Worship Of (Latria, Dulia, Hyperdulia)

[CatholicTitan]

Historically, the Church has declared that Mary is worshiped (I.e given the worship of Hyperdulia) so henceforth is it logical to say that we Worship Mary & the Saints (by giving them the worship of Dulia & Hyperdulia) while giving God the (worship of Latria)? Also English is an evolving language, in which the word Worship directly had it’s definition change to the adoration to God. One more thing, what’s the actual definition of “Worship” is it simply respect, but just to a different degree? Does this mean we worship others lower than God as well?

Worship Of God (Latria)

Worship Of Mary (Hyperdulia)

Worship of Saints (Dulia)

 

[LisaB]

Worship is not a good translation of hyperdulia or dulia, maybe veneration would be better. Latria as you can see is a totally different word and different root - not even in the ballpark with dulia and hyperdulia. So no, we don’t worship Mary because worship is reserved for God alone.

Worship is more than respect. Deep respect would be reverence. Worship includes that but it’s also more than that. Perhaps others will find the right words to explain it.

 

[YHWH_Christ]

Historically, the Church has declared that Mary is worshiped (I.e given the worship of Hyperdulia) so henceforth is it logical to say that we Worship Mary & the Saints (by giving them the worship of Dulia & Hyperdulia) while giving God the (worship of Latria)?

Latria comes from the Greek noun/verb pair λατρεία/λατρεύω, specifically meaning worship rendered to a deity. This is how it is used in the Septuagint and the New Testament. For example, in Deuteronomy 6:13 of the LXX,

κύριον (Lord) τὸν (the) θεόν (God) σου (of you) φοβηθήσῃ (you shall fear) καὶ (and) αὐτῷ (to him) λατρεύσεις (you will adore) καὶ (and) πρὸς (to) αὐτὸν (him) κολληθήσῃ (you shall cleave to) καὶ (and) τῷ (to the) ὀνόματι (name) αὐτοῦ (of him) ὀμῇ (you shall swear).

Essentially, it’s best to translate λατρεύω as “adore” because that’s the kind of worship you’d only give to a deity or figure you believe to contain some kind of divinity. God alone is to be adored and no other.

Worship, in traditional theology, is a broad a term. Worship may be and is given to the Mary and the angels and saints and icons and statues and God and Christ and anything worthy of respect or veneration, this is called dulia (in the case of Mary, hyperdulia). This comes from the Greek noun/verb pair δοῦλος/δουλεύω which signifies serving or being a slave in a general sense. Of course, even though the Latin theological term Dulia already derives from the Greek, I think the meaning of it is better reflected in the Greek verb προσκυνέω. This term can be used broadly, ranging from the kind of worship given to God in latria, to the simple service or respect shown to priests or angels or cultic objects. This is how it is used in the Septuagint. For example, in Daniel 2:46 the LXX has,

τότε (then) Ναβουχοδονοσορ (Nebuchadnezzar) ὁ (the) βασιλεὺς (king) πεσὼν (falling) ἐπὶ (on) πρόσωπον (face) χαμαὶ (on the ground) προσεκύνησε (worshiped) τῷ (to the) Δανιηλ (Daniel)

The Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787) allows προσκυνέιν to be given to images but λατρεία to God alone.

It should be noted though that outside of the Greek Bible, προσκυνέιν can be used in a secular way outside of worship which is religious. Yet the translators of the Septuagint and authors of the New Testament appropriated it primarily for religious purposes.

There’s one final qualification I’d like to make. It is discussed by St. John of Damascus as well as St. Thomas Aquinas. This is the notion of relative Latria, that is, the kind of worship given to icons or statues of God or Christ or the cross. Adoration may be afforded here, not to the nature of the depictions or the materials that they are made of, but to what they depict. Our adoration does not pass into the materials, rather it passes onto the divine nature itself which is what is undergoing depiction here. For if we were only to give the depiction of the divine nature mere dulia, then we would only be affording dulia to God when he is worthy of infinitely more.

 

[YHWH_Christ]

Also English is an evolving language, in which the word Worship directly had it’s definition change to the adoration to God. One more thing, what’s the actual definition of “Worship” is it simply respect, but just to a different degree? Does this mean we worship others lower than God as well?

I think that might only be true of certain Protestant Christian traditions who have limited the religious term “worship” to only mean adoration. I think this is because they see any form of respect as adoration. Even when Catholic or Orthodox or High Church Protestant Christians play by their rules and begin limiting the word “worship” to mean only adoration, and begin using more secular terms for non-adoration worship like veneration or “honoring”, they still get accused of adoration worship and subsequently idolatry. But perhaps this is because they have become confused about the precise meaning of these terms. This shouldn’t could as a surprise, given how little time their theological tradition has had to develop whereas those Christians who find their heritage in apostolic Christianity can credit their theology to 2,000 years of development in more culturally rich environments.

