Spiritual Leaders & Religious Figures, WEN-ṢAD
Religious and spiritual leaders have shaped beliefs, practices, and traditions throughout history. Learn more about influential religious leaders, spiritual teachers, founders, reformers, mystics, and other notable figures.
Spiritual Leaders & Religious Figures Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Wenceslas I
Wenceslas I ; feast day September 28) was the prince of Bohemia and a Christian martyr who is venerated as the......
Wesley, John
John Wesley was an Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and founder, with his brother Charles, of the Methodist movement......
Westcott, Brooke Foss
Brooke Foss Westcott was an Anglican bishop of Durham, England, and a biblical scholar who collaborated with Fenton......
Whately, Richard
Richard Whately was an Anglican archbishop of Dublin, educator, logician, and social reformer. The son of a clergyman,......
White, Alma Bridwell
Alma Bridwell White was an American religious leader who was a founder and major moving force in the evangelical......
White, William
William White was the first bishop consecrated in England for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States......
Whitefield, George
George Whitefield was a Church of England evangelist who, by his popular preaching, stimulated the 18th-century......
Whitgift, John
John Whitgift was the archbishop of Canterbury who did much to strengthen the Anglican church during the last years......
Whitman, Marcus
Marcus Whitman was an American physician, Congregational missionary to the Indians in the territories of present-day......
Wilberforce, Samuel
Samuel Wilberforce was a British cleric, an Anglican prelate and educator and a defender of orthodoxy, who typified......
Wilfrid, Saint
Saint Wilfrid ; feast day October 12) was one of the greatest English saints, a monk and bishop who was outstanding......
Wilkinson, Jemima
Jemima Wilkinson was an American religious leader who founded an unorthodox Christian sect, the Universal Friends,......
William of Auvergne
William of Auvergne was the most prominent French philosopher-theologian of the early 13th century and one of the......
William of Champeaux
William of Champeaux was a French bishop, logician, theologian, and philosopher who was prominent in the Scholastic......
William of Moerbeke
William of Moerbeke was a Flemish cleric, archbishop, and classical scholar whose Latin translations of the works......
Williams, Rowan
Rowan Williams is a noted theologian, was the 104th archbishop of Canterbury (2002–12), archbishop of the Church......
Williams, William
William Williams was a leader of the Methodist revival in Wales and its chief hymn writer. His parents were Nonconformists,......
Willibrord, Saint
Saint Willibrord ; feast day November 7) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop and missionary, apostle of Friesland, and a......
Wilson, A.N.
A.N. Wilson is an English essayist, journalist, and author of satiric novels of British society and of scholarly......
Winchelsey, Robert
Robert Winchelsey was an archbishop of Canterbury who was a champion of clerical privilege and a leading opponent......
Winchester, Elhanan
Elhanan Winchester was an American preacher and revivalist who helped to spread Universalism in the United States.......
Wise, Isaac Mayer
Isaac Mayer Wise was a rabbi whose goal of uniting American Jewry made him the greatest organizer of Reform Jewish......
Wise, Stephen Samuel
Stephen Samuel Wise was a Reform rabbi, a leader of the Zionist movement in the United States, and a liberal activist......
Wiseman, Nicholas
Nicholas Wiseman was the first cardinal resident in England since the Reformation and the first archbishop of Westminster.......
Wishart, George
George Wishart was an early martyr of the Reformation in Scotland. While a teacher of Greek at Montrose, Wishart......
Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal
Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey was a cardinal and statesman who dominated the government of England’s King Henry VIII......
Wood, Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth Wood was an American librarian and missionary, whose efforts brought numerous libraries to China......
Woodard, Nathaniel
Nathaniel Woodard was an Anglican priest and founder of middle class public schools. An Oxford graduate, he was......
Woolman, John
John Woolman was a British-American Quaker leader and abolitionist whose Journal is recognized as one of the classic......
