The Venerable
The Venerableis a style, title, or epithet used in someChristianchurches.
Catholic[edit]
In theCatholic Church,after a deceased Catholic has been declared aservant of Godby abishopand proposed forbeatificationby thepope,such a servant of God may next be declared venerable ( "heroic in virtue") during the investigation and process leading to possiblecanonizationas a saint. A declaration that a person is venerable is not a pronouncement of their presence in Heaven. The pronouncement means it is considered likely that they are in heaven, but it is possible the person could still be inpurgatory.Before one is considered venerable, one must be declared by a proclamation, approved by the pope, to have lived a life that was "heroic in virtue" (thetheological virtuesof faith, hope, and charity and thecardinal virtuesof prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance). The next steps arebeatification,which normally requires a miracle by the intercession of the candidate, from which point the person is referred to as "The Blessed". The blessed declaration implies the person is in Heaven, experiencing thebeatific vision,but this is not a requirement. The canonization is consummated when the person intercedes in a miracle (normally, this is their second intercession) and is declared asaint.Exceptional canonizations exist.[1]The declaration of sainthood is definitive only to the extent that the Catholic Church claims the person died in the state of grace and already enjoys beatific vision.[2]For example, PopesPius XIIandJohn Paul IIwere both declared venerable byPope Benedict XVIin December 2009, and John Paul II was declared a saint in 2014.[3]
Other examples of venerables are BishopFulton J. Sheen,Princess Louise of France,Francis Libermann,and MotherMary Potter.
The 7th/8th-century English monkSt Bedewas called venerable soon after his death and is still often called "the Venerable Bede" or "Bede the Venerable" despite having been canonized in 1899.
This is also thehonorificused for hermits of theCarthusianorder in place of the usual term ofreverend.
Anglican[edit]
In theAnglican Communion,"The Venerable" (abbreviated as "the Ven." ) is the style usually given to anarchdeacon.[4][5]
Eastern Orthodoxy[edit]
In theEastern Orthodox Church,the termvenerableis commonly used as the English-language translation of the title given tomonasticsaints (Greek:hosios,Church Slavonic:prepodobni;both Greek and Church Slavonic forms are masculine).
A monastic saint who wasmartyredfor the Orthodox faith is referred to as "venerable martyr" orhosiomartyr.
In the 20th century, some English-language Orthodox sources began to use the termvenerableto refer to a righteous person who was a candidate forglorification(canonization), most famously in the case ofJohn of Shanghai and San Francisco.This has not altered the original usage of the term in reference to monastic saints.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Heffron, Christopher."Ask A Franciscan: What Is 'Equivalent Canonization'?".Retrieved12 August2019.
- ^"Catholic Encyclopedia - Infallibility".Retrieved12 August2019.
- ^Pentin, Edward (3 September 2013)."Report: Pope Francis Says John Paul II to Be Canonized April 27".National Catholic Register.Retrieved6 September2013.
- ^"List of Abbreviations",Crockford's Clerical Directorywebsite.
- ^"Forms of Address for Anglican Clergy".www.anglican.ca.Retrieved12 October2015.
External links[edit]
The dictionary definition ofVenerableat Wiktionary
