View source for Canonization

{{Short description|Declaration that a deceased person is an officially recognized saint}}
[[File:stcyprian.jpg|thumb|Icon of [[Cyprian|St. Cyprian of Carthage]], who urged diligence in the process of canonization]]{{About|the official recognition of saints|other uses}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2016}}

'''Canonization''' is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized [[saint]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canonize|title=canonize|website=Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=6 July 2020 }}</ref> specifically, the official act of a [[Christianity|Christian]] communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of saints,<ref>[[Charles Annandale]]. ''[[The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language]]'', Volume 1; 1905. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.83696/page/n409/mode/2up P. 386. '''Canon – A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church'''.]</ref> or authorized list of that communion's recognized saints.<ref>CANON // [[Catholic Encyclopedia]], Volume 3; 1913. – P. 255–256. – [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catholic_Encyclopedia,_volume_3.djvu&page=303 ''The name '''Canon (κανών)''' means a norm or rule; and it is''] [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catholic_Encyclopedia,_volume_3.djvu&page=304 ''used for various objects, such as the Canon of Holy Scripture, canons of Councils, '''the official list of saints' names (whence "canonization")''', and the canon or list of clerks who serve a certain church, from which they themselves are called canons (canonici).'']</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/canonization|title=Canonization|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=6 July 2020 }}</ref>

==Catholic Church==
[[File:Liezen_Erzsébet_szentté_avatása.jpg|thumb|Canonization of [[Elizabeth of Hungary]] in 1235. ''[[Sándor Liezen-Mayer]]'' (1863).]]
{{Catholic canon law}}
Canonization is a [[Pope|papal]] declaration that the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] faithful may [[Veneration|venerate]] a particular deceased member of the church. Popes began making such decrees in the tenth century. Up to that point, the local bishops governed the veneration of holy men and women within their own dioceses; and there may have been, for any particular saint, no formal decree at all. In subsequent centuries, the procedures became increasingly regularized and the Popes began restricting to themselves the right to declare someone a Catholic saint. In contemporary usage, the term is understood to refer to the act by which any [[Christianity|Christian]] church declares that a person who has died is a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the list of recognized saints, called the "canon".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Copeland |first1=Clare |title=Saints, Devotions and Canonisation in Early Modern Italy |journal=History Compass |date=2012 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=260–269 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00834.x |language=en |issn=1478-0542}}</ref>

=== Biblical roots ===
In the Roman Martyrology, the following entry is given for the [[Penitent Thief]]: "At Jerusalem, the commemoration of the good Thief, who confessed Christ on the cross, and deserved to hear from Him these words: 'This day thou shalt be with Me in paradise.'<ref>{{cite web | url=http://laudatedominum.net/martyrology/mar.php? | title=Laudate Dominum – Roman Martyrology – March }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setonmagazine.com/dad/john-clark/the-fathers-role/canonized-from-the-cross-how-st-dismas-shows-its-never-too-late-to-be-a-great-saint|title=Canonized from the Cross: How St Dismas Shows it's Never Too Late...|last=Clark|first=John|date=2015-04-03|website=Seton Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-01}}</ref>

=== Historical development ===
The Roman Canon, the historical Eucharistic Prayer or Anaphora of Canon of the [[Roman Rite]] contains only the names of apostles and martyrs, along with that of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Blessed Virgin Mary]] and, since 1962, that of [[Saint Joseph]] her spouse.

