Dulia
dulia
(Greek: douleia, service)
Veneration or homage paid to the saints.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Dulia
(Greek doulia; Lat. servitus), a theological term signifying the honour paid to the saints, while latria means worship given to God alone, and hyperdulia the veneration offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei, X, ii, 1) distinguishes two kinds of servitus: “one which is due to men . . . which in Greek is called dulia; the other, latria, which is the service pertaining to the worship of God”. St. Thomas (II-II:103:3) bases the distinction on the difference between God’s supreme dominion and that which one man may exercise over another. Catholic theologians insist that the difference is one of kind and not merely of degree; dulia and latria being as far apart as are the creature and the Creator. Leibniz, though a Protestant, recognizes the “discrimen infinitum atque immensum between the honour which is due to God and that which is shown to the saints, the one being called by theologians, after Augustine’s example, latria, the other dulia”; and he further declares that this difference should “not only be inculcated in the minds of hearers and learners, but should also be manifested as far as possible by outward signs” (Syst. theol., p. 184). A further distinction is made between dulia in the absolute sense, the honour paid to persons, and dulia in the relative sense, the honour paid to inanimate objects, such as images and relics. With regard to the saints, dulia includes veneration and invocation; the former being the honour paid directly to them, the latter having primarily in view the petitioner’s advantage. More detailed explanation of dulia and the reasons for which it is shown to persons or things will be found in the articles IMAGES, RELICS, SAINTS. See also ADORATION and WORSHIP.
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E. A. PACE Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VCopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Dulia
(), worship paid to saints and angels. In the Greek Church, a distinction is made between , worship due only to God, and , adoration which may be rendered to images. Authority for this distinction is found in a decision of the second Council of Nicaea, AD 787 (sess. 7), as follows: “We decide that the holy images, whether painted or graven, or of whatever kind they may be, ought to be exposed to view, whether in churches, upon the sacred vessels and vestments, upon walls, or in private houses, or by the wayside, since the oftener Jesus Christ, his blessed mother, and the saints are seen in their images, the more will men be led to think of the originals, and to love them. Salutation and the adoration of honor ought to be paid to images, but not the worship of latria, which belongs to God alone: nevertheless, it is lawful to burn lights before them, and to incense them, as is usually done with the cross, the books of the Gospels, and other sacred things, according to the pious use of the ancients; for honor so paid to the image is transmitted to the original which it represents. Such is the doctrine of the holy fathers, and the tradition of the Catholic Church; and we order that they who dare to think or teach otherwise, if bishops or other clerks, shall be deposed; if monks or laymen, shall be excommunicated” (Landon, Manual of Councils, 437; Labbe and Cossart, Concil. 7:1-963; Mansi, Concil. 13:374 sq.; Hefele, Contiliengeschichte, 354).
In the Roman Church a distinction is made between latria (), worship due to God; dulia (), adoration or invocation of saints and angels; and hyperdulia (), due to the Virgin Mary alone (Council of Trent, sess. 25). Protestants, of course, reject all these distinctions. See Hagenbach, History of Doctrines, 188; Haag, Histoire des Dogmes Chretiens, 2:77; Burnet, On the Articles, art. 22; and the articles IDOLATRY SEE IDOLATRY ; SEE IMAGE WORSHIP; SEE INVOCATION OF SAINTS.