Title

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

an appellation; a name. Also, an appellation of dignity, distinction, or pre-eminence given to persons; as, titles of honor, which are words or phrases belonging to certain persons as their right in consequence of certain dignities being inherent in them or conferred on them; as, emperor, king, czar, prince, etc. In the United States there are no titles of distinction save those of professional men, which are conferred by authorized institutions as rewards for distinguished merit. Titles of nobility, conferred by any foreign power on any officer or employé of the United States government, are prohibited by the Constitution, and any foreigner who may hold a title of nobility must, on becoming a citizen of the United States, renounce formally all pretensions to such distinction. The President, governors of States, and ministers of foreign nations are addressed, and spoken of, as your or his "Excellency," save in the case of speaking to the President, who should be addressed as "Mr. President." The Vice-President, members of the Cabinet and members of Congress, heads of departments, assistant secretaries, comptrollers and auditors of Treasury, clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, State Senators, law judges, mayors of of cities, cit etc., are entitled "Honorable" and formally addressed as "Your Honor." The five orders of nobility in England are distinguished by the titles of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. The dignity of baronet is distinguished by that word placed after the name and surname of the holder of the dignity, and also by the title of Sir prefixed to the name. This title, like that of the peers, is hereditary. The dignity of knighthood, which is not hereditary, is distinguished by the title of Sir prefixed to the name and surname of the holder. An archbishop is styled His Grace the Lord Archbishop of ; a bishop, the Right Rev- Memerend the Lord Bishop of bers of the Privy Council are entitled to be styled Right Honorable. Certain municipal offices have also titles attached to them; as, The Right Honorable the Lord Mayor of London, The Right Honorable the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, etc. Also the inscription in the beginning of a book, containing the subject of the work, and usually the names of the author, and publisher, date, etc.; a title page. Or a particular section or division of a subject, as of a law, a book, or the like; especially a section or chapter of a law book. Ecclesiology and Church history: (1) A condition precedent to, or a claim in favor of, ordination, such as a sphere of parochial or other spiritual work, always required by a bishop, except in certain specified cases, which are specified in Canon 33 of the Anglican Church. In the Roman Church the title formerly required from every ordinand was that of a benefice (titulus beneficii), i. e., he was bound to show that he had been nominated to a benefice whose revenues were sufficient for his decent maintenance. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) added two other titles (1) of patrimony (titulus patrimonii), where the ordinand had sufficient private property to maintain him respectably, and (2) of pension (titulus pensionis), where some solvent person or persons bound themselves to provide for the cleric about to be ordained. The vow of evangelical poverty (titulus paupertatis) in a religious order is a valid title; and the students of Propaganda and certain other colleges, and candidates for holy orders in missionary countries, have a title from the mission from which they are ordained or the seminary in which they were educated (titulus missionis vel seminarii). The acceptance of this last title imposes on the bishop the responsibility of providing for the support of the ordained, should he become incapable of discharging his functions. (2) A titular church, or the district or parish assigned to it among English and Roman Catholic Churches.