By the fourth century, however, "[[confessor]]s"—people who had confessed their faith not by dying but by word and life—began to be venerated publicly. Examples of such people are Saint [[Hilarion]] and Saint [[Ephrem the Syrian]] in the East, and Saint [[Martin of Tours]] and Saint [[Hilary of Poitiers]] in the West. Their names were inserted in the [[diptych]]s, the lists of saints explicitly venerated in the [[Catholic liturgy|liturgy]], and their tombs were honoured in like manner as those of the martyrs. Since the witness of their lives was not as unequivocal as that of the martyrs, they were venerated publicly only with the approval by the local [[bishop]]. This process is often referred to as "local canonization".{{refn|For the history of such canonization, see Kemp.{{sfnp|Kemp|1948}}}}

This approval was required even for veneration of a reputed martyr. In his history of the [[Donatism|Donatist]] heresy, [[Saint Optatus]] recounts{{where|date=November 2025}} that at [[Carthage]] a Catholic matron, named Lucilla, incurred the censures of the Church for having kissed the [[relic]]s of a reputed martyr whose claims to martyrdom had not been juridically proved. And Saint [[Cyprian]] (died 258) recommended{{where|date=November 2025}} that the utmost diligence be observed in investigating the claims of those who were said to have died for the faith. All the circumstances accompanying the martyrdom were to be inquired into; the faith of those who suffered, and the motives that animated them were to be rigorously examined, in order to prevent the recognition of undeserving persons. Evidence was sought from the court records of the trials or from people who had been present at the trials.

[[Augustine of Hippo]] (died 430) tells{{where|date=November 2025}} of the procedure which was followed in his day for the recognition of a martyr. The bishop of the diocese in which the martyrdom took place set up a canonical process for conducting the inquiry with the utmost severity. The acts of the process were sent either to the [[Metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] or [[Primate (bishop)|primate]], who carefully examined the cause, and, after consultation with the [[suffragan]] bishops, declared whether the deceased was worthy of the name of "martyr" and public veneration.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Though not "canonizations" in the narrow sense, acts of formal recognition, such as the erection of an [[altar]] over the saint's tomb or transferring the saint's relics to a church, were preceded by formal inquiries into the sanctity of the person's life and the miracles attributed to that person's intercession.

Such acts of recognition of a saint were authoritative, in the strict sense, only for the [[diocese]] or [[ecclesiastical province]] for which they were issued, but with the spread of the fame of a saint, were often accepted elsewhere also.

=== Nature ===
In the [[Catholic Church]], both in the [[Latin Church|Latin]] and the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|constituent Eastern]] churches, the act of canonization is reserved to the [[Apostolic See]] and occurs at the conclusion of a long process requiring extensive proof that the candidate for canonization lived and died in such an exemplary and holy way that they are worthy to be recognized as a saint. The Church's official recognition of sanctity implies that the person is now in [[Heaven]] and that they may be publicly invoked and mentioned officially in the [[Catholic liturgy|liturgy]] of the Church, including in the [[Litany of the Saints]].

In the Catholic Church, canonization is a decree that allows universal veneration of the saint. For permission to venerate merely locally, only [[beatification]] is needed.<ref>"Beatification, in the present discipline, differs from canonization in this: that the former implies (1) a locally restricted, not a universal, permission to venerate, which is (2) a mere permission, and no precept; while canonization implies a universal precept" ([http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm Beccari, Camillo. "Beatification and Canonization".] ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Accessed 27 May 2009.).</ref>

=== Procedure prior to reservation to the Apostolic See ===
[[File:Pintoricchio 018 detail.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pope Pius II]] canonizes [[Catherine of Siena]].]]

For several centuries the [[bishop]]s, or in some places only the [[primate (bishop)|primates]] and [[patriarch]]s,<ref>August., ''Brevic. Collat. cum Donatistis'', III, 13, no. 25 in ''PL'', XLIII, 628.</ref> could grant martyrs and confessors public ecclesiastical honor; such honor, however, was always decreed only for the local territory of which the grantors had jurisdiction. Only acceptance of the ''cultus'' by the [[Pope]] made the ''cultus'' universal, because he alone can rule the universal [[Catholic Church]].<ref>Gonzalez Tellez, ''Comm. Perpet. in singulos textus libr. Decr.'', III, xlv, in Cap. 1, ''De reliquiis et vener. Sanct.''</ref> Abuses, however, crept into this discipline, due as well to indiscretions of popular fervor as to the negligence of some bishops in inquiring into the lives of those whom they permitted to be honoured as saints.

