Spiritual Leaders & Religious Figures, JES-LAW
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
Jesus
Jesus was a religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the worldâs major religions. He is regarded by most......
- Introduction
- Jewish Palestine, Messiah, Nazareth
- The Jewish religion in the 1st century
- Galilean, Nazarene, Messiah
- Jewish Law, Teachings, Parables
- Messiah, Scribes, Pharisees
- Apostles Creed, Early Church, Messiah
- Incarnation, Humiliation, Ministry
- Dogma, Councils, Christianity
- Messiah, Christianity, Judaism
- Christology, Modern Christianity, Debate
Jethro
Jethro, in the Old Testament, priest of Midian of the Kenite clan, with whom Moses took refuge after he killed......
Jewel, John
John Jewel was an Anglican bishop of Salisbury and controversialist who defended Queen Elizabeth Iâs religious......
Jezebel
Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab, who ruled the kingdom of Israel. By interfering with the exclusive worship of......
Jiménez de Cisneros, Francisco
Francisco JimĂ©nez de Cisneros was a prelate, religious reformer, and twice regent of Spain (1506, 1516â17). In......
Jnanadeva
Jnanadeva was a mystical poet-saint of Maharashtra and composer of the Bhavarthadipika (popularly known as the......
Job
Job, is a biblical figure who appears most prominently as the titular character of the Book of Job in the Hebrew......
Job, Saint
Saint Job ; canonized Oct. 9, 1989) was the first Russian Orthodox patriarch of Moscow (1589â1605). Until Jobâs......
Jogues, St. Isaac
St. Isaac Jogues ; canonized 1930; feast day October 19) was a French-born Jesuit priest who was martyred while......
Johanan ben Zakkai
Johanan ben Zakkai was a Jewish sage (tanna), founder of an academy and an authoritative rabbinic body located......
John bar Qursos
John bar Qursos was a monk and bishop of Tella (near modern Aleppo, Syria), a leading theological propagator of......
John I, Saint
Saint John I ; feast day May 18) was the pope from 523 to 526. He ended the Acacian Schism (484â519), thus reuniting......
John Leonardi, St
St. John Leonardi ; canonized 1938; feast day October 9) was a 16th-century Italian priest and founder of the Roman......
John Of Beverley, Saint
Saint John of Beverley was a bishop of York, and one of the most popular medieval English saints. After studies......
John of Capistrano, St
St. John of Capistrano ; canonized 1690; feast day October 23) was one of the greatest Franciscan preachers of......
John of Ephesus
John of Ephesus was a miaphysite bishop of Ephesus, who was a foremost early historian and leader of miaphysites......
John of Jerusalem
John of Jerusalem was a theologian and bishop, a strong advocate of the Platonistic Alexandrian tradition during......
John Of Kronshtadt
John Of Kronshtadt was a Russian Orthodox priest-ascetic whose pastoral and educational activities, particularly......
John of Nepomuk, St.
St. John of Nepomuk ; canonized 1729; feast day May 16) was one of the patron saints of the Czechs who was murdered......
John Of Salisbury
John Of Salisbury was one of the best Latinists of his age, who was secretary to Theobald and Thomas Becket, archbishops......
John Of Scythopolis
John Of Scythopolis was a Byzantine theologian and bishop of Scythopolis, in Palestine (c. 536â550), whose various......
John of Ăvila, St
St. John of Ăvila ; canonized 1970; feast day May 10) was a Roman Catholic reformer, author, and spiritual director.......
John Scholasticus
John Scholasticus was the patriarch of Constantinople (as John III), theologian, and ecclesiastical jurist whose......
John Talaia
John Talaia was a theologian and bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, whose struggle to maintain his episcopal office and......
John the Apostle, St
St. John the Apostle ; Western feast day December 27; Eastern feast days May 8 and September 26) was one of the......
John the Baptist, St.
St. John the Baptist ; feast day June 24) was a Jewish prophet of priestly origin who preached the imminence of......
John the Faster, Saint
Saint John the Faster ; feast days January 7 and August 29) was the patriarch of Constantinople (John IV) and mediator......
John X
John X was the pope from 914 to 928. He was archbishop of Ravenna (c. 905â914) when chosen to succeed Pope Lando......
John XI Becchus
John XI Becchus was a Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (1275â82) and leading Byzantine proponent of reunion......
Jonah
Jonah was one of the 12 Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. His narrative is part of......
Jonah I
Jonah I was the archbishop of Washington and New York (2008â09), archbishop of Washington (2009â12), and metropolitan......
Jonas
Jonas was the first independent metropolitan of Moscow, elected in 1448. Until the 15th century the Orthodox Church......
Joris, David
David Joris was a religious reformer, a controversial and eccentric member of the Anabaptist movement. He founded......
Joseph
Joseph, in the Hebrew Bible, son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel. As Jacobâs name became synonymous......
