Proper form of address to clergy

[Whit_Dupree]

I read a question about how to address the Bishop. Would you please expand on this and assume that one must meet, greet, and introduce oneself, a fellow parishioner, and your out-of-town guest who is an Episcopal priest, a female, and the rector of the Episcopal Cathedral in a proximate city. With guests in tow, you are entering a reception line composed of the local parish Priest, the diocesan Bishop, another bishop from the eastern church, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of this city, and a visiting Italian Cardinal from Rome. They are all standing in a reception line in the undercroft of a city Roman Catholic Cathedral.

 

[DexUK]

You address the following Catholic ranks as follows, when speaking to them personally:

Priest: Father
Bishop: My Lord or, less formally, just ‘Bishop {name}’
Archbishop: Your Grace, or less formally, ‘Archbishop {name}’
Cardinal: Your Eminence, or less formally, ‘Cardinal {name}’
Pope: Your Holiness or Holy Father. (There is no less formal address!)

When introducing the ranks it’s as follows:

Priest: May I introduce Father {name} (of {name} Parish)
Bishop: May I introduce Bishop {full name} (of diocese name) - thereafter just Bishop {surname}
Archbishop: May I introduce (His Grace) Archbishop {name} (of diocese name).
Cardinal: May I introduce (His Eminence) {first name} Cardinal {Surname} of {Diocese}
Pope: May I introduce His Holiness Pope {regnal name}, thereafter just His Holiness or Holy Father as the context requires.

Words in brackets are optional and one might use them when being extra formal.

When introducing or speaking to ministers of other religions, it is reasonable and polite to refer to them as they wish to be referred to.

A female Episcopalian minister might be refered to thus:

Good afternoon Reverand Smith.

and introduced thus: The Reverend Mrs Josephine Goggins

Male Episcopalians (Anglicans) in the UK often tend to be referred to as plain Mister as well, so it’s wise to be certain in advance of their preference if you’re going to be introducing that person in a formal context.

There are other forms of address as well: i.e. The Reverend, Right Reverend, Very Reverend, His Excellency, etc.

It gets confusing!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_address will help… or perhaps confuse even more. Good luck!

 

[aemcpa]

I believe that in formal contexts, it is proper to introduce a bishop by the title of his see only, as in “His Excellency the Bishop of Camden” or “His Grace the Archbishop of Philadelphia”, and thereafter to address them as “Your Excellency” or “Your Grace”. I know a lot of people will say that Your Grace is out of favor in the USA, so you can refer to Archbishops as “Your Excellency” as well. A Cardinal is “His Eminence Firstname Cardinal Lastname”, followed by his title (Archbishop of X, Prefect of Y, etc.)

 

[odile53]

Diocesan clergy: Father Lastname
Regular clergy (or those in religious orders) Father Firstname. However, many Franciscan priests prefer “Brother Firstname,” as they avoid differentiating ordained from nonordained brothers.