In the Medieval West, the [[Apostolic See]] was asked to intervene in the question of canonizations so as to ensure more authoritative decisions. The canonization of [[Saint Udalric, Bishop of Augsburg]] by [[Pope John XV]] in 993 was the first undoubted example of papal canonization of a saint from outside of [[Rome]] being declared worthy of liturgical veneration for the entire church.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kemp |first1=E. W. |title=Pope Alexander III and the Canonization of Saints: The Alexander Prize Essay |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |date=1945 |volume=27 |pages=13–28 |doi=10.2307/3678572 |issn=0080-4401|jstor=3678572 |s2cid=159681002 }}</ref> 

Thereafter, recourse to the judgment of the [[Pope]] occurred more frequently. Toward the end of the 11th century, the [[Pope]]s began asserting their exclusive right to authorize the veneration of a saint against the older rights of bishops to do so for their dioceses and regions. Popes therefore decreed that the virtues and miracles of persons proposed for public veneration should be examined in councils, more specifically in general councils. [[Pope Urban II]], [[Pope Calixtus II]], and [[Pope Eugene III]] conformed to this discipline.

=== Exclusive reservation to the Apostolic See ===
{{Main|Beatification and canonization process prior to 1983}}

[[Hugh of Amiens|Hugh de Boves]], [[Archbishop of Rouen]], canonized [[Walter of Pontoise]], or St. Gaultier, in 1153, the final saint in [[Western Europe]] to be canonized by an authority other than the [[Pope]]:<ref name="ofsnlu">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofchri01smituoft/dictionaryofchri01smituoft_djvu.txt|title=William Smith and Samuel Cheetham, ''A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities'' (Murray, 1875)|page=283|publisher=Boston: Little |access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/AlexanderIII/biography.html|title=Pope Alexander III|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015044654/http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/alexanderiii/biography.html|archive-date=15 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> "The last case of canonization by a metropolitan is said to have been that of [[Walter of Pontoise|St. Gaultier]], or Gaucher, [A]bbot of Pontoise, by the Archbishop of Rouen. A decree of [[Pope Alexander III]] [in] 1170 gave the prerogative to the [P]ope thenceforth, so far as the Western Church was concerned."<ref name = "ofsnlu"/> In a decretal of 1173, [[Pope Alexander III]] reprimanded some bishops for permitting veneration of a man who was merely killed while intoxicated, prohibited veneration of the man, and most significantly decreed that "you shall not therefore presume to honor him in the future; for, even if miracles were worked through him, it is not lawful for you to venerate him as a saint without the authority of the Catholic Church."<ref>Pope Gregory IX, ''Decretales'', 3, "De reliquiis et veneratione sanctorum". It is alternatively quoted as follows: "For the future you will not presume to pay him reverence, as, even though miracles were worked through him, it would not allow you to revere him as a saint unless with the authority of the Roman Church". (C. 1, tit. cit., X, III, xlv.)</ref> Theologians disagree as to the full import of the decretal of [[Pope Alexander III]]: either a new law was instituted,<ref>St. Robert Bellarmine, ''De Eccles. Triumph.'', I, 8.</ref> in which case the [[Pope]] then for the first time reserved the right of beatification to himself, or an existing law was confirmed.

However, the procedure initiated by the decretal of [[Pope Alexander III]] was confirmed by a [[papal bull|bull]] of [[Pope Innocent III]] issued on the occasion of the canonization of [[Cunigunde of Luxembourg]] in 1200. The [[Papal bull|bull]] of [[Pope Innocent III]] resulted in increasingly elaborate inquiries to the [[Apostolic See]] concerning canonizations. Because the decretal of [[Pope Alexander III]] did not end all controversy and some bishops did not obey it in so far as it regarded beatification, the right of which they had certainly possessed hitherto, [[Pope Urban VIII]] issued the Apostolic letter ''Caelestis Hierusalem cives'' of 5 July 1634 that exclusively reserved to the [[Apostolic See]] both its immemorial right of canonization and that of [[beatification]]. He further regulated both of these acts by issuing his ''Decreta servanda in beatificatione et canonizatione Sanctorum'' on 12 March 1642.

