In Tibetan Buddhism, a Lama who has through phowa and siddhi consciously determined to be reborn, often many times, in order to continue their Bodhisattvavow.
The Most Reverend Metropolitan [insert name] of [place], Metropolitan John, His Eminence, Your Eminence.
Titular Metropolitan
The Most Reverend Metropolitan [insert name] of [place], His Excellency, Your Excellency. Some Metropolitans use the style "The Very Most Reverend", and a Metropolitan who is the head of an independent Church is addressed as "Beatitude" rather than "Excellency".
Novice [insert name]; or Brother [insert name]. The title "Brother" is a result of Latin influence; the title is only given to some novices with a special blessing.
"President [surname]" is used for most positions that use the word "President" in the title (including all quorum presidents), with the following exceptions:
"Brother [surname]" (the common courtesy title for all adult male members) is used for general or local presidencies of the Young Men or the Sunday School presidents
"Sister [surname]" (the common courtesy title for all adult female members) is used for general or local presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidents
People in positions that use the word "Presiding" in the formal name are never called "President [surname]"
Some Presbyterian denominations distinguish between Teaching Elder (aka Minister of Word and Sacrament or Pastor) and Ruling Elder. Teaching Elders are ordained by the Presbytery and fill the role of pastor. Ruling Elders are ordained by the local church and serve on a board that leads the church.
Most common in non-mainline churches (Doctor of Metaphysics (D.o.M.) and Doctor of Divinity (D.o.D.). High ranking teachers in certain evangelical institutions bear the title "Scolasticus Theologicae" (Pundit/Clerical professor of Theology). These are clerical titles, not academic.
A primate is a bishop to whom the title has been officially granted, usually the bishop of the oldest church of a nation. In the past the title carried jurisdiction over metropolitan bishops, but today usually it is purely honorific.
Major archbishops are the heads of some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Their authority within their sui juris church is equal to that of a patriarch, but they receive fewer ceremonial honors.
A metropolitan bishop is an archbishop in charge of an ecclesiastical province, or group of dioceses, and in addition to having immediate jurisdiction over his own archdiocese, also exercises some oversight over the other dioceses within that province. Sometimes a metropolitan may also be the head of an autocephalous, sui iuris, or autonomous church when the number of adherents of that tradition are small. In the Latin Rite, metropolitans are always archbishops; in many Eastern churches, the title is "metropolitan," with some of these churches using "archbishop" as a separate office.
An archbishop is the bishop of an archdiocese. This is usually a prestigious diocese with an important place in local church history. In the Roman Catholic Church, the title is purely honorific and carries no extra jurisdiction, though most archbishops are also metropolitan bishops, as above.
A coadjutor bishop is an assistant bishop who has the automatic right to succeed the incumbent diocesan bishop. The appointment of coadjutors is often seen as a means of providing for continuity of church leadership.
A chorbishop is an official of a diocese in some Eastern Christian churches. Chorbishops are not generally ordained bishops – they are not given the sacrament of Holy Orders in that degree – but function as assistants to the diocesan bishop with certain honorary privileges.
An ascetic or yogi who has been initiated into the religious monastic order founded by Adi Sankara,[3] or to a religious teacher.[4] When used as a prefix with a monastic name, "Swami" usually refers to men who have taken the oath of renunciation and abandoned their social status. The monastic name is usually a single word without a first and last name.
A Sunni Islam term meaning the most respected of the Marjas; it is a Persian name for teacher that is also used by some to denote a teacher of extraordinary respect.
The 12th Imam will come either as a first time appearance or as a reappearance after a long occultation. The Mahdi is the greatest teacher, the Messiah of the Islamic World, and the Maitreya of Buddhism.
A spiritual teacher of Islam as it is taught in the West Africa and Maghreb, The word comes from the Berber concept of Saint. The "marabout" is known as "Sayyed" (سيد) to the Arabic speaking Maghribians.
The title of the teachers at the Madrasahs, Islamic schools. Mullah is a teacher in regard of being respected as a vicar and guardian of Qur'an and the Islamic traditions.
An Arabic honorific term that literally means Elder. It is a long historic debate in many cultures whether the elder in itself denotes the role and status of a teacher.
The title that indicates that the teacher has come to awareness of the consensus, the ijma, of the Umma. Umma is the universal community of all the children of God.
