Religious Figures & Scholars, KHA-MAC
Discover the influential religious figures and scholars whose teachings, writings, reforms, and example have shaped belief, practice, and spiritual life across traditions.
Religious Figures & Scholars Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Khadījah
Khadījah was a merchant who was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad. Little is known about her apart from the......
Khaled, Amr
Amr Khaled is an Egyptian televangelist who achieved global fame with his message of religious tolerance and dialogue......
Khamenei, Ali
Standing at the heart of the Islamic Republic from the 1979 Iranian Revolution until his death in 2026, Ali Khamenei......
Khamenei, Mojtaba
Mojtaba Khamenei is Iran’s third supreme leader (rahbar), appointed to the position at the start of the 2026 Iran......
Khoei, Abolqasem al-
Abolqasem al-Khoei was an Iranian-born cleric who, as a grand ayatollah based in the holy city of Al-Najaf, Iraq,......
Khomeini, Ruhollah
Ruhollah Khomeini was an Iranian Shiʿi cleric who led the revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi......
Khrapovitsky, Antony
Antony Khrapovitsky was a Russian Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev, antipapal polemicist, and controversialist in......
Kiel Sun-chu
Kiel Sun-chu was a Presbyterian minister who was one of the most prominent leaders of the early Korean Christian......
Kilian, St.
St. Kilian ; feast day July 8) was a missionary bishop who, with his companions Saints Colman and Totnan, gave......
Kim Dae-Gŏn, St.
St. Kim Dae-Gŏn ; canonized May 6, 1984; feast day September 20) was the first Korean Catholic priest. The son......
Kimbangu, Simon
Simon Kimbangu was a Congolese religious leader who founded a separatist church known as the Kimbanguist church.......
Kingo, Thomas
Thomas Kingo was a clergyman and poet whose works are considered the high point of Danish Baroque poetry. Kingo’s......
Kircher, Athanasius
Athanasius Kircher was a Jesuit priest and scholar, sometimes called the last Renaissance man, important for his......
Kirill I
Kirill I is the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia from 2009. Gundyaev took the monastic name......
Kleist, E Georg von
E. Georg von Kleist was a German administrator and cleric who discovered (1745) the Leyden jar, a fundamental electric......
Knox, John
John Knox was the foremost leader of the Scottish Reformation, who set the austere moral tone of the Church of......
Knox, Ronald
Ronald Knox was an English author, theologian, and dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church, best known for his translation......
Kobia, Samuel
Samuel Kobia is an African religious leader, theologian, and ecumenist who served as general secretary of the World......
Kohler, Kaufmann
Kaufmann Kohler was a German-American rabbi, and one of the most influential theologians of Reform Judaism in the......
Kohut, Alexander
Alexander Kohut was a Hungarian-born American rabbi and scholar who wrote a monumental Talmudic lexicon and helped......
Kolbe, St. Maksymilian Maria
St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe ; feast day August 14; canonized October 10, 1982) was a Franciscan priest and religious......
Konarski, Stanisław
Stanisław Konarski was a Roman Catholic priest and political writer, who influenced the reform of education in......
Konrad von Marburg
Konrad von Marburg was the first papal inquisitor in Germany, whose excessive cruelty led to his own death. In......
Kook, Abraham Isaac
Abraham Isaac Kook was a Jewish mystic, fervent Zionist, and the first chief rabbi of Palestine under the League......
Kołłątaj, Hugo
Hugo Kołłątaj was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, reformer, and politician who was prominent in the movement for......
Küng, Hans
Hans Küng was a Swiss Roman Catholic theologian whose controversial liberal views led to his censorship by the......
Kūkai
Kūkai was one of the best-known and most-beloved Buddhist saints in Japan, founder of the Shingon (“True Word”)......
La Colombière, Claude, St.
St. Claude La Colombière ; beatified June 16, 1929; canonized May 31, 1992; feast day February 15) was a French......
Labadie, Jean de
Jean de Labadie was a French theologian, a Protestant convert from Roman Catholicism who founded the Labadists,......
Lacordaire, Henri
Henri Lacordaire was a leading ecclesiastic in the Roman Catholic revival in France following the Napoleonic period.......
Lactantius
Lactantius was a Christian apologist and one of the most reprinted of the Latin Church Fathers, whose Divinae institutiones......
Lagrange, Marie-Joseph
Marie-Joseph Lagrange was a French theologian and an outstanding Roman Catholic biblical scholar. Lagrange became......