=== Procedure from 1734 to 1738 to 1983 ===
{{Further|Beatification and canonization process prior to 1983}}
In his ''De Servorum Dei beatificatione et de Beatorum canonizatione'' of five volumes the eminent canonist Prospero Lambertini (1675–1758), who later became [[Pope Benedict XIV]], elaborated on the procedural norms of [[Pope Urban VIII]]'s Apostolic letter ''Caelestis Hierusalem cives'' of 1634 and ''Decreta servanda in beatificatione et canonizatione Sanctorum'' of 1642, and on the conventional practice of the time. His work published from 1734 to 1738 governed the proceedings until 1917. The article "[[Beatification and canonization process in 1914]]" describes the procedures followed until the promulgation of the ''Codex'' of 1917. The substance of ''De Servorum Dei beatifιcatione et de Beatorum canonizatione'' was incorporated into the ''[[1917 Code of Canon Law|Codex Iuris Canonici]]'' (''Code of Canon Law'') of 1917,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.strasbourginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Musoni-The-Catholic-Canonization-Process.pdf| title = Aimable Musoni, 'Saints without Borders'|pages=9–10| access-date = 12 October 2013| archive-date = 11 February 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200211232202/https://www.strasbourginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Musoni-The-Catholic-Canonization-Process.pdf| url-status = dead}}</ref> which governed until the promulgation of the revised ''[[1983 Code of Canon Law|Codex Iuris Canonici]]'' in 1983 by [[Pope John Paul II]]. Prior to promulgation of the revised ''Codex'' in 1983, [[Pope Paul VI]] initiated a simplification of the procedures.

=== Since 1983 ===
The [[Apostolic constitution]] ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister'' of [[Pope John Paul II]] of 25 January 1983<ref name="v25011983">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html|title=Divinus Perfectionis Magister |website=The Holy See |access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref> and the norms issued by the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] on 7 February 1983 to implement the constitution in dioceses, continued the simplification of the process initiated by [[Pope Paul VI]].<ref name="v25011983"/> Contrary to popular belief, the reforms did not eliminate the office of the Promoter of the Faith (Latin: ''Promotor Fidei''), popularly known as the [[Devil's advocate]], whose office is to question the material presented in favor of canonization. The reforms were intended to reduce the adversarial nature of the process. In November 2012 [[Pope Benedict XVI]] appointed Monsignor Carmello Pellegrino as Promoter of the Faith.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2012/11/05/news/l_avvocato_del_diavolo_pugliese_tester_le_virt_degli_aspiranti_santi-45975067/&prev=search| title = Devil's Advocate Is Puglia: 'It will test the virtues of aspiring saints{{'}}, ''la Republica''| date = 5 November 2012}}</ref>

