Religious Figures & Scholars, NOA-POL
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
Noailles, Louis-Antoine de
Louis-Antoine de Noailles was a cardinal and archbishop of Paris who, with his brother, the second duc de Noailles,......
Norbert of Xanten, Saint
Saint Norbert of Xanten ; canonized 1582; feast day June 6, among Premonstratensians July 11) was the archbishop......
Norris, John
John Norris was an Anglican priest and philosopher remembered as an exponent of Cambridge Platonism, a 17th-century......
Noth, Martin
Martin Noth was a German biblical scholar who specialized in the early history of the Jewish people. In his book......
Novak, Michael
Michael Novak was an American lay theologian, economist, historian, and author who became a prominent neoconservative......
Novatian
Novatian was the second antipope in papal history, in 251. He was the first Roman theologian to write in Latin......
Nowell, Alexander
Alexander Nowell was an English scholar, Anglican priest, and dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London whose tactless......
Noyes, John Humphrey
John Humphrey Noyes was the founder of the Oneida Community, the most successful of the utopian socialist communities......
Nóbrega, Manuel da
Manuel da Nóbrega was the founder of the Jesuit mission of Brazil and leader of the order’s activities there from......
Nāṣer-e Khusraw
Nāṣer-e Khusraw was a poet, theologian, and religious propagandist, one of the greatest writers in Persian literature.......
Oates, Titus
Titus Oates was a renegade Anglican priest who fabricated the Popish Plot of 1678. Oates’s allegations that Roman......
Ochino, Bernardino
Bernardino Ochino was a Protestant convert from Roman Catholicism who became an itinerant Reformer and influenced......
Ockham, William of
William of Ockham was a Franciscan philosopher, theologian, and political writer, a late scholastic thinker regarded......
Odo of Cluny, Saint
Saint Odo of Cluny ; feast day November 18) was the second abbot of Cluny (927–942) and an important monastic reformer.......
Oecolampadius, Johann
Johann Oecolampadius was a German humanist, preacher, and patristic scholar who, as a close friend of the Swiss......
Olaf II Haraldsson
Olaf II Haraldsson ; feast day July 29) was the first effective king of all Norway and the country’s patron saint,......
Oldcastle, Sir John
Sir John Oldcastle was a distinguished soldier and martyred leader of the Lollards, a late medieval English sect......
Olier, Jean-Jacques
Jean-Jacques Olier was the founder of the Sulpicians, a group of secular priests dedicated to training candidates......
Oman, John Wood
John Wood Oman was a British Presbyterian theologian. After graduating from Edinburgh University and the theological......
Orchard, William Edwin
William Edwin Orchard was an English ecumenical priest who strove for a closer understanding between Protestants......
Oresme, Nicholas
Nicholas Oresme was a French Roman Catholic bishop, scholastic philosopher, economist, and mathematician whose......
Origen
Origen was the most important theologian and biblical scholar of the early Greek church. His greatest work is the......
Orosius, Paulus
Paulus Orosius was a defender of early Christian orthodoxy, theologian, and author of the first world history by......
Osiander, Andreas
Andreas Osiander was a German theologian who helped introduce the Protestant Reformation to Nürnberg. The son of......
Osteen, Joel
Joel Osteen is an American televangelist, theologian, speaker, and author who has attracted millions of followers......
Oswald of York, St.
St. Oswald of York ; feast day February 28) was an Anglo-Saxon archbishop who was a leading figure in the 10th-century......
Otto, Rudolf
Rudolf Otto was a German theologian, philosopher, and scholar of religion, who exerted worldwide influence through......
Owen, John
John Owen was an English Puritan minister, prolific writer, and controversialist. He was an advocate of Congregationalism......
O’Connor, John Joseph Cardinal
John Joseph Cardinal O’Connor was an American Roman Catholic prelate, who served as the archbishop of New York......
Pachomius, St.
St. Pachomius ; feast day May 9) was one of the Desert Fathers and founder of Christian cenobitic (communal) monasticism,......
Padilla, Juan
Juan Padilla was the first Christian missionary martyred within the territory of the present United States. After......
Pagels, Elaine
Elaine Pagels is an American educator and scholar of the origins of Christianity. Elaine Hiesey studied at Stanford......
