Editing Dominican Order (section)

{{short description|Roman Catholic medicant order}}
{{redirect|Order of Preachers|the Anglican religious order|Anglican Order of Preachers}}
{{redirect|Black Friars|the Black Monks|Benedictines||Blackfriars (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Order of Preachers
| native_name              = Ordo Prædicatorum
| native_name_lang         = la
| image                    = Seal of the Dominican Order.svg
| image_size               = 178px
| caption                  = [[Coat of arms]] of the order
| abbreviation             = OP
| formation                = {{ubl|1206 (for women)|1215 (for men)|{{start date|1216|12|22}} (of [[pontifical right]])}}
| founder                  = [[Saint Dominic|Dominic de Guzmán]]
| founding_location        = {{ubl|[[Prouille]], France (for women)|[[Toulouse]], France (for men)}}
| headquarters             = [[Convento Santa Sabina]], Piazza Pietro d'Illiria 1, [[Rome]], Italy<ref name=ch />
| membership               = 5,545 members (includes 4,147 priests)<ref name=ch />
| membership_year          = 2020
| leader_title             = Master of the Order
| leader_name              = Fr. [[Gerard Timoner III]], OP
| parent_organization      = [[Catholic Church]]
| website                  = {{URL|op.org}}
| footnotes                = '''Motto:''' {{lang|la|Laudare, benedicere, praedicare}} ('To praise, to bless, to preach'){{pb}}'''Principal Patrons:''' {{ubl|[[Mary, mother of Jesus|The Blessed Virgin Mary]]|[[Mary Magdalene]]|[[Augustine of Hippo]]|[[Francis of Assisi]]}}
}}

The '''Order of Preachers''' ({{langx|la|Ordo Prædicatorum}}, abbreviated '''OP'''), commonly known as the '''Dominican Order''', is a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[mendicant order]] of [[pontifical right]] that was founded in France by a [[Castilians|Castilian]] priest named [[Saint Dominic|Dominic de Guzmán]]. It was approved by [[Pope Honorius III]] via the [[papal bull]] {{Lang|la|[[Religiosam vitam]]}} on 22 December 1216. Members of the order, who are referred to as '''Dominicans''', generally display the letters ''OP'' after their names, standing for {{Lang|la|Ordinis Praedicatorum}}, meaning 'of the Order of Preachers'. Membership in the order includes [[friar]]s,{{efn| name="friar"}} [[nuns]], [[Religious sister (Catholic)|active sisters]], and [[Laity|lay]] or secular Dominicans (formerly known as [[Third Order of Saint Dominic|tertiaries]]). More recently, there have been a growing number of associates of the religious sisters who are unrelated to the tertiaries.

Founded to preach the [[The gospel|gospel]] and to oppose [[heresy]], the teaching activity of the order and its scholastic organisation placed it at the forefront of the intellectual life of the [[Middle Ages]].{{sfn|Mandonnet|1911}} The order is famed for its intellectual tradition and for having produced many leading [[theologian]]s and philosophers.{{sfn|Marshall|2011}} In 2018, there were 5,747 Dominican friars, including 4,299 priests.<ref name='ch' /> The order is headed by the [[Master of the Order of Preachers|master of the order]] who, {{As of|2022|lc=y}}, is [[Gerard Timoner III]].{{sfn|Lomonaco|2019}} [[Mary, mother of Jesus|The Blessed Virgin Mary]], [[Mary Magdalene]], [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Francis of Assisi]] are the [[patron saint|Principal Patrons]] of the order.

[[File:The Perugia Altarpiece, Side Panel Depicting St. Dominic.jpg|thumb|[[Saint Dominic]], portrayed in the ''[[Perugia Altarpiece]]'' by [[Fra Angelico]], [[Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria]], [[Perugia]]]]