Candidates for canonization undergo the following process:
{{ordered list
| [[Servant of God]] (''Servus Dei''): The process of canonization commences at the diocesan level. A [[bishop]] with jurisdiction, usually the bishop of the place where the candidate died or is buried, although another ordinary can be given this authority, gives permission to open an investigation into the virtues of the individual in response to a petition of members of the faithful, either actually or ''[[pro forma]]''.<ref>Pope John Paul II, [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister''] (25 January 1983), Art. 1, Sec. 1.</ref> This investigation usually commences no sooner than five years after the death of the person being investigated.<ref>Pietro Cardinal Palazzini, [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html ''Norms to be observed in inquiries made by bishops in the causes of saints''], 1983 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022065149/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html |date=22 October 2006 }}, §9(a).</ref> The [[Pope]], ''qua'' Bishop of Rome, may also open a process and has the authority to waive the waiting period of five years, e.g., as was done for [[St. Teresa of Calcutta]] by [[Pope John Paul II]],<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html ''Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), Biography''], Office of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Internet Office of the Holy See</ref> and for [[Lúcia Santos]] and for [[Pope John Paul II]] himself by [[Pope Benedict XVI]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-21764?l=english|title=Sister Lucia's Beatification Process to Begin|work=ZENIT – The World Seen from Rome|access-date=4 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020314/http://www.zenit.org/article-21764?l=english|archive-date=27 September 2012}}</ref><ref>[[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[José Saraiva Martins]], [[Claretians|CMF]], [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html ''Response of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the Examination of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II''], 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105024819/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html |date=5 January 2009 }}</ref> Normally, an association to promote the cause of the candidate is instituted, an exhaustive search of the candidate's writings, speeches, and sermons is undertaken, a detailed biography is written, and eyewitness accounts are collected. When sufficient evidence has been collected, the local bishop presents the investigation of the candidate, who is titled "Servant of God" ([[Latin]]: ''Servus Dei''), to the [[Congregation for the Causes of the Saints]] of the [[Roman Curia]], where the cause is assigned a [[postulator]], whose office is to collect further evidence of the life of the Servant of God. Religious orders that regularly deal with the Congregation often designate their own Postulator General. At some time, permission is then granted for the body of the Servant of God to be exhumed and examined. A certification ''non-cultus'' is made that no superstitious or heretical worship, or improper cult of the Servant of God or her/his tomb has emerged, and relics are taken and preserved.
| [[Venerable]] (''Venerabilis''; abbreviated "Ven.") or "Heroic in Virtue": When sufficient evidence has been collected, the Congregation recommends to the [[Pope]] that he proclaim the [[heroic virtue]] of the Servant of God; that is, that the Servant of God exercised "to a heroic degree" the [[theological virtues]] of faith, hope, and charity and the [[cardinal virtues]] of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. From this time the one said to be "heroic in virtue" is entitled "[[Venerable]]" ([[Latin]]: ''Venerabilis''). A Venerable does not yet have a [[feast day]], permission to erect churches in their honor has not yet been granted, and the Church does not yet issue a statement on their probable or certain presence in [[Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]], but [[prayer card]]s and other materials may be printed to encourage the faithful to pray for a [[miracle]] wrought by their intercession as a sign of God's will that the person be canonized.
| [[Beatification|Blessed]] (''Beatus'' or ''Beata''; abbreviated "Bl."): Beatification is a statement of the Church that it is "worthy of belief" that the Venerable is in [[Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]] and saved. Attaining this grade depends on whether the Venerable is a [[martyr]]:{{bulleted list
| For a martyr, the [[Pope]] has only to make a declaration of martyrdom, which is a certification that the Venerable gave their life voluntarily as a witness of the Faith or in an [[act of heroic charity]] for others.
| For a non-martyr, all of them being denominated "confessors" because they "confessed", i.e., bore witness to the Faith by how they lived, proof is required of the occurrence of a [[miracle]] through the intercession of the Venerable; that is, that God granted a sign that the person is enjoying the [[beatific vision]] by performing a miracle for which the Venerable interceded. Presently, these miracles are almost always miraculous cures of infirmity, because these are the easiest to judge given the Church's evidentiary requirements for miracles; e.g., a patient was sick with an illness for which no cure was known; prayers were directed to the Venerable; the patient was cured; the cure was spontaneous, instantaneous, complete, and enduring; and physicians cannot discover any natural explanation for the cure.
}}
The satisfaction of the applicable conditions permits [[beatification]], which then bestows on the Venerable the title of "Blessed" ([[Latin]]: ''Beatus'' or ''Beata''). A [[feast day]] will be designated, but its observance is ordinarily only permitted for the Blessed's home [[diocese]], to specific locations associated with them, or to the churches or houses of the Blessed's religious order if they belonged to one. Parishes may not normally be named in honor of ''beati''.
| [[Saint]] (''Sanctus'' or ''Sancta''; abbreviated "St." or "S."): To be canonized as a saint, ordinarily at least two miracles must have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed after their death, but for ''beati'' confessors, i.e., ''beati'' who were not declared martyrs, only one miracle is required, ordinarily being additional to that upon which beatification was premised. Very rarely, a Pope may waive the requirement for a second miracle after beatification if he, the [[College of Cardinals|Sacred College of Cardinals]], and the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] all agree that the Blessed lived a life of great merit proven by certain actions. This extraordinary procedure was used in [[Pope Francis]]' canonization of [[Pope John XXIII]], who convoked the first part of the [[Second Vatican Council]].
}}

