Veneration
Veneration is the practice of honoring people and articles of religious significance, for example, the veneration of saints and the veneration of relics.
File:Heiligenverehrung.jpg|thumb|A statue of Conrad of Piacenza in a niche in the side wall of Noto Cathedral, Sicily. The cathedral houses the relics of the patron saint of Noto.
To venerate a saint is honour a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, formally or informally, by adherents of some branches of all major religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Jainism.
Within Christianity, veneration is practiced by groups such as the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church, all of which have varying types of canonization or glorification processes. Catholic church teaching notes that believers have "always venerated the divine Scriptures just as venerate the body of the Lord". In Catholicism and Orthodoxy, veneration for saints is shown outwardly by respectfully kissing, bowing or making the sign of the cross before a saint's icon, relics, or statue, or by going on pilgrimage to sites associated with saints. The Lutheran Churches and Anglican Churches commemorate saints on feast days throughout the liturgical year and often name churches after saints. In general, the veneration of saints is not practiced by Reformed Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses, as many adherents of both groups believe the practice amounts to idolatry.
Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various gurus and teachers of sanctity, both living and dead. Branches of Buddhism include formal liturgical worship of saints, with Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood.
In Islam, veneration of saints is practiced by some of the adherents of traditional Islam, and in many parts of places like Turkey, Egypt, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Other sects, such as Wahhabists etc., abhor the practice.
In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, but there is a long history of reverence shown toward biblical heroes and martyrs. Jews in some regions, for example in Morocco, have a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration, as do Hasidic Jews.
Buddhism
In major Buddhist traditions, Theravada and Mahayana, those who have achieved a high degree of enlightenment are recognized as arhats. Mahayana Buddhism particularly gives emphasis to the power of saints to aid ordinary people on the path to enlightenment. Those who have reached enlightenment, and have delayed their own complete enlightenment in order to help others, are called Bodhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhism has formal liturgical practices for venerating saints, along with very specific levels of sainthood. Tibetan Buddhists venerate especially holy lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, as saints.Christianity
Veneration towards those who were considered holy began in early Christianity, with the martyrs first being given special honor. Official commemoration of saints in churches began as early as the first century. The apostle Paul mentioned saints by name in his writings. Icons depicting saints were created in the catacombs. The Orthodox Church of Byzantium began official church commemoration very early and even in Rome, commemoration is documented in the third century. Over time, the honor also began to be given to those Christians who lived lives of holiness and sanctity. Various denominations venerate and determine saints in different ways, with some having a formal canonization or glorification process. It is also the first step to becoming a saint.Latria, hyperdulia, protodulia and dulia
Christian theologians have long adopted the terms latria for the type of worship due to God alone, and dulia and proskynesis for the veneration given to angels, saints, relics and icons.Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theologies also include the term hyperdulia, paid to the Virgin Mary. Some theologians introduced another term for her bridegroom, Saint Joseph, called protodulia, but this distinction has not been as generally adopted into the terminology as hyperdulia. The Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas specifies that hyperdulia is the same type of veneration as dulia, only given in a greater degree; both remain distinct from latria.
Catholicism
In Catholicism, veneration is a type of honor distinct from the true worship, which is due to God alone. According to Mark Miravelle, of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the English word "worship" has been associated with both veneration and adoration:
As Thomas Aquinas explained, adoration, which is known as latria in classical theology, is the worship and homage that is rightly offered to God alone. It is the manifestation of submission, and acknowledgement of dependence, appropriately shown towards the excellence of an uncreated divine person and to his absolute Lordship. It is the worship of the creator that God alone deserves.
Veneration, known as dulia in classical theology, is the honor and reverence appropriately due to the excellence of a created person. Excellence exhibited by created beings likewise deserves recognition and honor.
Historically, schools of theology have used the term "worship" as a general term which included both adoration and veneration. They would distinguish between "worship of adoration" and "worship of veneration". The word "worship" was not synonymous with adoration, but could be used to introduce either adoration or veneration. Hence Catholic sources will sometimes use the term "worship" not to indicate adoration, but only the worship of veneration given to Mary and the saints.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
In the Roman Catechism, a more lengthy statement on is available.
Catholic tradition has a well established philosophy for the veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church via the field of Mariology with Pontifical schools such as the Marianum specifically devoted to this task.
For the doctrine of the Catholic Church, in addition to the dogma of her Divine Motherhood, the Mother of God "Theotokos" was the subject of three other dogmas:
Protodulia is the special veneration given to Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, within Josephology. This veneration of Saint Joseph is distinct from hyperdulia, which is reserved for Mary, and latria, the worship due to the God alone.
While Saint Joseph is venerated for his role in the Holy Family, the title of protodulia signifies that among the saints, he holds a unique and preeminent place, second only to Mary. The Church regards him as a powerful intercessor and protector of the Church, and his virtues—obedience, humility, and care for Jesus and Mary—are celebrated.
The theological grounding for protodulia is rooted in several papal documents and the long-standing tradition of the Church:
- Pope Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church in 1870.
- Pope Leo XIII emphasized special role of Saint Joseph in the Church in his encyclical Quamquam pluries, where he called for greater devotion to him.
- Pope Pius XII further affirmed this devotion by instituting the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955.
Not mentioning the word "Hyperdulia", Lumen Gentium, an apostolic constitution of the Second Vatican Council, affirms:
Saint Joseph is mentioned in a unique passage:
Oriental Orthodoxy
In the Syriac Orthodox Church liturgical service, the Hail Mary is pronounced as a prefatory prayer after the Our Father, and before the priest's entrance to the chancel. The name of the Blessed Virgin Mary has also been probably used for the sanctification of altars, above the name of all other saints.Eastern Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, veneration of the saints is an important element of worship. Most services are closed with the words “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!" and would use troparions and kontakions to venerate the saint of the day. This practice of venerating saints both through praise and by means of their icons is defended in John Damascene's book On Holy Images, and was the subject of the Second Council of Nicaea.Protestantism
and Anglicanism allow the veneration of saints in a manner similar to Catholicism. Throughout the liturgical year, the Lutheran and Anglican churches commemorate feast days that honour the saints. Churches are named in honour of the saints.In Reformed churches, veneration is sometimes considered to amount to the sin of idolatry, and the related practice of canonization amounts to the heresy of apotheosis. Reformed theology usually denies that any real distinction between veneration and worship can be made, and claims that the practice of veneration distracts the Christian soul from its true object, the worship of God. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin writes that "he distinction of what is called dulia and latria was invented for the very purpose of permitting divine honours to be paid to angels and dead men with apparent impunity".