Joseph of Arimathea, St
St. Joseph of Arimathea ; Eastern feast day July 31, Roman Catholic feast day August 31) was, according to all......
Joshua
Joshua, the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses in the Hebrew Bible. His story continues the narrative......
Josiah
Josiah was the king of Judah (c. 640â609 bce), who set in motion a reformation that bears his name and that left......
Juan José Gerardi Conedera
Juan José Gerardi Conedera was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights activist. Gerardi was known......
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Apostles, notorious for betraying Jesus. Judasâs surname is more probably......
Jude, St
St. Jude ; Western feast day October 28, Eastern feast days June 19 and August 21) was one of the original Twelve......
Judge, Mychal
Mychal Judge was an American Roman Catholic priest, Franciscan friar, and New York City Fire Department chaplain......
Judson, Adoniram
Adoniram Judson was an American linguist and Baptist missionary in Myanmar (Burma), who translated the Bible into......
Julian
Julian was a Roman emperor from ad 361 to 363, nephew of Constantine the Great, and a noted scholar and military......
Julian Of Eclanum
Julian Of Eclanum was the bishop of Eclanum who is considered to be the most intellectual leader of the Pelagians......
Julius I, Saint
Saint Julius I ; feast day April 12) was the pope from 337 to 352. The papacy had been vacant four months when......
Justin I
Justin I was a Byzantine emperor (from 518) who was a champion of Christian orthodoxy; he was the uncle and predecessor......
Justin Martyr, St.
St. Justin Martyr ; feast day June 1) was one of the most important of the Greek philosopher-Apologists in the......
Justinian
Justinian was the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (1948â77) who helped his church become one of the strongest......
Justinian I
Justinian I was a Byzantine emperor (527â565), noted for his administrative reorganization of the imperial government......
Justus, Saint
Saint Justus ; feast day November 10) was the first bishop of Rochester and fourth archbishop of Canterbury, under......
Juvenal, Saint
Saint Juvenal ; feast day July 2) was the bishop of Jerusalem from 422 to 458 who elevated the see of Jerusalemâpreviously......
Juxon, William
William Juxon was the archbishop of Canterbury and minister to King Charles I on the scaffold. As lord high treasurer,......
Kagame, Alexis
Alexis Kagame was a Rwandan poet, historian, and Roman Catholic priest, who introduced the written art, both in......
Kahane, Meir
Meir Kahane was an American-born Israeli political extremist and rabbi who campaigned for self-protection of Jews.......
Kaplan, Mordecai Menahem
Mordecai Menahem Kaplan was an American rabbi, educator, theologian, and religious leader who founded the influential......
Keizan JĆkin
Keizan JĆkin was a priest of the SĆtĆ sect of Zen Buddhism, who founded the SĆji Temple (now in Yokohama), one......
Kempe, John
John Kempe was an English ecclesiastical statesman who was prominent in the party struggles of the reign of King......
Ken, Thomas
Thomas Ken was an Anglican bishop, hymn writer, royal chaplain to Charles II of England, and one of seven bishops......
Kenneth, Saint
Saint Kenneth ; feast day October 11) was an Irish abbot, monastic founder, and missionary who contributed to the......
Kentigern, Saint
Saint Kentigern ; feast day January 14) was an abbot and early Christian missionary, traditionally the first bishop......
Ketteler, Wilhelm Emmanuel, Baron von
Wilhelm Emmanuel, baron von Ketteler was a social reformer who was considered by some to have been Germanyâs outstanding......
Khaled, Amr
Amr Khaled is an Egyptian televangelist who achieved global fame with his message of religious tolerance and dialogue......
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-GĆn, St.
St. Kim Dae-GĆn ; 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. Kingoâs......
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......
Knox, John
John Knox was the foremost leader of the Scottish Reformation, who set the austere moral tone of the Church of......
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, StanisĆaw
StanisĆaw 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......
KoĆĆÄ
taj, Hugo
Hugo KoĆĆÄ
taj was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, reformer, and politician who was prominent in the movement for......
KĆ«kai
KĆ«kai was one of the best-known and most-beloved Buddhist saints in Japan, founder of the Shingon (âTrue Wordâ)......
La ColombiĂšre, Claude, St.
St. Claude La ColombiĂšre ; beatified June 16, 1929; canonized May 31, 1992; feast day February 15) was a French......
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......
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 YucatĂĄn 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 (1070â89) 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, MatthÀus
MatthÀus 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 Johnâs......
Las Casas, Bartolomé de
Bartolomé de Las Casas was an early Spanish historian and Dominican missionary who was the first to expose the......
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 (1633â45) and religious adviser to King Charles I of Great Britain.......
Laval, François de Montmorency
François de Montmorency Laval was the first Roman Catholic bishop in Canada, who laid the foundations of church......
Laveau, Marie
Marie Laveau was the Vodou queen of New Orleans. Laveauâs powers reportedly included healing the sick, extending......
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 (1984â2002) 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.......