Wright, Laura Maria Sheldon
Laura Maria Sheldon Wright was an American missionary who devoted her energies unstintingly to the education and......
Wu Li
Wu Li was a Chinese painter who was a member of the orthodox school of “literati painting” (wenrenhua) in the early......
Wulfstan
Wulfstan was the bishop of London, 996–1002, archbishop of York, 1002–23, and bishop of Worcester, 1002–16. He......
Wulfstan, Saint
Saint Wulfstan was the bishop of Worcester from 1062, the last surviving English holder of a bishopric after the......
Wykeham, William of
William of Wykeham was an English prelate and statesman, the founder of Winchester College and of New College,......
Wyszyński, Stefan
Stefan Wyszyński was the Polish archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw and primate of Poland. After study at Warsaw,......
Wŏnhyo
Wŏnhyo was a Buddhist priest who is considered the greatest of the ancient Korean religious teachers. A renowned......
Xavier, St. Francis
St. Francis Xavier ; canonized March 12, 1622; feast day December 3) was the greatest Roman Catholic missionary......
Xenophanes
Xenophanes was a Greek poet and rhapsode, religious thinker, and reputed precursor of the Eleatic school of philosophy,......
Yacoub, Mor Ignatius, III
Mor Ignatius Yacoub III was a Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch who combined scholarship and dedication with......
Yaḥyā
Yaḥyā was a Zaydī imam of Yemen from 1904 to 1948. When Yaḥyā was a child, Yemen was a province of the Ottoman......
Zaccaria, Saint Antonio Maria
Saint Antonio Maria Zaccaria ; canonized May 27, 1897; feast day July 5) was an Italian priest, physician, and......
Zarathushtra
Zarathushtra ; Traditional dates: 628–551 bce) was an Iranian religious reformer and prophet, traditionally regarded......
Zechariah
Zechariah was a Jewish prophet whose preachings are recorded in one of the shorter prophetical books in the Old......
Zephaniah
Zephaniah was an Israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter Old Testament prophetical books,......
Zephyrinus, St.
St. Zephyrinus ; feast day August 26) was the pope from about 199 to 217. Of humble birth, he succeeded Pope St.......
Zhang Daoling
Zhang Daoling was the founder and first patriarch of the Tianshidao (“Way of the Celestial Masters”) movement within......
Zinzendorf, Nikolaus Ludwig, Graf von
Nikolaus Ludwig, count von Zinzendorf was a religious and social reformer of the German Pietist movement who, as......
Zophar
Zophar, in the Book of Job (2:11, 11:1, 20:1, 42:9), one of the three comforters of Job, a biblical archetype of......
Zosimus, Saint
Saint Zosimus ; feast day December 26) was the pope from March 417 to December 418. He was consecrated as Pope......
Zwingli, Huldrych
Huldrych Zwingli was the most important reformer in the Swiss Protestant Reformation. He founded the Swiss Reformed......
ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī
ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī was the traditional founder of the Qādirīyah order of the mystical Ṣūfī branch of Islām.......
ʿAlī
ʿAlī was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, and fourth of the “rightly guided” (rāshidūn)......
ʿAlī al-Riḍā
ʿAlī al-Riḍā was the eighth imam of the Twelver Shīʿites, noted for his piety and learning. In 817, the caliph......
Ḥallāj, al-
al-Ḥallāj was a controversial writer and teacher of Islamic mysticism (Ṣūfism). Because he represented in his person......
Ḥamzah ibn ʿAlī
Ḥamzah ibn ʿAlī was one of the founders of the Druze religion. Almost nothing is known of his life before he entered......
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, al-
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī was a deeply pious and ascetic Muslim who was one of the most important religious figures in......
Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, al-
al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī was a hero in Shiʿi Islam, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fāṭimah and......
Ṣadr, Mūsā al-
Mūsā al-Ṣadr was an Iranian-born Lebanese Shiʿi cleric. The son of an ayatollah, he received a traditional Islamic......