Canonization is a statement of the Church that the person certainly enjoys the beatific vision of [[Heaven in Christianity|Heaven]]. The title of "Saint" ([[Latin]]: ''Sanctus'' or ''Sancta'') is then proper, reflecting that the saint is a refulgence of the holiness (''sanctitas'') of God himself, which alone comes from God's gift. The saint is assigned a [[feast day]] which may be celebrated anywhere in the universal Church, although it is not necessarily added to the [[General Roman Calendar]] or local calendars as an "obligatory" feast; parish churches may be erected in their honor; and the faithful may freely celebrate and honor the saint.

Although recognition of sainthood by the [[Pope]] does not directly concern a fact of [[Divine revelation]], nonetheless it must be "definitively held" by the faithful as ''infallible'' pursuant to, at the least, the [[Infallibility of the Church|Universal Magisterium of the Church]], because it is a truth related to revelation by historical necessity.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFADTU.HTM Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ''Professio Fidei''], by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later [[Pope Benedict XVI]]), Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.</ref><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm "Beatification and Canonization"], ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. p. 366.</ref>

Regarding the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]],  the cult of candidates for sainthood who have attained beatification in a ''[[sui juris]]'' Church is restricted to that Church. Canonization removes this restriction, and the saint is then venerated in the universal Church.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-03 |title=Making Saints: The Process of Canonization in the Catholic Church |url=https://www.maronitevoice.org/articles/2019/12/27/making-saints-the-process-of-canonization-in-the-catholic-church |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=The Maronite Voice |language=en-US |quote=Having ascertained the martyrdom or heroic practice of the virtues or “heroic offer of life” through beatification, the Church officially raises one to the honors of the altar, but the cult given to him or her will be restricted to a Church sui iuris, a nation, region, diocese, province or a religious institute according the stipulations in the decree of beatification. Canonization removes this restraint and the saint becomes an object of veneration in the universal Church. }}</ref>

=== Equipollent canonization ===
{{main article|Equipollent canonization}}
Popes have several times permitted to the universal Church, without executing the ordinary judicial process of canonization described above, the veneration as a saint, the "''[[Cult (religious practice)|cultus]]''" of one long venerated as such locally. This act of a Pope is denominated "equipollent" or "equivalent canonization"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=EWTN|title=Pope Francis declares blind 14th-century lay Dominican a saint|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247399/pope-francis-declares-blind-14th-century-lay-dominican-a-saint|access-date=2021-04-24|website=CNA|language=en}}</ref> and "confirmation of ''cultus''".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Beatification and Canonization|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-24|website=www.newadvent.org|quote=Those proposed as coming under the definition of cases excepted (casus excepti) by Urban VIII are treated in another way. In such cases it must be proved that an immemorial public veneration (at least for 100 years before the promulgation, in 1640, of the decrees of Urban VIII) has been paid the servant of God, whether confessor or martyr. Such cause is proposed under the title of "confirmation of veneration" (de confirmatione cultus); it is dealt with in an ordinary meeting of the Congregation of Rites.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000116082801/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm|archive-date=16 January 2000}}</ref> In such cases, there is no need to have a miracle attributed to the saint to allow their canonization.<ref name=":0" /> According to the rules [[Pope Benedict XIV]] (''regnat'' 17 August 1740 – 3 May 1758) instituted, there are three conditions for an equipollent canonization: (1) existence of an ancient ''cultus'' of the person, (2) a general and constant attestation to the virtues or martyrdom of the person by credible historians, and (3) uninterrupted fame of the person as a worker of miracles.

