Servant of God (Latin:Servus Dei) is a title used in theCatholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possiblecanonization as asaint.
The expressionServant of God appears nine times in theBible, the first five in theOld Testament, the last four in theNew. The Hebrew Bible refers toMoses as "the servant ofElohim" (עֶֽבֶד הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים‘eḇeḏ-hā’ĕlōhîm;1 Chronicles 6:49,2 Chronicles 24:9,Nehemiah 10:29, andDaniel 9:11).Judges 2:8 and2 Timothy 2:15 refer toJoshua as "the slave of Yahweh" (עֶ֣בֶד יְהוָ֑ה,‘eḇeḏYahweh).
The New Testament also describes Moses in this way inRevelation 15:3 (τοῦ δούλου τοῦ Θεοῦ,tou doulou tou Theou).Paul calls himself "a servant of God" inTitus 1:1 (δοῦλος Θεοῦ,doulos Theou), whileJames calls himself "a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ δοῦλος,Theou kai Kyriou Iēsou Christou doulos) inJames 1:1.1 Peter 2:16 describes "servants of God" (Θεοῦ δοῦλοι,Theou douloi) being free to act within the bounds of God's will. Following usage conventions established in theKing James Bible, the word "servant" is never capitalized or used as a title of nobility. ("The servant is not greater than his lord.")[1]
Servant of God is an expression used for a member of theCatholic Church whose life and works are being investigated in consideration for recognition by thePope and the Catholic Church as a saint inHeaven.[2][3] The termServant of God (Latin:Servus Dei) should not be confused withServus Servorum Dei (Servant of the Servants of God), one of the titles of the Pope.
The termServant of God is used in the first of the four steps in the canonization process. The next step is being declaredvenerable, upon a decree of heroism ormartyrdom by the honored. That is followed bybeatification, with the title ofBlessed. After the confirmation of miracles resulting from the intercession of the honored, the final step iscanonization, where the honored would receive the title of asaint.[4][5] The process forcanonization is under the jurisdiction of theDicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Servant of God is not considered a canonical title in a strict sense by the Catholic Church (as for instance venerable or Blessed are), but only a technical term used in the process of canonization. Hence, any of the faithful can be named aServant of God in a larger frame of meaning.[6] Public speeches about Servants of God are prohibited in Catholic churches as well as any acts that could mislead the faithful into thinking that the person will eventually be canonized.[7]
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