Religious Figures & Scholars, SOU-TIS
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
Southwell, Robert
Robert Southwell was an English poet and martyr remembered for his saintly life as a Jesuit priest and missionary......
Sozomen
Sozomen was a Christian lawyer in Constantinople whose church history, distinguished for its classical literary......
Spalding, Henry Harmon
Henry Harmon Spalding was a U.S. Presbyterian missionary who, with his wife, Eliza, in 1836 established the Lapwai......
Spalding, Mother Catherine
Mother Catherine Spalding was an American Roman Catholic leader under whose guidance the Sisters of Charity established......
Spangenberg, August Gottlieb
August Gottlieb Spangenberg was a German bishop of the Unitas Fratrum, successor to its leader, Nikolaus Ludwig,......
Spellman, Francis
Francis Spellman was an archbishop and cardinal who was one of the most influential American Roman Catholic prelates......
Spener, Philipp Jakob
Philipp Jakob Spener was a theologian, author, and a leading figure in German Pietism, a movement among 17th- and......
Spurgeon, C.H.
C.H. Spurgeon was an English fundamentalist Baptist minister and celebrated preacher whose sermons, which were......
St. Dymphna
St. Dymphna ; feast day May 15) was an Irish virgin martyr who is venerated as the patron saint of people with......
St. George
St. George ; feast day April 23) was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial......
Stanislaus of Kraków, St
St. Stanislaus of Kraków ; canonized 1253; feast day April 11, feast day in Kraków May 7) was the bishop of Kraków......
Stanton, Alysa
Alysa Stanton is an American rabbi who on June 6, 2009, became the first female African American to be so ordained.......
Staupitz, Johann von
Johann von Staupitz was the vicar-general of the German Augustinians during the revolt against the Roman Catholic......
Stein, Edith
Edith Stein ; canonized October 11, 1998; feast day August 9) was a Roman Catholic convert from Judaism, Carmelite......
Stephen I, St.
St. Stephen I ; feast day August 2) was the pope from 254 to 257. He was a priest when consecrated, probably on......
Stephen of Perm, Saint
Saint Stephen of Perm ; feast day April 26) was one of the most successful and dynamic missionaries of the Russian......
Stephen, St
St. Stephen ; feast day December 26) was a Christian deacon in Jerusalem who is believed to have been the first......
Stetson, Augusta Emma Simmons
Augusta Emma Simmons Stetson was an American religious leader whose success and popularity as a leader in New York’s......
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
Matilda Coxe Stevenson was an American ethnologist who became one of the major contributors to her field, particularly......
Stigand
Stigand was the archbishop of Canterbury, probably the English king Canute’s priest of this name whom he placed......
Stone, Barton W
Barton W. Stone was a Protestant clergyman and a founder of the Disciples of Christ, a major U.S. religious denomination.......
Strachan, John
John Strachan was an educator and clergyman who, as the first Anglican bishop of Toronto, was responsible for organizing......
Strang, James Jesse
James Jesse Strang was an American churchman, dissident of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons),......
Strauss, David Friedrich
David Friedrich Strauss was a controversial German-Protestant philosopher, theologian, and biographer whose use......
Streeter, Burnett Hillman
Burnett Hillman Streeter was an English theologian and biblical scholar, noted for his original contributions to......
Sturzo, Luigi
Luigi Sturzo was an Italian priest, public official, and political organizer who founded a party that was a forerunner......
Suger
Suger was a French abbot and adviser to kings Louis VI and VII whose supervision of the rebuilding of the abbey......
Suhrawardī, as-
as-Suhrawardī was a mystic theologian and philosopher who was a leading figure of the illuminationist school of......
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus was an early Christian ascetic, a chief authority for contemporary Gallo-Roman history, who is......
Sunday, Billy
Billy Sunday was an American evangelist whose revivals and sermons reflected the emotional upheavals caused by......
Suzuki Shōsan
Suzuki Shōsan was a Japanese Zen priest. Suzuki was born of a samurai (warrior) family that had traditionally served......
Suzuki, D.T.
D.T. Suzuki was a Japanese Buddhist scholar and thinker who was the chief interpreter of Zen Buddhism to the West.......
Suárez, Francisco
Francisco Suárez was a Spanish theologian and philosopher, a founder of international law, often considered the......
Swaggart, Jimmy
Jimmy Swaggart was an American televangelist and gospel music performer. He was defrocked by the Assemblies of......
