Spiritual Leaders & Religious Figures, COL-ELE
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
Columban, St
St. Columban ; feast day November 23) was an Irish Christian abbot and writer and one of the greatest missionaries......
Commodianus
Commodianus was a Christian Latin poet, perhaps of African origin. His Carmen apologeticum (“Song with Narrative”)......
Congar, Yves
Yves Congar was a French Dominican priest and cardinal who was widely recognized in his lifetime as one of the......
Connelly, Cornelia
Cornelia Connelly was a Roman Catholic abbess who founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and became the subject......
Consalvi, Ercole
Ercole Consalvi was an Italian cardinal and statesman, who played the leading role in Vatican politics during the......
Constant, Benjamin
Benjamin Constant was a Franco-Swiss novelist and political writer, the author of Adolphe, a forerunner of the......
Constantine I
Constantine I was the first Roman emperor to profess Christianity. He not only initiated the evolution of the empire......
Contarini, Gasparo
Gasparo Contarini was a Venetian Humanist scholar, theologian, diplomat, and Roman Catholic cardinal (1535–42).......
Cooper, John M.
John M. Cooper was a U.S. Roman Catholic priest, ethnologist, and sociologist, who specialized in studies of the......
Corbeil, William of
William of Corbeil was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1123 to 1136. Educated at Laon, he entered the order of......
Corbet, Richard
Richard Corbet was a bishop of Oxford and Norwich and one of the most fashionable minor Caroline poets. His memory......
Cordovero, Moses ben Jacob
Moses ben Jacob Cordovero was a Galilean rabbi who organized and codified the Zoharistic Kabbala. He was the teacher......
Cornelius, St.
St. Cornelius ; feast day September 16) was the pope from 251 to 253. Cornelius was a Roman priest who was elected......
Cosin, John
John Cosin was an Anglican bishop of Durham, theologian, and liturgist whose scholarly promotion of traditional......
Cosmas and Damian, Saints
Saints Cosmas and Damian were martyrs and patron saints of physicians. They were brothers, perhaps twins, but little......
Coughlin, Charles E.
Charles E. Coughlin was a U.S. Roman Catholic “radio priest” who in the 1930s developed one of the first deeply......
Court, Antoine
Antoine Court was a minister and itinerant preacher in the Reformed church who restored Protestantism to France......
Courtenay, William
William Courtenay was the archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the English church and moderating influence in the......
Coverdale, Miles
Miles Coverdale was the bishop of Exeter, Eng., who translated (rather freely; he was inexpert in Latin and Greek)......
Cox, Richard
Richard Cox was an Anglican bishop of Ely and a leading advocate in England of the Protestant Reformation. Appointed......
Cranmer, Thomas
Thomas Cranmer was the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury (1533–56), adviser to the English kings Henry......
Crescas, Ḥasdai ben Abraham
Ḥasdai ben Abraham Crescas was a Spanish philosopher, Talmudic scholar, and critic of the Aristotelian rationalist......
Crispin and Crispinian, Saints
Saints Crispin and Crispinian, (both b. traditionally Rome—d. c. 286, possibly Soissons, Fr.; feast day October......
Cristea, Miron
Miron Cristea was the first patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who worked for unity in church and state.......
Crowther, Samuel
Samuel Crowther was the first Black African to be ordained as an Anglican bishop. He was consecrated by the Church......
Crummell, Alexander
Alexander Crummell was an American scholar and Episcopalian minister, founder of the American Negro Academy (1897),......
Cullen, Paul
Paul Cullen was an Irish prelate who was the archbishop of Armagh (1850–52) and Dublin (1852–78) and became the......
Cummins, George David
George David Cummins was a dissident American clergyman who founded and became the first bishop of the Reformed......
Cunibert, Saint
Saint Cunibert ; feast day November 12) was a prelate, bishop of Cologne and chief minister of King Sigebert III......
Cupich, Cardinal Blase
When the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV was elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church in May 2025, it was inevitable......
Cuthbert, Saint
Saint Cuthbert ; feast day March 20) was the bishop of the great Benedictine abbey of Lindisfarne (or Holy Island),......
Cyprian, Saint
Saint Cyprian ; feast day September 16) was the metropolitan of Moscow in 1381–82 and 1390–1406. Educated in Greece,......
Cyprian, St.
St. Cyprian was an early Christian theologian and bishop of Carthage who led the Christians of North Africa during......
Cyril and Methodius, Saints
Saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers who, for Christianizing the Danubian Slavs and for influencing the religious......
