"Servant of God" is a title used in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.

Terminology

The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, the first five in the Old Testament, the last four in the

New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. The Hebrew Bible refers to " Moses the servant of Elohim" (עֶֽבֶד הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים ''‘eḇeḏ-hā’ĕlōhîm''; , , , and ). , ). refers to

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

as ''‘eḇeḏ

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

'' (עֶ֣בֶד יְהוָ֑ה). The New Testament also describes Moses in this way in (τοῦ δούλου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ''tou doulou tou Theou'').

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

calls himself "a servant of God" in (δοῦλος Θεοῦ, ''doulos Theou''), while

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

calls himself "a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ''Theou kai Kyriou Iēsou Christou doulos'') in . describes "servants of God" (Θεοῦ δοῦλοι, ''Theou douloi'') being free to act within the bounds of God's will. Following usage conventions established in the King James Bible, the word "servant" is never capitalized or used as a title of nobility. ("The servant is not greater than his lord.")

Catholic Church

"Servant of God" is an expression used for a member of the

whose life and works are being investigated in consideration for official recognition by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the Catholic Church as a saint in Heaven. The term "Servant of God" ( la, Servus Dei) should not be confused with '' Servus Servorum Dei'' (Servant of the Servants of God), one of the titles of the

. The term ''Servant of God'' is used in the first of the four steps in the canonization process. The next step is being declared ''

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

'', upon a decree of heroism or

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

by the honored. That is followed by

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

, with the title of '' Blessed''. After the confirmation of miracles resulting from the intercession of the honored, the final step is canonization, where the honored would receive the title of '' Saint''. The process for canonization is under the jurisdiction of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

. ''Servant of God'' is not considered a canonical title in a strict sense by the Catholic Church (as for instance ''

'' or '' Blessed'' are), but only a technical term used in the process of canonization. Hence, any of the faithful can be named a "Servant of God" in a larger frame of meaning. Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum – Vincenzo Criscuolo, Daniel Ols, Robert J. Sarno (ed.), ''Le Cause dei Santi. Sussidio per lo Studium'',

Libreria Editrice Vaticana The Vatican Publishing House ( it, Libreria Editrice Vaticana; la, Officina libraria editoria Vaticana; LEV) is a publisher established by the Holy See in 1926. It is responsible for publishing official documents of the Roman Catholic Church, ...

, 3rd edition, Rome 2014, p. 342.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2019 Ecclesiastical titles Sainthood Canonization

Terminology

Catholic Church

See also

Explanatory notes

References

External links