Literally means ‘great one’. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root word רַב, rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ or ‘distinguished (in knowledge)’.
"Admor" is an acronym for "Adonainu, Morainu, VeRabbeinu," a phrase meaning "Our Master, Our Teacher, and Our Rebbe." This is an honorific title given to scholarly leaders of a Jewish community. In writing, this title is placed before the name, as in "Admor of Pinsk" or "R' (stands for Rabbi, Rav,or Reb) Ploni Almoni, Admor of Redomsk."
Shlit"a
'Shlit"a' is an acronym for "Sheyikhye Lirot Yamim Tovim Arukim/Amen," "May he live a good long life" or "May he live a good life, Amen," given to a revered rabbi or to someone's child's Rebbe (teacher). This title is usually placed before the name.
K'vod K'dushat
"K'vod K'dushat," meaning "The honor of [his] holiness". This title is usually placed before the name. It is found as early as in the 1531 edition of The Aruk.[5]
Shy'
"Shy'" is an acronym for "Sheyikhye," meaning "May he live". This title is usually placed after the name.
"A trained counselor who listens to concerns and offers loving prayers in accordance to the principles of Science of Mind. Practitioners honor each person from a holistic viewpoint and acknowledge their basic loving nature."[6]
A title used by someone who practices Witchcraft. The term is gender neutral. Many Wiccans are Witches because of the inclusion of witchcraft in many Wiccan traditions. Some Witches are not Wiccans and practice Traditional Craft or folk magic.
A title that may be used within various forms of Paganism. In Wicca, it denotes a male or female who has been initiated into the priesthood in the 1st or 2nd degree depending on the tradition.
A Wiccan role. A male or female becomes a High Priest/ess once they attain the second or third degree, depending upon which tradition of Wicca they belong to.
Bard
1st degree (after candidacy/initiation) title used by the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids that is primarily centered on song, spoken word, memory, tradition, and poetry.[7]
Ovate
2nd degree used by the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. It is the centered on healing, divination, and herbalism.[8]
Druid
A masculine term for someone who practices druidry, the indigenous spirituality of the Celts. People who belong to a grove or are members of a druid order will use this term generically regardless of gender to indicate they practice the overall faith instead of a holding the rank of a specific degree title. In the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, druid is the gender neutral 3rd degree, the priest title, centered on teaching, philosophy, mysticism, and other leadership roles.[9]
The female form of the word druid. A woman who practices the druid spirituality. Mainly found in Irish mythology.
Archdruid
A title that is held by the chief or head of a druid order. Sometimes independent groves (druid form of circle/coven) may have an archdruid, but generally this is reserved for the head of an entire organization such as the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA),[10] The Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA),[11]Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (our own druidism in Irish),[12] and the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids in England.[13]
A person who practices Neopaganism alone and does not belong to a group, circle, grove or organization. Sometimes they may belong to a group or organization, but may live too far from other members to attend and chose to do a solitary practice.This is often the case with druid orders are national and international organizations and have members spread out across the globe. Members of groups and organizations who attend functions will often have a solitary practice but this is not a "solitary practitioner".
Santero/Santera
a person who is the priest or priestess clergy in Santeria.
a person who is a priest or priestess of Ifa and knows the mysteries in which they can divine through Orisha Orunmila who is the Orisha of divination in the Santerian tradition of Ifa.
In Hinduism the spiritual teacher is known as a guru. Traditionally, a spiritual seeker would revere his or her guru highly, and demonstrate utmost submission and humility through menial service in order to prove worthy to be a recipient of the knowledge the guru has attained by initiation practices. There are many sayings on the teacher like "Guru devo bhava" (Guru is God), which reflects of the esteem associated with a guru's role.
Clergy is the generic term for formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman, or cleric is a member of the clergy. They may be called priest, preacher, pastor, minister, reverend, or father. In Christianity there is a wide range of formal and informal clergy positions, including deacons, priests, bishops, and ministers. In Shiaa Islam, religious leaders are usually known as imams or ayatollahs. There are many concepts of teachers in Islam, ranging from mullahs (the teachers at madrassas) to ulemas.
In evangelical christian theology the title "Scolasticus Theologicae" describes a highly trained theologist comparable to a professorship in academia.[14]