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, Christian mystic, philosopher, and theologian who wrote voluminously......
Swithin, St
St. Swithin ; feast day July 15) is a celebrated Anglo-Saxon saint who was bishop of Winchester, England, and a......
Sylvester
Sylvester (IV) was an antipope from 1105 to 1111. While the Investiture Controversy raged between the German king......
Sylvester I, St
St. Sylvester I ; Western feast day December 31, Eastern feast day January 2) was the pope, the leader of the Roman......
Sylvester III
Sylvester III was the pope from January 20 to February 10, 1045. He was bishop of Sabina when elected pope in January......
Symeon the New Theologian, Saint
Saint Symeon the New Theologian was a Byzantine monk and mystic, termed the New Theologian to mark his difference......
Söderblom, Nathan
Nathan Söderblom was a Swedish Lutheran archbishop and theologian who in 1930 received the Nobel Prize for Peace......
Süleyman Çelebi
Süleyman Çelebi was one of the most famous early poets of Anatolia. Süleyman appears to have been the son of an......
T.H. Huxley on evolution and biology
Although his formal education occurred between the ages of 8 and 10, plus four or five years at medical school,......
Tait, Archibald Campbell
Archibald Campbell Tait was the archbishop of Canterbury, remembered primarily for his efforts to moderate tension......
Takuan Sōhō
Takuan Sōhō was a Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest responsible for the construction of the Tōkai Temple. Takuan......
Tanaquil
Tanaquil, legendary Etruscan prophet, the wife of Tarquinius Priscus, traditionally the fifth king of Rome. According......
Tanner, Henry Ossawa
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American painter who gained international acclaim for his depiction of landscapes and......
Tatian
Tatian was a Syrian compiler of the Diatessaron (Greek: “Through Four,” “From Four,” or “Out of Four”), a version......
Tausen, Hans
Hans Tausen was a religious Reformer known as “the Danish Luther” for his major role in bringing the Reformation......
Tawadros II
Tawadros II is the 118th pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the see of St. Mark (2012– ) and leader of the Coptic......
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French philosopher and paleontologist known for his theory that man is evolving,......
Telesphorus, St.
St. Telesphorus ; Western feast day January 5; Eastern feast day February 22) was the pope from about 125 to about......
Temple, Frederick
Frederick Temple was the archbishop of Canterbury and an educational reformer who was sometimes considered to personify,......
Temple, William
William Temple was the archbishop of Canterbury who was a leader in the ecumenical movement and in educational......
Tencin, Pierre Guérin de
Pierre Guérin de Tencin was a French statesman, cardinal, and anti-Jansenist of the 18th century. Tencin owed his......
Tennant, Frederick Robert
Frederick Robert Tennant was an English philosophical theologian, a powerful apologist with a wide range of interests......
Tennent, Gilbert
Gilbert Tennent was an Irish-born American Presbyterian clergyman, one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of......
Teresa, Mother
Mother Teresa ; canonized September 4, 2016; feast day September 5) was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries......
Tertullian
Tertullian was an important early Christian theologian, polemicist, and moralist who, as the initiator of ecclesiastical......
Tetzel, Johann
Johann Tetzel was a German Dominican friar whose preaching on indulgences, considered by many of his contemporaries......
Theobald
Theobald was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1138, prominent during the reigns of kings Stephen and Henry II......
Theodore
Theodore was an antipope from September 21 to December 15, 687. A Roman archpriest, Theodore had already been a......
Theodore Ascidas
Theodore Ascidas was a monk-theologian and archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who was the leading advocate of......
Theodore Bar Konai
Theodore Bar Konai was a Syrian scholar and author of a noted collection of annotations on the entire Syriac Bible.......
Theodore of Canterbury, Saint
Saint Theodore of Canterbury ; feast day September 19) was the seventh archbishop of Canterbury and the first archbishop......
Theodore Of Mopsuestia
Theodore Of Mopsuestia was a Syrian theologian, considered the greatest biblical interpreter of his time and the......
Theodore Of Rhaithu
Theodore Of Rhaithu was a theologian-monk of a monastery at Rhaithu, a port on the Sinai Peninsula, considered......
Theodore Studites, Saint
Saint Theodore Studites was an abbot and leading opponent of iconoclasm, the doctrine opposing the veneration of......
