List of centenarians (religious figures)

The following is a list of centenarians – specifically, people who became famous as religious figures – known for reasons other than their longevity

Longevity

The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....

. For more lists, see lists of centenarians.

Name	Lifespan	Age	Notability
Pope Agatho Pope Agatho -Background and early life:Little is known of Agatho before his papacy. A letter written by St. Gregory the Great to the abbot of St. Hermes in Palermo mentions an Agatho, a Greek born in Sicily to wealthy parents. He wished to give away his inheritance and join a monastery, and in this letter...	577–681	103–104	Greek Roman Catholic Pope Pope The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Laban Ainsworth Laban Ainsworth Laban Ainsworth was an American clergyman and pastor. He holds the record for the longest serving pastorate in American history. He served as pastor in Jaffrey, New Hampshire from 1782 to 1858, a period of 76 years. Ainsworth was also adept at writing hymnals.-References:...	1757–1858	100	American clergyman and pastor
Joseph Anderson Joseph Anderson (Mormon) Joseph Anderson was the secretary to the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1922 to 1970 and was a general authority of the church from 1970 until his death....	1889–1992	102	American general authority General authority In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church... of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Saint Anthony Anthony the Great Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...	251–356	105	Egyptian Christian saint Saint A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Corrado Bafile	1903–2005	101	Italian cardinal Cardinal (Catholicism) A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and... in the Roman Catholic Church
Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero	1896–1998	101	Sri Lankan scholar-monk Monk A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
Dmytro Blazheyovskyi Dmytro Blazheyovskyi Dmytro Blazheyovskyi was a Ukrainian scientist and religious writer. Blazheyovskyi authored over twenty-five scholarly articles on the history of the Ukrainian church...	1910–2011	100	Ukrainian scientist and religious author
Henry Boehm Henry Boehm Henry Boehm was an American clergyman and pastor. The son of noted clergyman Martin Boehm, Henry preferred to be a traveling preacher, going to different churches and lecturing about various religious topics....	1775–1875	100	American clergyman and pastor Pastor The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
Joseph Oliver Bowers Joseph Oliver Bowers Joseph Oliver Bowers, S.V.D. is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church from Dominica. At the age of he is the third-oldest Roman Catholic bishop and the oldest in the Caribbean....	1910 –		Dominican Roman Catholic bishop
Laurence Chaderton Laurence Chaderton Laurence Chaderton was an English Puritan divine, and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible.-Life:...	1536–1640	103	English Anglican Anglicanism Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English... Puritan Puritan The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England... divine
James Burton Coffman James Burton Coffman James Burton Coffman was "one of the most influential figures among Churches of Christ in the 20th century." He was known, especially during the second half of the 20th century, throughout the Churches of Christ for his exhaustive writing and study of Old and New Testament scriptures...	1905–2006	101	American Christian preacher Preacher Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined... and teacher
William C. Conway William C. Conway William C. Conway was the leader of a mystical sect in the Latter Day Saint movement that combined the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr...	1865–1969	104	American mysticism Mysticism Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:... leader
Hosius of Corduba	256–359	102	Ancient Roman Catholic bishop of Córdoba, Spain Córdoba, Spain -History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
Jorge da Costa Jorge da Costa He held a very large number of ecclesiastical offices. He was Archbishop of Lisbon 1464-1500 and 108th Archbishop of Braga 1486-1501.He was the confessor of Afonso V of Portugal. From 1478 he was in exile in Rome, having clashed with John II of Portugal, at that point in power though not yet...	1406–1508	101–102	Portuguese cardinal
Quirino De Ascaniis Quirino De Ascaniis Quirino De Ascaniis was an Italian-born priest who was the longest serving of PIME. Until his death at the age of 100 in 2009, he was a missionary in China . He was born in Giulianova.-References:***...	1908–2009	100	Italian priest
Indra Devi Indra Devi Indra Devi ; May 12, 1899 - April 25, 2002) was an early disciple of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, and herself became a renowned yoga teacher. Born in Riga, she also acted in some Hindi films.-Early Years:...	1899–2002	102	Indian yoga Yoga Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul... teacher
Bhante Dharmawara Bhante Dharmawara Bhante Dharmawara was a Cambodian-born Theravada monk and teacher who died at the age of 110.He was well educated and became a lawyer, judge and provincial governor before he began studying Buddhism and became a monk in his 30s...	1889–1999	110	Cambodian-born monk and educator