Lalla Ded
Lalla Ded was a Hindu poet-saint from Kashmir, who defied social convention in her search for God. Legend tells......
Lalor, Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa Lalor was an Irish-born American religious leader who helped found and became superior of the first......
Lamennais, Félicité
Félicité Lamennais was a French priest and philosophical and political writer who attempted to combine political......
Landa, Diego de
Diego de Landa was a Spanish Franciscan priest and bishop of Yucatán who is best known for his classic account......
Landau, Ezekiel
Ezekiel Landau was a Polish rabbi, the learned author of a much-reprinted book on Jewish law (Halakha). In 1734......
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was an Italian Benedictine who, as archbishop of Canterbury (1070–89) and trusted counsellor of William......
Lang, Cosmo Gordon Lang, Baron
Cosmo Gordon Lang, Baron Lang was an influential and versatile Anglican priest who, as archbishop of Canterbury,......
Lang, John Dunmore
John Dunmore Lang was an Australian churchman and writer, founder of the Australian Presbyterian Church, and an......
Lang, Matthäus
Matthäus Lang was a German statesman and cardinal, counsellor of the emperor Maximilian I. Of bourgeois origin,......
Langton, Stephen
Stephen Langton was an English cardinal whose appointment as archbishop of Canterbury precipitated King John’s......
Las Casas, Bartolomé de
Bartolomé de Las Casas was an early Spanish historian and Dominican missionary who was the first to expose the......
Lathrop, Mother Alphonsa
Mother Alphonsa Lathrop was a U.S. author, nun, and founder of the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer, a Roman......
Latimer, Hugh
Hugh Latimer was an English Protestant who advanced the cause of the Reformation in England through his vigorous......
Laud, William
William Laud was the archbishop of Canterbury (1633–45) and religious adviser to King Charles I of Great Britain.......
Laurentius
Laurentius was an antipope in 498 and from 501 to about 505/507, whose disputed papal election gave his name to......
Laval, François de Montmorency
François de Montmorency Laval was the first Roman Catholic bishop in Canada, who laid the foundations of church......
Lavigerie, Charles
Charles Lavigerie was a cardinal and archbishop of Algiers and Carthage (now Tunis, Tunisia) whose dream to convert......
Law, Cardinal Bernard
Cardinal Bernard Law was an American prelate who was head (1984–2002) of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston......
Lawrence of Canterbury, St.
St. Lawrence of Canterbury ; feast day February 3) was the second archbishop of Canterbury. He was a missionary......
Lawrence, St
St. Lawrence ; feast day August 10) is one of the most venerated Roman martyrs, celebrated for his Christian valor.......
Lawson, James
James Lawson was an American minister who was instrumental in the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating......
Lazarus
Lazarus, (“God Has Helped”), either of two figures mentioned in the New Testament. One, Lazarus of Bethany, is......
Le Van Duyet
Le Van Duyet was a Vietnamese military strategist and government official who served as a diplomatic liaison between......
Leah
Leah, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), primarily in Genesis, first wife of Jacob (later Israel) and the traditional......
Leclerc, Jean
Jean Leclerc was an encyclopaedist and biblical scholar who espoused advanced principles of exegesis (interpretation)......
Lee, Ann
Ann Lee was a religious leader who brought the Shaker sect from England to the American colonies. Believing that......
Leeuw, Gerardus van der
Gerardus van der Leeuw was a Dutch Reformed theologian and historian of religions, who contributed significantly......
Lefebvre, Marcel (-François)
Marcel Lefebvre was a Roman Catholic archbishop who opposed the liberalizing changes begun by the Second Vatican......
Lefèvre d’Étaples, Jacques
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples was an outstanding French humanist, theologian, and translator whose scholarship stimulated......
Leighton, Robert
Robert Leighton was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and devotional writer who accepted two Anglican bishoprics......
Leo I, St
St. Leo I ; Western feast day November 10 ([formerly April 11]), Eastern feast day February 18) was the pope, the......
Leo VIII
Leo VIII was a pope, or antipope, from 963 to 965. The legitimacy of his election has long been debated. A Roman......
Leo XI
Leo XI was the pope from April 1–27, 1605. Pope Gregory XIII made him bishop of Pistoia, Italy, in 1573, archbishop......
Leo XIV
Leo XIV is the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on May 8, 2025, succeeding Pope Francis......
Leontius Of Byzantium
Leontius Of Byzantium was a Byzantine monk and theologian who provided a breakthrough of terminology in the 6th-century......