==Protestant denominations==
The majority of Protestant denominations do not formally recognize saints because some think{{Who|date=September 2025}} the Bible uses the term in a way that suggests all Christians are saints{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}. However, some denominations do, as shown below.

=== Anglican Communion ===
{{main|Saints in Anglicanism}}
The [[Church of England]], the [[Mother Church]] of the [[Anglican Communion]], canonized [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] as a saint, in the [[Convocations of Canterbury and York]] of 1660.<ref name="Mitchell2012">{{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=Jolyon|title=Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction|date=29 November 2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191642449|page=99|quote=In 1660 the convocations of Canterbury and York canonized King Charles.}}</ref>

=== United Methodist Church ===
The [[General Conference (United Methodist Church)|General Conference]] of the [[United Methodist Church]] has formally declared individuals ''[[Christian martyr|martyrs]]'', including [[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]] (in 2008) and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] (in 2012).<ref name="Hodges2018">{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/life/faith/2008/06/18/dietrich-bonhoeffer-first-mart|title=Dietrich Bonhoeffer first martyr officially recognized by United Methodists|last=Hodges|first=Sam|year=2008|newspaper=[[Dallas News]]|language=en|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/blogs-commentaries/post/united-methodists-declare-mlk-jr.-a-modern-day-martyr|title=United Methodists declare MLK Jr. a modern-day martyr|last=Mulenga|first=Maidstone|date=1 May 2012|publisher=United Methodist Church|language=en|access-date=4 May 2018|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923004030/http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/blogs-commentaries/post/united-methodists-declare-mlk-jr.-a-modern-day-martyr|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Eastern Orthodox Church<!--linked from 'Glorification'--> ==
{{Expand section|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Пиотровский. батакская резня. 1889 год.jpeg|thumb|The Turkish [[Batak massacre|atrocities in Bulgaria]] (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints.]]
[[File:Smyrna-massacre greeks-killed line.jpg|thumb|On 4 November 1992, the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Greece]] unanimously declared saints those Christians who had been tortured and massacred by the Turks in the [[Great fire of Smyrna]] in 1922.<ref>''[http://www.triglia.gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=39+%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82+%CE%A7%CF%81%CF%85%CF%83%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82+%CE%A3%CE%BC%CE%B7%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82&ct=clnk Αγ. Χρυσόστομος Σμύρνης].'' {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20110721083437/http://www.triglia.gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=39+%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82+%CE%A7%CF%81%CF%85%CF%83%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82+%CE%A3%CE%BC%CE%B7%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82&ct=clnk |date=21 July 2011 }}. Municipality of [[Triglia]]. Retrieved: 7 September 2012.</ref><ref>{{in lang|el}} Κων/τίνος Β. Χιώλος. ''"[http://www.serrelib.gr/arthra.php?id=25 Ο μαρτυρικός θάνατος του Μητροπολίτου Σμύρνης]"''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912215241/http://www.serrelib.gr/arthra.php?id=25 |date=12 September 2017 }}. Δημοσια Κεντρικη Βιβλιοθηκη Σερρων. Τετάρτη, 13 Σεπτεμβρίου 2006.</ref>]]

