Dulia

In Catholic theology, sweetness is veneration towards the saints not for their images. According to Thomas Aquinas, the dulia is not comparable with latria or veneration to God in the sense that one is directed towards a pair and the other towards a higher being. It is also the difference between the Hyperdulia or veneration to the Virgin Mary, Protodulia or veneration to the Patriarch Saint Joseph, the putative father of Jesus. Etymology Possible derivation of δουλoυσ doulos, Greek word derivative meaning "servant", "slave", provides a sense of slavery, "chained to." For "Douleia", from which derives "dulía", means "to become slave of", "ready to enslave". It could also be translated as "Predisposition to servitude" or "Disposition to submission."

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