Latria

Catholic and Orthodox Christians offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, John the Baptist, and to the other saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called hyperdulia, protodulia and dulia, respectively.

[6] This distinction, written about as early as Augustine of Hippo and St Jerome, was detailed more explicitly by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, A.D. 1270: "Reverence is due to God on account of His Excellence, which is communicated to certain creatures not in equal measure, but according to a measure of proportion; and so the reverence which we pay to God, and which belongs to latria, differs from the reverence which we pay to certain excellent creatures; this belongs to dulia, and we shall speak of it further on (103)";[7] in this next article St. Thomas Aquinas writes: "Wherefore dulia, which pays due service to a human lord, is a distinct virtue from latria, which pays due service to the Lordship of God.

"[8]Bill Mounce overviews New Testament use of δουλεία with the following chart:[9] The word worship is derived from the West Saxon dialect noun weorðscipe 'condition of being worthy', which is from weorð 'worthy' + -scipe '-ship'.

Adoration provides a clear and unequivocal, and therefore better, translation of latria and expression of the absolute sacrificial reverence due to God alone.

Adoration is different from other acts of worship, such as supplication, confession of sin, etc., inasmuch as it formally consists in self-abasement before the Infinite, and in devout recognition of His transcendent excellence.

"[11] Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians especially adore with latria during their religious service, the Mass or Divine Liturgy.