Pajon, Claude
Claude Pajon was a French Protestant theologian who was influential during the later Reformation. Pajon studied......
Palamas, St. Gregory
St. Gregory Palamas ; canonized 1368; feast day November 14) was an Orthodox monk, theologian, and intellectual......
Paley, William
William Paley was an English Anglican priest, Utilitarian philosopher, and author of influential works on Christianity,......
Palladius
Palladius was a Galatian monk, bishop, and chronicler whose Lausiac History, an account of early Egyptian and Middle......
Pandulph
Pandulph was a papal legate to England and bishop of Norwich who was deeply involved in English secular politics.......
Papias
Papias was a bishop of Hierapolis, in Phrygia (now in Turkey), and one of the Apostolic Fathers. His work Explanation......
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss physician and alchemist who established the role of chemistry in medicine. He published......
Paramanuchit
Paramanuchit was a prince-patriarch of the Siamese Buddhist church who was a prolific writer on patriotic and moralistic......
Paramārtha
Paramārtha was an Indian Buddhist missionary and translator whose arrival in China in 546 was important in the......
Parker, Matthew
Matthew Parker was an Anglican archbishop of Canterbury (1559–75) who presided over the Elizabethan religious settlement......
Parker, Theodore
Theodore Parker was an American Unitarian theologian, pastor, scholar, and social reformer who was active in the......
Paschal
Paschal (I) was an antipope against both the rival antipope Theodore and the legitimate pope St. Sergius I during......
Paschal
Paschal (III) was an antipope from 1164 to 1168. Against Pope Alexander III, he was one of the original supporters......
Paschasius Radbertus, Saint
Saint Paschasius Radbertus ; feast day April 26) was a French abbot, theologian, and author whose monograph De......
Patrick, Mary Mills
Mary Mills Patrick was an American missionary and educator who oversaw the evolution of a girls’ high school into......
Patrick, St
St. Patrick ; feast day March 17) is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He is credited with bringing......
Paul of Samosata
Paul of Samosata was a heretical bishop of Antioch in Syria and proponent of a kind of dynamic Monarchian doctrine......
Paul of the Cross, St
St. Paul of the Cross ; canonized 1867; feast day October 19) was an Italian mystic and the founder of the Roman......
Paul of Thebes, St.
St. Paul of Thebes ; feast day January 15) was an ascetic who is traditionally regarded as the first Christian......
Paul Of Venice
Paul Of Venice was an Italian Augustinian philosopher and theologian who gained recognition as an educator and......
Paul the Apostle, St
St. Paul the Apostle was one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, often considered to be the most......
Paulinus Of Nola, Saint
Saint Paulinus of Nola ; feast day June 22) was the bishop of Nola and one of the most important Christian Latin......
Paulinus, Saint
Saint Paulinus ; feast day October 10) was an Italian missionary who converted Northumbria to Christianity, became......
Payne, Peter
Peter Payne was an English theologian, diplomat, and follower of the early religious Reformer John Wycliffe. He......
Peabody, Lucy Whitehead McGill Waterbury
Lucy Whitehead McGill Waterbury Peabody was an American missionary who was an influential force in a number of......
Peacocke, Arthur
Arthur Peacocke was a British theologian, biochemist, and Anglican priest who claimed that science and religion......
Pedersen, Johannes Peder Ejler
Johannes Peder Ejler Pedersen was a Danish Old Testament scholar and Semitic philologist, important for his conception......
Pelagia Of Antioch, Saint
Saint Pelagia of Antioch ; feast day June 9) was a 15-year-old Christian virgin who, probably during the persecution......
Pelagius
Pelagius was a monk and theologian whose heterodox theological system known as Pelagianism emphasized the primacy......
Pell, Cardinal George
Cardinal George Pell was an Australian prelate who served as the Roman Catholic archbishop of Sydney (2001–14)......
Penn, William
William Penn was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American......
Perpetua
Perpetua ; feast day March 7) was a Christian martyr who wrote The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, a journal......
Peter
Peter was the Russian Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow (1308–26) and the first metropolitan to reside in......
Peter Chrysologus, St
St. Peter Chrysologus ; feast day July 30) was the archbishop of Ravenna. His orthodox discourses earned him the......
Peter Claver, St.