Cyril of Alexandria, St
St. Cyril of Alexandria ; Western feast day June 27; Eastern feast day June 9) was a Christian theologian and bishop......
Cyril of Jerusalem, St
St. Cyril of Jerusalem ; feast day March 18) was an early Christian bishop of Jerusalem who fostered the development......
Câmara, Hélder Pessoa
Hélder Pessoa Câmara was a Roman Catholic prelate whose progressive views on social questions brought him into......
Dadu
Dadu was a Hindu-Muslim saint who inspired the formation of a sect called Dadu Panth. A cotton carder by profession,......
Daigak Guksa
Daigak Guksa was a Korean Buddhist priest who founded the Ch’ŏnt’ae sect of Buddhism. A son of the Koryŏ king Munjong,......
Daimbert
Daimbert was the first archbishop of Pisa, Italy, who, as patriarch of Jerusalem, played a major role in the First......
Dalai Lama, 14th
14th Dalai Lama is the title of the Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Gyatso, the first Dalai Lama to become a global......
Dalberg, Karl Theodor von
Karl Theodor von Dalberg archbishop of Mainz and arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, primate of Germany,......
Damaskinos
Damaskinos was the archbishop of Athens and regent of Greece during the civil war of 1944–46, under whose regency......
Damasus I St
St. Damasus I ; feast day December 11) was the pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, from October 1, 366,......
Damien of Molokai, St
St. Damien of Molokai ; canonized October 11, 2009; feast day May 10) was a Belgian priest who devoted his life......
Damião, Frei
Frei Damião was an Italian-born Brazilian Roman Catholic monk. He became a Capuchin friar at age 16 and later studied......
Darazī, Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ad-
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ad-Darazī was a propagandist for the Ismāʿīlī sect of Islam and the man for whom the religion......
Davidson, Randall Thomas Davidson, Baron
Randall Thomas Davidson, Baron Davidson , Baron Davidson, was an Anglican archbishop of Canterbury who was prominent......
Davies, Samuel
Samuel Davies was a Presbyterian preacher in the American colonies who defended religious dissent and helped lead......
Deborah
Deborah, prophet and heroine in the Old Testament (Judg. 4 and 5), who inspired the Israelites to a mighty victory......
Decius
Decius was a Roman emperor (249–251) who fought the Gothic invasion of Moesia and instituted the first organized......
Dehon, Léon-Gustave
Léon-Gustave Dehon was a French Roman Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred......
Delilah
Delilah, in the Old Testament, the central figure of Samson’s last love story (Judges 16). She was a Philistine......
Delmedigo, Elijah
Elijah Delmedigo was a Jewish philosopher known for his Beḥinat ha-dat (“Investigation of Religion”), in which......
Dempsey, Sister Mary Joseph
Sister Mary Joseph Dempsey was an American nurse and hospital administrator, remembered for her exceptional medical......
Denis, St
St. Denis ; feast day: Western church, October 9; Eastern church, October 3) was allegedly the first bishop of......
Diadochus Of Photice
Diadochus Of Photice was a theologian, mystic, and bishop of Photice, Epirus, who was a staunch defender of orthodox......
Dimitrios
Dimitrios was the 269th ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church. After studying at the French lycée......
Dinah
Dinah, in the Old Testament (Genesis 30:21; 34; 46:15), daughter of Jacob by Leah; Dinah was abducted and raped......
Diocletian
Diocletian was a Roman emperor (284–305 ce) who restored efficient government to the empire after the near anarchy......
Dionysius of Alexandria, St.
St. Dionysius of Alexandria ; feast day November 17) was the bishop of Alexandria, then the most important Eastern......
Dionysius Telmaharensis
Dionysius Telmaharensis was a patriarch of the Syrian Jacobite church and author of an important source document......
Dionysius The Areopagite
Dionysius The Areopagite was a biblical figure, converted by St. Paul at Athens (Acts 17:34), who acquired a notable......
Dionysius, St.
St. Dionysius ; feast day December 6) was the pope from 259/260 to December 26, 268. While a presbyter during the......
Dioscorus
Dioscorus was a Christian patriarch of Alexandria and eastern prelate who was deposed and excommunicated by the......
Divine, Father
Father Divine was a prominent African American religious leader of the 1930s. The Depression-era movement he founded,......
Dmitry Ivanovich
Dmitry Ivanovich was the youngest son of Ivan IV (the Terrible), whose death cast suspicion on imperial adviser......