Ralph Edward Dodge Ralph Edward Dodge Ralph Edward Dodge was an American Bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1956. He was the youngest of four children of Ernest and Lizzie Longshore Dodge of Dickinson County, Iowa....	1907–2008	101	American bishop of The Methodist Church
Yosef Shalom Eliashiv	1910 –		Israeli Rabbi
Sophia Lyon Fahs Sophia Lyon Fahs Sophia Blanche Lyon Fahs was an editor, author, teacher, and religious activist who led a revolution in Unitarian religious education...	1876–1978	101	American Unitarian Unitarianism Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being.... minister, educator and writer
Eugene Maxwell Frank Eugene Maxwell Frank Eugene Maxwell Frank was an American Bishop of the Methodist and United Methodist Churches, elected in 1956. He was notable for his passion for racial equality in the Church and beyond...	1907–2009	101	American bishop of The Methodist Church
Reginald C. Fuller Reginald C. Fuller Reginald Cuthbert Fuller was ordained as a priest in 1931 by Cardinal Bourne, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, and appointed Canon of Westminster Cathedral by Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor in 2001...	1908–2011	102	British Catholic priest
José de Jesús García Ayala José de Jesús García Ayala José de Jesús García Ayala is a Mexican Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. At the age of , he is currently the 4th oldest bishop in the Church and oldest Mexican bishop....	1910 –		Mexican Roman Catholic bishop
Meir Just Meir Just Meir Just was the Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam. Just served as a spiritual leader for the Dutch Jewish community for more than 45 years, until his death in 2010....	1908–2010	101	Dutch Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
Augoustinos Kantiotes Augoustinos Kantiotes Metropolitan Augoustinos Kantiotes was the Greek Orthodox bishop of Florina. He was born in Paros in village of Piso Livadi.Kantiotes was a defender of traditional Greek Orthodox beliefs. He was a writer of spiritual literature and is credited for the spiritual renewal of Greece, and the...	1907–2010	103	Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament... bishop
Gregory of Khandzta Gregory of Khandzta Gregory of Khandzta was a prominent Georgian ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of numerous monastic communities in Tao-Klarjeti, historic southwest Georgia....	759–861	101–102	Georgian saint of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church is an autocephalous part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the 4th century AD, Georgian Orthodoxy has been the state religion of Georgia, and it remains the country's largest religious institution....
Nolan Bailey Harmon Nolan Bailey Harmon Nolan Bailey Harmon was a Bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1956.-Birth and family:...	1892–1993	100	American Methodist bishop Bishop (Catholic Church) In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church.... and author
Edward Howard Edward Howard (bishop) Edward Daniel Howard was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Portland from 1926 to 1966.-Early life and education:...	1877–1983	105	American Roman Catholic archbishop Archbishop An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Isaac of Armenia Isaac of Armenia Isaac or Sahak of Armenia was Catholicos of Armenia. He is sometimes known as "Isaac the Great," and as "Սահակ Պարթև / Sahak Parthev" in Armenian, owing to his Parthian origin....	338–439	100–101	Parthia Parthia Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire.... n Catholicos of Armenia Catholicos of Armenia The Catholicos of All Armenians is the chief bishop of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that do not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The first Catholicos of All Armenians was Saint Gregory the Illuminator...
John the Silent John the Silent John the Silent is a Christian saint. He was born in Nicopolis and after the death of his parents in 471 founded a monastery. In 482 he was made Bishop of Taxara, Armenia and left the office nine years later to become a recluse in the monastery of St. Sabas.St...	452–558	106	Greek Christian saint
Yitzchak Kaduri Yitzchak Kaduri Yitzhak Kaduri, also spelled Kadouri, Kadourie, Kedourie; "Yitzhak" also spelled Yitzchak , was a renowned Mizrahi Haredi rabbi and kabbalist who devoted his life to Torah study and prayer on behalf of the Jewish people. He taught and practiced the kavanot of the Rashash...	1899/1900–2006	106	Iraqi-born Orthodox Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and... rabbi and kabbalist Kabbalah Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan , was a rabbi, essayist and Jewish educator and the co-founder of Reconstructionist Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein.-Life and work:...	1881–1983	102	Lithuanian founder of Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
Géry Leuliet Géry Leuliet Géry-Jacques-Charles Leuliet is a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and is currently the 2nd oldest bishop living and the oldest French bishop....	1910 –		French bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Antonio Rosario Mennonna Antonio Rosario Mennonna Antonio Rosario Mennonna was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. At the age of 103, he was the second-oldest bishop in the Church, behind Antoine Nguyên Van Thien....	1906–2009	103	Italian bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Halvor Midtbø Halvor Midtbø Halvor Midtbø was a Norwegian priest and temperance activist.He was a member of the central committee of the International Federation of the Blue Cross for 32 years. He chaired the Norwegian branch of the Blue Cross from 1936 to 1960, and became an honorary member.He was born in Holt...	1883–1995	101	Norwegian priest and temperance Temperance movement A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by... activist
