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His Eminence
 
 
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His Eminence is a historical style of reference
Style (manner of address)

A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title, in other words a term which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a post, or which is used to refer to the political office itself....
 for high nobility, still in use in various religious contexts.

style remains in use as the official style or standard of address in reference to a cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
 of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, reflecting his status as a Prince of the Church
Prince of the Church

The term Prince of the Church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Catholic cardinal s. However the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince or are considered its equivalent....
.

A longer, and more formal, title is "His (or Your when addressing the cardinal directly) Most Reverend Eminence".






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Guido Reni 052
His Eminence is a historical style of reference
Style (manner of address)

A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title, in other words a term which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a post, or which is used to refer to the political office itself....
 for high nobility, still in use in various religious contexts.

Catholicism

The style remains in use as the official style or standard of address in reference to a cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
 of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, reflecting his status as a Prince of the Church
Prince of the Church

The term Prince of the Church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Catholic cardinal s. However the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince or are considered its equivalent....
.

A longer, and more formal, title is "His (or Your when addressing the cardinal directly) Most Reverend Eminence". The style for cardinals of noble birth is "His Most Illustrious and Reverend Eminence".

Patriarch
Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised Autocracy authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy....
s of Eastern Catholic Churches who are also cardinals may be addressed as "His Eminence" or by the style particular to Eastern Rite patriarchs, His Beatitude.

When the Grand Master
Grand Master (order)

Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including military orders, various religious orders, and some Sectarianism orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Institution....
 of the Military Order of the Knights of Malta, the head of state of their sovereign territorial state comprising the island of Malta until 1797, who had already been made a Reichsfürst (i.e., prince of the Holy Roman Empire) in 1607, was granted ecclesiastical equality with the Cardinals in 1630, he was also awarded the hybrid style His Most Eminent Highness.

While the term is shunned by many individuals of other faith
Faith

Faith is the confident belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is also used for a belief, characteristically without proof....
s or denomination
Religious denomination

A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations ....
s of Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, the title is officially maintained in international diplomacy
Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture....
 without regard for its doctrinal
Doctrine

Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachers" or "instructions", taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system....
, philosophical
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 and theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 origins.

Orthodox Christianity

Archbishop
Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case....
s in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
 are addressed as "Your Eminence" and referred to as "His Eminence". The various Orthodox Patriarchs are referred to in different manners, usually "His Holiness" or "His Beatitude". The Ecumenical Patriach of Constantinople is "His All-Holiness."

Other religions

It is also used, informally (perhaps as a rendering of an oriental style), in Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
 for highly honorable religious leaders of other religions.

See also

  • Ecclesiastical Addresses
    Ecclesiastical Addresses

    Ecclesiastical addresses are the formal styles of address used for members of the clergy, notably in the Catholic church. Eastern Catholics do not follow this and have their own stylings....