Various terms are used for canonization by the [[autocephalous]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es: канонизация<ref>[http://www.pravmir.ru/pochemu-byl-kanonizirovan-nikolaj-vtoroj/ "Почему был канонизирован Николай Второй?"] by [[Protodeacon]] [[Andrey Kuraev]] at Pravmir.ru (17 July 2009)</ref> ("canonization") or прославление<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pravmir.ru/proslavlenie-svyatyx-eto-ne-delo-uzkogo-kruga-specialistov-eto-delo-vsej-cerkvi/| title = "Прославление святых – это не дело узкого круга специалистов, это дело всей Церкви" by Julija Birjukova at Pravmir.ru (9 Dec. 2013)}}</ref> ("[[Glorification#Eastern Orthodox Church|glorification]]",<ref>[http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/glorification_saints.htm "On the Glorification of Saints"] by [[Protopresbyter]] [[Michael Pomazansky]]</ref> in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]), კანონიზაცია (''kanonizats’ia'', [[Georgian Orthodox Church]]), канонизација ([[Serbian Orthodox Church]]), ''canonizare'' ([[Romanian Orthodox Church]]), and Канонизация ([[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]]). Additional terms are used for canonization by other autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches: {{lang|el|αγιοκατάταξη}}<ref>[[Georgios Babiniotis]]. ''[[Dictionary of Modern Greek]]'', Athens: Lexicology Centre, 1998, p. 53.</ref> ([[Katharevousa]]: {{lang|el|ἁγιοκατάταξις}}) ''agiokatataxi/agiokatataxis'', "ranking among saints" ([[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]], [[Church of Cyprus]], [[Church of Greece]]), ''kanonizim'' ([[Albanian Orthodox Church]]), ''kanonizacja'' ([[Polish Orthodox Church]]), and ''kanonizace/kanonizácia'' ([[Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church]]).

The [[Orthodox Church in America]], an Eastern Orthodox Church partly recognized as autocephalous, uses the term "[[Glorification#Eastern Orthodox Church|glorification]]" for the official recognition of a person as a saint.<ref>[http://www.oca.org/FS.NA-Document.asp?ID=83 "The Glorification of Saints in the Orthodox Church"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408161218/http://oca.org/FS.NA-Document.asp?ID=83 |date=8 April 2016 }} by Fr. Joseph Frawley</ref>

== Oriental Orthodox Church ==
{{Expand section|date=July 2020}}
Within the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], part of [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]], there had been discussions since the 1980s about canonizing the victims of the [[Armenian genocide]].<ref>Roberta R. Ervine, ''Worship Traditions in Armenia and the Neighboring Christian East'', St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2006, p. 346 n. 17.</ref> On 23 April 2015, all of the victims of the genocide were canonized.<ref>{{cite web|last=Davlashyan |first=Naira |url=https://news.yahoo.com/armenian-church-canonise-1-5-million-genocide-victims-075841925.html |title=Armenian Church makes saints of 1.5&nbsp;million genocide victims |publisher=Yahoo News |access-date=2015-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/191101/ |title=Armenian Genocide victims canonized in Holy Etchmiadzin |publisher=Panarmenian.Net |access-date=2015-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armenianow.com/genocide/62740/armenia_genocide_martyrs_victims_canonization_church_echmiadzin |title=Canonized: Armenian Church proclaims collective martyrdom of Genocide victims – Genocide |publisher=ArmeniaNow.com |access-date=2015-04-23 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729171436/https://www.armenianow.com/genocide/62740/armenia_genocide_martyrs_victims_canonization_church_echmiadzin |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Saints}}
* [[List of canonizations]]
* [[List of saints]]
* [[List of early Christian saints]]
* [[Decanonization]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{citation |first=Eric Waldram |last=Kemp |title=Canonization and Authority in the Western Church |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1948 }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{wikisource-inline|list=
** {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Canonization |volume=5 |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |pages=22–23 |noicon=x |short=x}}
** {{cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |last=Delehaye |first=Hippolyte |author-link=Hippolyte Delehaye |wstitle=Canonization |volume=5 |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |pages=192–193 |noicon=x |short=x}}
** {{CathEncy |last=Beccari |first=Camillo |wstitle=Beatification and Canonization |volume=2 |noicon=x |short=x}}
}}

===Catholic Church===
* [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister''] – Apostolic Constitution of Pope John Paul II (English)
* [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/index.htm Congregation for the Causes of Saints] – Vatican Website
* [http://friarsminor.org/xvii4-9.html Historical Sketch of Canonization] – Friarsminor.org

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{{Saints}}
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[[Category:Canonization| ]]
[[Category:Canon law]]
[[Category:Christian practices]]
[[Category:Christian saints]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Posthumous recognitions]]