Dodson, Patrick
Patrick Dodson is an Australian activist and politician who became one of Australia’s most influential Indigenous......
Dominic, St
St. Dominic ; canonized July 3, 1234; feast day August 8) was the founder of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans),......
Dosítheos
Dosítheos was the patriarch of Jerusalem, an important church politician and theologian of the Greek church who......
Dowie, John Alexander
John Alexander Dowie was a U.S. evangelist and faith healer who founded the Christian Catholic Church and the City......
Drewermann, Eugen
Eugen Drewermann is a German theologian, psychotherapist, and Roman Catholic priest whose innovations in points......
Drexel, Katharine, St
St. Katharine Drexel ; feast day March 3) was an American heiress and Roman Catholic nun who founded the Blessed......
Du Bos, Charles
Charles Du Bos was a French critic of French and English literature whose writings on William Shakespeare, Percy......
Dubois, Jean-Antoine
Jean-Antoine Dubois was a French educator, abbot, and priest who attempted to convert the Hindus of India to Roman......
Duchesne, St. Rose Philippine
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne ; canonized July 3, 1988; feast day November 18) was a French Roman Catholic nun and......
Duff, Alexander
Alexander Duff was the Church of Scotland’s first missionary to India, highly influential on later missionary endeavours......
Duncan, Robert
Robert Duncan is an American Anglican clergyman who was the first archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church......
Dunstan of Canterbury, Saint
Saint Dunstan of Canterbury ; feast day May 19) was an English abbot, celebrated archbishop of Canterbury, and......
Dupanloup, Félix-Antoine-Philibert
Félix-Antoine-Philibert Dupanloup was a Roman Catholic bishop of Orléans who was a clerical spokesman for the liberal......
Duperron, Jacques Davy
Jacques Davy Duperron was a French cardinal, remembered especially for his part in the conversion of King Henry......
Duprat, Antoine
Antoine Duprat was the chancellor of France and cardinal known for his service as one of Francis I’s most trusted......
Duran, Simeon ben Zemah
Simeon ben Zemah Duran was the first Spanish Jewish rabbi to be paid a regular salary by the community and author......
Durand, Guillaume
Guillaume Durand was a French prelate who was a renowned canonist and medieval liturgist. After receiving a doctorate......
Durandus of Saint-Pourçain
Durandus of Saint-Pourçain was a French bishop, theologian, and philosopher known primarily for his opposition......
Durkheim, Émile
Émile Durkheim was a French social scientist who developed a vigorous methodology combining empirical research......
Dyer, Mary
Mary Dyer was a British-born religious figure whose martyrdom to her Quaker faith helped relieve the persecution......
Dávid, Ferenc
Ferenc Dávid was a Unitarian preacher, writer, and theologian influential in promoting religious toleration and......
Dōkyō
Dōkyō was a Japanese Buddhist priest who attempted to usurp the Japanese imperial throne. In 761 Dōkyō won the......
Dōshō
Dōshō was a Japanese priest who helped introduce Buddhism into his country. Dōshō served as a temple priest at......
Ealdred
Ealdred was an Anglo-Saxon archbishop of York from 1061, who played an important part in secular politics at the......
Earle, John
John Earle was an Anglican clergyman, best known as the author of Micro-cosmographie. Or, A Peece of the World......
Ebbo of Reims
Ebbo of Reims was an archbishop whose pioneering missions to the North helped prepare the ground for the Christianization......
Eddy, Mary Baker
Mary Baker Eddy was a Christian religious reformer and founder of the religious denomination known as Christian......
Edmund of Abingdon, St.
St. Edmund of Abingdon ; feast day November 16) was a distinguished scholar and outspoken archbishop of Canterbury,......
Edwards, Alfred George
Alfred George Edwards was the first archbishop of Wales, who sought successfully to create a native church more......
Edwards, Jonathan
Jonathan Edwards was the greatest theologian and philosopher of British American Puritanism, stimulator of the......
Ehud
Ehud, in the Old Testament (Judges 3:12–4:1), son of Gera, the Benjaminite, Israelite hero who delivered Israel......
Eleazar ben Azariah
Eleazar ben Azariah was a Jewish rabbinic scholar, one of the Palestinian tannaim (those who compiled the Jewish......
Eleazar ben Judah Of Worms
Eleazar ben Judah Of Worms was a Jewish rabbi, mystic, Talmudist, and codifier. Along with the Sefer Ḥasidim (1538;......