Theodoret Of Cyrrhus
Theodoret Of Cyrrhus was a Syrian theologian-bishop, representative of Antioch’s historico-critical school of biblical-theological......
Theodoric
Theodoric was an antipope from 1100 to 1101. As cardinal bishop of Santa Ruffina, he was elected pope by the faction......
Theodosius I
Theodosius I was a Roman emperor of the East (379–392) and then sole emperor of both East and West (392–395), who,......
Theodosius I Boradiotes
Theodosius I Boradiotes was a Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (1179–83), an inflexible opponent of the......
Theodosius Of Alexandria
Theodosius Of Alexandria was a patriarch of Alexandria (535–566), theologian, and leader of the Monophysites in......
Theodosius of Palestine, Saint
Saint Theodosius of Palestine ; feast day January 11) was a principal proponent of orthodoxy in the Christological......
Theodotus The Gnostic
Theodotus The Gnostic was a principal formulator of Eastern Gnosticism. This system of religious dualism (belief......
Theodotus The Tanner
Theodotus The Tanner was the principal exponent at Rome of the heresy of Adoptionism (see Monarchianism). A wealthy......
Theodotus, St
St. Theodotus ; feast day November 2) was a theologian, bishop of Ancyra, and a leading advocate of orthodoxy in......
Theodulf of Orléans
Theodulf of Orléans was a prelate, poet, and one of the leading theologians of the Frankish empire. A member of......
Theognostos
Theognostos was a Byzantine monk, theologian, and chronicler, coauthor of a report on the situation of the Eastern......
Theognostus Of Alexandria
Theognostus Of Alexandria was a Greek theologian, writer, and prominent head of Alexandria’s Catechetical school,......
Theoleptus Of Philadelphia
Theoleptus Of Philadelphia was a Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Philadelphia and theological polemicist and writer......
Theophanes the Confessor, Saint
Saint Theophanes the Confessor ; feast day March 12) was a Byzantine monk, theologian, and chronicler, and a principal......
Theophilus of Alexandria, Saint
Saint Theophilus of Alexandria ; feast day, Egyptian Coptic Church, October 15; in the Syrian Church, October 17)......
Theophilus of Antioch
Theophilus of Antioch was a Syrian saint, the sixth bishop of Antioch, and one of the Christian Apologists of the......
Theophylact of Ochrid
Theophylact of Ochrid was an Eastern Orthodox archbishop of Ochrid (modern Ohrid, North Macedonia), theologian......
Theōdūrus Abū Qurrah
Theōdūrus Abū Qurrah was a Syrian Melchite bishop, theologian, and linguist. He was an early exponent of cultural......
Thierry de Chartres
Thierry de Chartres was a French theologian, teacher, encyclopaedist, and one of the foremost thinkers of the 12th......
Thoburn, Isabella
Isabella Thoburn was an American missionary to India whose work in education there culminated in the founding of......
Thomas Of Bayeux
Thomas Of Bayeux was the archbishop of York from 1070, who opposed the primacy of the archbishopric of Canterbury......
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis was a Christian theologian, the probable author of Imitatio Christi (Imitation of Christ), a devotional......
Thomas, St
St. Thomas ; Western feast day December 21, feast day in Roman and Syrian Catholic churches July 3, in the Greek......
Thorláksson, Gudbrandur
Gudbrandur Thorláksson was a Reformation scholar and Lutheran bishop who was responsible for the success of Lutheranism......
Thurman, Howard
Howard Thurman was an American Baptist preacher and theologian, the first African American dean of chapel at a......
Thurstan
Thurstan was the archbishop of York whose tenure was marked by disputes over precedence with the see of Canterbury......
Tiele, Cornelis Petrus
Cornelis Petrus Tiele was a Dutch theologian and scholar, whose influence on the comparative study of religion,......
Tikhon, Saint
Saint Tikhon ; canonized Oct. 9, 1989) was the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church following the Bolshevik......
Tillemont, Sébastien Le Nain de
Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont was a French ecclesiastical historian who was one of the earliest scholars to provide......
Tillich, Paul
Paul Tillich was a German-born American theologian and philosopher whose discussions of God and faith illuminated......
Timothy, St
St. Timothy ; Western feast day January 24 [in Roman church January 26 with St. Titus], Eastern feast day January......
Tiso, Jozef
Jozef Tiso was a Slovak priest and statesman who fought for Slovak autonomy within the Czechoslovak nation during......