The Reverend

The Reverend is an honorary prefix added to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. It is sometimes also used by ministers of other religions. Common abreviations include "the Revd." and "the Rev.", or simply "Revd" and "Rev".

Specific cases

Anglican usage is for deacons and priests to be the Reverend, deans to be the Very Reverend, abbots and bishops to be the Right Reverend and archbishops to be the Most Reverend. Archdeacons, on the other hand, have the prefix the Venerable.

Related Topics:
Anglican - Deacon - Priest - Dean - Abbot - Bishop - Archbishop - Archdeacon - The Venerable

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Among Roman Catholics, a priest or deacon is the Reverend, various prelates below bishop along with Chaplains of His Holiness are the Reverend Monsignor, and any bishop is the Most Reverend (in some other countries Catholic bishops are "the Right Reverend", archbishops "the Most Reverend"). However, none of these are ever addressed as reverend alone. Instead, priests are addressed as "Father", prelates as "Monsignor", and bishops as "Excellency", though "Reverend" or "Most Reverend" may be appended to either where appropriate.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Deacon - Prelate - His Holiness - Monsignor

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The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University is formally known as "The Reverend the Vice-Chancellor", even if he is not a clergyman.

Related Topics:
Vice-Chancellor - Oxford University

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A few Christian religious traditions reject use of the term Reverend for human beings, maintaining that the title is reserved for God alone. (See Psalm 111:9 and Matthew 23:5–10.)

Related Topics:
Psalm - Matthew

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