Servant of God (Latin:Servus Dei) is a title used in theCatholic Church to indicate that for an individual abeatification process has been opened. In a canonical process, the so-calledheroic virtue or the authenticity ofmartyrdom has been proved. The conferral is a procedural step in the beatification process and is based solely on the examination of a person's life by theDicastery for the Causes of Saints, without examination or consideration of any miracles. The conferral is announced in the presence of the Pope.
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 Blessed.[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 beginning of a beatification process. The next step is being declaredvenerable, upon a decree of heroic virtue or martyrdom. That is possibly followed bybeatification which means the veneration of the Blessed by the regional church. Finally,canonization can take place, at which point the person is venerated by the universal church.[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 beatification process. Hence, any of the faithful can be named aServant of God in a larger frame of meaning.[6] As the Church waits upon God to confirm a servant of God's status through a miracle before invoking him or her in public prayer, the church states that "one must also refrain, even outside of Church, from any acts which could mislead the faithful into thinking that the inquiry conducted by the Bishop into the life of the Servant of God and his virtues or martyrdom carries with it the certitude that the Servant of God will be one day canonized".[7]
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