CANONIZATION, in the church of Rome, the act of the pope by which a deceased person is solemnly declared to be a saint. It had its origin in the practice of the early church, of inserting in the commemorative prayer of the eucharistic liturgy the roll of the names of those who had died as martyrs, or distinguished themselves as confessors of the faith. This record was entered in the diptychs of the church, and read in the so-called "canon" of the liturgy. Each bishop was at first accustomed to declare deceased persons to be saints. In the west, the exercise of this power came to be reserved to the popes, and the ceremonial itself was invested with much solemnity, and regarded as of very great importance. The first papal C. was accomplished by John XV. The popes have possessed the exclusive right since 1170. The right of beati fication (q.v.) also belongs to them. When it is proposed to canonize a person of
reputed sanctity, the pope declares his views in a consistory, and an inquiry is instituted as to the virtues and merits of the person proposed. The form of inquiry is that of a regular process at law, and an ecclesiastic is specially appointed to contend against the claims advanced, who receives the designation of advocates diaboli; and on failure of satisfactory proof, the process is abandoned. When a favorable decision is pronounced, the ceremony of C. is performed in St. Peter's church with great pomp. The last C. was in 1862.
The Greek church also recognizes canonization. The right to perform the ceremony ies with the patriarch of Constantinople, but it has rarely occurred. An analogy to Christian canonization has been found in the apotheosis (q.x.) of the ancient Romans.