 | This guideline documents an English Wikipedia naming convention. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
This page contains guidance on how to title articles about members of the Christian clergy (popes, cardinals, bishops, etc.), as well as saints.
For links to pages with guidance concerning other religions, see the Other religions section below. For general guidance on how to title biographical articles, see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people), and for those with royal or noble titles, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility). For the use of names of clergy and saints in article text, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies.
While most clerical names are clear, unambiguous and known, some names associated with clergy of some faiths make this difficult. In those religions which have hierarchies, the higher the level within that hierarchy, the greater the likelihood that the person's first name may have ceased to be used publicly, being replaced by a title. Others replace their own name completely with a new one. In some cases it may be difficult to discover what the first name actually was, particularly when dealing with senior clergy from many centuries ago.