Editing Excellency (section)

== Ecclesiastical use ==
By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonial of 31 December 1930<ref>''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]]'' 1931, p. 22; ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' 24 January 1931.</ref> the [[Holy See]] granted bishops of the [[Catholic Church]] the title of ''Most Reverend Excellency''  or ''Excellentia Reverendissima'' in [[Latin]]. In the years following the [[First World War]], the ambassadorial title of ''Excellency'', previously given to [[nuncio]]s, had already begun to be used by other Catholic bishops. The adjective ''Most Reverend'' was intended to distinguish the religious title from that of ''Excellency'' given to civil officials.

The instruction ''Ut sive sollicite'' of the Holy See's [[Secretariat of State (Holy See)|Secretariat of State]], dated 28 March 1969, made the addition of ''Most Reverend'' optional,<ref>[http://catholicsites.org/clericaldress/utsivesollicite.html ''Ut sive sollicite''], 22</ref> sanctioning what had always been the practice, except possibly for the beginnings of letters and the like.

According to the letter of the decree of 31 December 1930, titular [[Patriarch#Roman Catholicism|patriarchs]] too were to be addressed with the title of ''(Most Reverend) Excellency'', but in practice the Holy See continued to address them with the title of ''Beatitude'', which was formally sanctioned for them with the motu proprio ''Cleri sanctitati'' of 2 June 1957.

[[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinals]], even those who were bishops, continued to use the title of ''Eminence''.

[[Eastern Orthodox]] [[titular metropolitan]]s are addressed with the style of ''Excellency''.

In some English-speaking countries, the honorific of ''Excellency'' does not apply to bishops other than the nuncio. In English law, [[Anglican]] archbishops are granted the title of ''[[Grace (style)|His/Her Grace]]'', similar to a duke, and bishops are granted the title of ''Lord''. The same titles are extended by courtesy to their Catholic counterparts, and continue in use in most countries that are or have been members of the Commonwealth,{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} with the exception of the former British East African countries of [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]] of [[Tanzania]].