Stages of canonization in the Catholic Church
Servant of God   →   Venerable   →   Blessed   →   Saint

Anglicanism

In the Anglican Communion "The Venerable" (abbreviated as "the Ven") is the style given to an archdeacon.

Eastern Orthodoxy

Main article: List of venerable people (Eastern Orthodox)

In the Orthodox Church the term "Venerable" is commonly used as the English-language translation for the title that is given to monastic saints (Greek: Hosios, Church Slavonic: Prepodobne).

A monastic saint who was martyred for the Orthodox Faith is referred to as "Venerable Martyr".

In the twentieth century some English-language Orthodox sources began to use the term "Venerable" to refer to a righteous person who was a candidate for glorification (canonization), most famously in the case of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco; however, this has not altered the original usage of this term in reference to monastic saints.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, the Western style of Venerable (also abbreviated as Ven.) is entitled to ordained Buddhist monks and nuns and also to novices (shramaneras). The title of Master may be followed for senior members of the Sangha. Venerable, along with ""Reverend"" (Rev.) is used as a western alternative to Maha Thera in the Theravada branch and Shì (釋, as in "Sakya") in Chinese Mahayana branch.

See also

• List of people declared venerable
• Venerable Order of St John