His Holiness
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His Holiness is the official style or manner of address in reference to the leaders of certain religious groups. In the Catholic Church (including the Eastern Catholic Churches) the style is used when referring to the Pope of Rome.
In the Coptic Orthodox Church, it is used for the Pope of Alexandria. It is also used in reference to some other patriarchs in the Christian Orthodox Church.
The Ahmadiyya Caliph known as Khalifatul Masih is also addressed as "His Holiness" in English. In the Dawoodi Bohra sect, a sect of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, the title is held by Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin.
[edit] Usage
In Catholicism, the style derives from the Latin Sanctitas. It was originally used for all bishops, but from the 7th century on, it was only used for Popes, Patriarchs and some secular rulers, and from the 14th century on its use has been restricted to the Pope.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is commonly referred to in English by this style, even though he is technically not the leader of a religious group; it is, however, one of his prerogatives to appoint the Ganden Tripa (Tibetan dga' ldan khri pa), who is the nominal head of the Gelug (Tibetan dge lugs) school of Tibetan Buddhism, so the style in the case of the Dalai Lama may have some merit. Recently, the chief lamas of other of the spiritual traditions of Tibet, including the Sakya Trizin (head of the Sakya [Tibetan sa skya] school), the Karmapa (head of the Karma Kagyu [Tibetan kar ma bka' brgyud] school), and the Menri Trizin (head of Bon) have begun to be styled "His Holiness", as has the senior lama of the Nyingma (Tibetan rnying ma) school selected to be its principal representative, but this usage is more a manifestation of piety on the part of devotees than an appropriate application of the style.
The title is used officially in international diplomacy and in formal contexts without regard for its doctrinal, philosophical and theological origins.
 His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927) |
 His Holiness Pope Shenouda III (born 1923) |
 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935) |
 His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V Mirza Masroor Ahmad, |
[edit] See also
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