St. Peter Claver ; canonized 1888; feast day September 9) was a Jesuit missionary to South America who, in dedicating......
Peter Damian, St
St. Peter Damian ; feast day February 21) was a Roman Catholic cardinal and a forceful figure in the Gregorian......
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard was a 12th-century bishop whose Four Books of Sentences (Sententiarum libri IV) was the standard......
Peter Martyr, St.
St. Peter Martyr ; canonized 1253; feast day April 29) was an inquisitor, vigorous preacher, and religious founder......
Peter of Alcántara, Saint
Saint Peter of Alcántara ; canonized 1669; feast day October 19) was a Franciscan mystic who founded an austere......
Peter Of Castelnau
Peter Of Castelnau was a Cistercian martyr, apostolic legate, and inquisitor against the Albigenses, most particularly......
Peter the Apostle, St
St. Peter the Apostle was a disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early Christian church as the leader of......
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit was an ascetic and monastic founder, considered one of the most important preachers of the First......
Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable was an outstanding French abbot of Cluny whose spiritual, intellectual, and financial reforms......
Petri, Laurentius
Laurentius Petri was a Lutheran churchman, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden and the first Protestant......
Petrus Aureoli
Petrus Aureoli was a French churchman, philosopher, and critical thinker, called Doctor facundus (“eloquent teacher”),......
Philaret
Philaret was a Russian Orthodox patriarch of Moscow and father of the first Romanov tsar. During the reign (1584–98)......
Philaret
Philaret was a Russian Orthodox biblical theologian and metropolitan, or archbishop, of Moscow whose scholarship,......
Philip
Philip was an antipope in July 768. Temporal rulers coveted the papal throne following the death of Pope St. Paul......
Philip the Apostle, St
St. Philip the Apostle ; Western feast day May 3, Eastern feast day November 14) was one of the Twelve Apostles......
Philip The Evangelist, Saint
Saint Philip the Evangelist ; feast day June 6) was, in the early Christian church, one of the seven deacons appointed......
Philip, John
John Philip was a Scottish missionary in Southern Africa who championed the rights of the Africans against the......
Phillpotts, Henry
Henry Phillpotts was a Church of England bishop of Exeter (from 1830), who represented the conservative High Church......
Philo Judaeus
Philo Judaeus was a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, the most important representative of Hellenistic Judaism.......
Philoponus, John
John Philoponus was a Christian philosopher, theologian, and literary scholar whose writings expressed an independent......
Philostorgius
Philostorgius was a Byzantine historian, partisan of Arianism, a Christian heresy asserting the inferiority of......
Philotheus Kokkinos
Philotheus Kokkinos was a theologian, monk, and patriarch of Constantinople, a leader of the Byzantine monastic......
Philoxenus of Mabbug
Philoxenus of Mabbug was a Syrian bishop, theologian, and classical author. He was a leader of the Jacobite miaphysite......
Photius, Saint
Saint Photius ; feast day February 6) was the patriarch of Constantinople (858–867 and 877–886), defender of the......
Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte Di Concordia
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, count di Concordia was an Italian scholar and Platonist philosopher whose De hominis......
Pimen
Pimen was the 14th Russian Orthodox patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. He served as spiritual leader of his......
Pio, Padre
Padre Pio ; canonized June 16, 2002; feast day September 23) was an Italian priest and Capuchin friar known for......
Pius I, St.
St. Pius I ; feast day July 11) was the Latin pope from approximately 142 to about 155. Pius was formerly enslaved,......
Planudes, Maximus
Maximus Planudes was a Greek Orthodox humanities scholar, anthologist, and theological polemicist in the controversy......
Plunket, Saint Oliver
Saint Oliver Plunket ; canonized 1975; feast day July 11) was the Roman Catholic primate of all Ireland and the......
Polding, John Bede
John Bede Polding was the first Roman Catholic bishop in Australia (from 1835), where eight years later he became......
Pole, Reginald
Reginald Pole was an English prelate who broke with King Henry VIII over Henry’s antipapal policies and later became......
Polkinghorne, John
John Polkinghorne was an English physicist and priest who publicly championed the reconciliation of science and......
Polycarp, St
St. Polycarp ; feast day February 23) was a Greek bishop of Smyrna and an Apostolic Father who was the leading......