Li Shaojun
Li Shaojun was a noted Chinese Daoist who was responsible for much of the mystical content of popular Daoist thought.......
Libavius, Andreas
Andreas Libavius was a German chemist, physician, and alchemist who made important chemical discoveries but is......
Liberius
Liberius was the pope from 352 to 366. He was elected on May 17, 352, to succeed Pope St. Julius I. Liberius was......
Liddon, Henry Parry
Henry Parry Liddon was an Anglican priest, theologian, close friend and biographer of the Oxford movement leader......
Lietzmann, Hans
Hans Lietzmann was a German scholar and Lutheran church historian noted for his investigations of Christian origins.......
Liguori, St. Alphonsus
St. Alphonsus Liguori ; canonized 1839; feast day August 1) was an Italian doctor of the church, one of the chief......
Linus, St.
St. Linus ; feast day September 23) was the pope from about 67 to 76 or 79, who may have been the immediate successor......
Lipsius, Richard Adelbert
Richard Adelbert Lipsius was a German Protestant theologian who clarified the origin and authorship of early Christian......
Llull, Ramon
Ramon Llull was a Catalan mystic and poet whose writings helped to develop the Romance Catalan language and widely......
Loménie de Brienne, Étienne-Charles de
Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne was a French ecclesiastic and minister of finance on the eve of the French......
Lorraine, Charles de Lorraine, 2nd cardinal de
Charles de Lorraine, 2nd cardinal de Lorraine was one of the foremost members of the powerful Roman Catholic house......
Lorraine, Jean de Lorraine, 1st cardinal de
Jean de Lorraine, 1st cardinal de Lorraine was a French cardinal of the celebrated family of Guise, a noted patron......
Lot
Lot, in the Hebrew Bible, a nephew of the patriarch Abraham and a central figure in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.......
Lowth, Robert
Robert Lowth was a Church of England bishop of London (appointed 1777) and a literary scholar. During his Oxford......
Loyola, St. Ignatius of
St. Ignatius of Loyola ; canonized March 12, 1622; feast day July 31) was a Spanish theologian and mystic who became......
Lucaris, Cyril
Cyril Lucaris was the patriarch of Constantinople who strove for reforms along Protestant Calvinist lines. His......
Lucian of Antioch, Saint
Saint Lucian of Antioch was a Christian theologian-martyr who originated a theological tradition at Antioch that......
Lucifer
Lucifer was a bishop of Cagliari, Sardinia, who was a fierce opponent of the heresy of Arianism (q.v.). To further......
Lucius I, St.
St. Lucius I ; feast day March 4) was the pope from June 253 to March 254. Lucius is honoured in Denmark as the......
Lucy, St
St. Lucy ; feast day December 13) was a virgin martyr who was one of the earliest Christian saints to achieve widespread......
Ludmila, St.
St. Ludmila ; feast day September 16) was a Slavic martyr and patron of Bohemia, where she pioneered in establishing......
Lugo, Fernando
Fernando Lugo is a former Roman Catholic bishop who became president of Paraguay (2008–12). His inauguration ended......
Luke, St
St. Luke ; feast day October 18) was, in Christian tradition, the author of the Gospel According to Luke and the......
Luter, Fred, Jr.
Fred Luter, Jr. is an American Protestant religious leader and was the president of the Southern Baptist Convention......
Luther, Martin
Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant......
Luzzatto, Moshe Ḥayyim
Moshe Ḥayyim Luzzatto was a Jewish cabalist and writer, one of the founders of modern Hebrew poetry. Luzzatto wrote......
Lévi, Sylvain
Sylvain Lévi was a French Orientalist who wrote on Eastern religion, literature, and history and is particularly......
López de Segura, Ruy
Ruy López de Segura was a Spanish priest, the first modern Chess writer and analyst, and developer (though not......
Macarius
Macarius was a Russian metropolitan (archbishop) of Moscow and head of the Russian Church during the period of......
Macarius Magnes
Macarius Magnes was an Eastern Orthodox bishop and polemicist, author of an apology for the Christian faith, a......
Macarius the Egyptian
Macarius the Egyptian ; feast day January 15) was a monk and ascetic who, as one of the Desert Fathers, advanced......
Macedonius
Macedonius was a Greek bishop of Constantinople and a leading moderate Arian theologian in the 4th-century Trinitarian......
Machen, John Gresham
John Gresham Machen was an American Presbyterian theologian and fundamentalist leader. Born to a prominent family......