 

[HeDa]

I would also say that the knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Latin in more “Evangelical/Pentecostal denominations” is very, very limited compared to Anglican/Lutheran as a whole. With this follows limitations in how words are traditionally used and also how it is best translated into 20-century language usage. Reading the early Church fathers/Doctors of the Church is also not done in the same way as in the Catholic and Ortodox Churches. There is a lot of “thinking” lacking if reading the Bible and then jumping to the 16th century or even 19th century or later when their denominations started.

 

[ahs]

Historically, the Church has declared that Mary is worshiped (I.e given the worship of Hyperdulia)

If we are going to ascribe the definitions/intended meanings to the word in modern day language, it would be more accurate to say that “…Mary is honored/venerated/respected…” with one of 2 degrees of honor/veneration/respect (hyperdulia vs. dulia); while God is worshipped (latria).

 

[CatholicTitan]

If I were to say “I Worship Mary by giving her reverence or Dulia” would I be wrong even if I dont treat her as if she was a Godess?

 

[YHWH_Christ]

Treating her as a goddess would be idolatry. There is only one God.

 

[CatholicTitan]

Then I’d say I venerate her then.

 

[YHWH_Christ]

Right, which is a form of worship.

 

[pulchraesamicamea]

Hi there, I understand what you are saying here, and I definitely understand where you are coming from. I come from a Protestant family, which now we are all converts to the Catholic Church. I was the first one to convert. So when my mom first said, “So, Catholics worship the saints and Mary?”
I told her, “No, it’s called veneration, you just uphold her and appreciate her for what she has done for us, and what she is doing for us now.”

So, an easy word to describe an answer to your question is a higher level of appreciation. St. Maximillian Kolbe said about Mary, “Don’t worry about loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You won’t love her as much as Jesus did.”

The Lord loved her Mother so much. And she lived her life in humility, love, charity, and grace towards her neighbors and in the early Christian Church. I would say Latria is the ultimate love for our Lord- the only one God, and Hyperdulia is the appreciation for Mary for what she is doing for us and what she did for us, and Dulia is the appreciation of saints for what they did on this earth.

If you are interested, I would say read books by St. Louis de Montfort who wrote about the rosary and St. Maximillian Kolbe, who wrote about the devotion to the Blessed Virgin? And the Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary) by St. Pope John Paul the Second is great too.

May the peace of Christ be with you always.

 

[thistle]

Right, which is a form of worship.

Catholics have not, do not and will never worship Mary. We only worship God.

 

[TK421]

I doubt any modern translations would choose to use that word because of the confusion it would cause.

 

[Vico]

…

Modern Catholic Dictionary has this for Worship:

Acknowledgment of another’s worth, dignity, or superior position. In religion, worship is given either to God, and then it is adoration, or to the angels and saints, and it is called veneration. Divine worship actually includes three principal acts, namely adoration (or the recognition of God’s infinite perfection), prayer or the asking for divine help, and sacrifice or the offering of something precious to God. Worship as veneration also has three principal forms, whereby the angels and saints are honored for their sanctity, asked to intercede before the divine Majesty, and imitated in their love and service of God. (Etym. Old English weorthscipe, honor, dignity, reverence: weorth, worth +ship.)

 

[friardchips]

Worship to God.
Devotion to the Blessed Mother.
Honour to the saints.

All with love and reverence.

Of course Queens are known to have been worshipped and who better than to the Blessed Virgin but this kind of love is still different to the worship of God, specifically, because He created humankind - to place ANYONE in the place of God Himself is idol worship; however, people can always do with devoting themselves a little more ardently.

Essentially, worship to God is for us because we need to be able to worship Him. It doesn’t change Him. Worship accords right-relationship.

 

[Francis]

Catholic honor and venerate Mary , but not Worship its only to God

II. DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN**

"515 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."516 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.517

 

[Irishmom2]

I really don’t understand the need for the nit pickyness over words. Everyone here knows exactly what we are talking about and I don’t see the reason why some feel it is their duty to school everyone on what they think is the only word to use. Especially when one is not asking a question to receive an answer, but to give the answer by telling everyone else how wrong they are.

 

[YHWH_Christ]

Did you not read what I wrote above that?

 

[friardchips]

Second sentence: Our Lady is the Mother of God.

 

[friardchips]

The Four Marian Dogmas

There are four dogmas stating Mary's personal relationship with God and her role in human salvation .

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Here is an informative article.