William McElwee Miller William McElwee Miller William McElwee Miller was an American missionary to Persia, and author of several books.Born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, Miller received a M.A. in 1913 from Washington and Lee University, and a B.D. in 1919 from Princeton Theological Seminary...	1892–1993	100	American missionary and author
Francesco Minerva	1904–2004	100	Italian archbishop emeritus of Lecce Lecce Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
Narcissus of Jerusalem Narcissus of Jerusalem Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem was an early patriarch of Jerusalem. He is venerated as a saint by both the Western and Eastern Churches...	c. 99 – c. 215	116	Ancient Roman Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III...
Michel Nguyên Khác Ngu Michel Nguyên Khác Ngu Michel Nguyễn Khắc Ngư was the third oldest living bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.Ngư was born in Vạn Đồn, Vietnam, in 1909, and was ordained as a priest on June 29, 1934. He was appointed bishop of the newly created Diocese of Long Xuyên on November 24, 1960, and received his episcopal...	1909–2009	100	Vietnamese bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Antoine Nguyên Van Thien	1906 –		Vietnamese bishop of the Roman Catholic Church
Nicholas Salamis Nicholas Salamis The Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas Salamis was a Greek Orthodox priest of the Eastern Orthodox faith who witnessed almost a century of Greek emigration into Canada.-Early life:...	1897–2005	108	Greek-born Canadian Greek Orthodox priest
Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Kyozan Joshu Sasaki , Roshi is a Japanese Rinzai Zen teacher who has lived in the United States since 1962. Joshu Sasaki is the founder and head abbot of the Mount Baldy Zen Center, near Mount Baldy in California, and of the Rinzai-Ji order of affiliated Zen centers. As of , he is still actively...	1907 –		Japanese Rinzai Rinzai school The Rinzai school is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.Rinzai is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan... Zen Zen Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen... teacher
Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg is a Polish-born, American-raised Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva who, since 1965, makes his home in the Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel. He is the rosh yeshiva of the Torah Ore yeshiva in Kiryat Mattersdorf and Yeshivas Derech Chaim in Brooklyn...	1910 –	100	Israeli rabbi
Elazar Shach Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...	1896/8–2001	103–105	Israeli leading Haredi Haredi Judaism Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi .... rabbi
Eldred G. Smith Eldred G. Smith Eldred Gee Smith holds the position of patriarch emeritus to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held the calling of Patriarch to the Church of the same church between 1947 and 1979. In 2009, Smith surpassed Joseph Anderson as the oldest-lived general authority in the history of...	1907 –		American former Presiding Patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Tillit Sidney Teddlie Tillit Sidney Teddlie Tillit Sidney Teddlie was a singing school teacher, composer, publisher, and minister of the Church of Christ.Teddlie was born June 3, 1885 at Swan, Texas , the son of Theodore and Sarah Ann Teddlie. In 1903, he was baptized into the Church of Christ, and also taught his first singing school,...	1885–1987	102	American hymnalist and pastor
Tenkai Tenkai was a Japanese Tendai Buddhist monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. He achieved the rank of Daisōjō, the highest rank of the priesthood....	1536–1643	106–107	Japanese Tendai Tendai is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :... Buddhist monk
Nicholas Kao Se Tseien Nicholas Kao Se Tseien Nicholas Kao Se Tseien, was a Chinese Catholic priest living in Hong Kong who was both the oldest Catholic priest in modern times and the oldest ever person to have had a cataract operation....	1897–2007	110	Chinese Catholic priest Holy Orders The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry.... and oldest person ever to have a cataract Cataract A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light... operation
Marian Tumler Marian Tumler Marian Tumler was an Austrian theologian who served as the 62nd Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from 1948–1970. He was born in Schlanders in what was then the Tyrol and died in Vienna....	1887–1987	100	Austrian theologian and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo was an American clergyman. Born in Windham, Connecticut, Waldo served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a missionary and clergyman...	1762–1864	101	American clergyman
Warren Prall Watters Warren Prall Watters Warren Prall Watters was the founding archbishop of the Free Church of Antioch , one of several Independent Catholic Churches....	1890–1992	102	American founding archbishop of the Free Church of Antioch Free Church of Antioch The Free Church of Antioch is one of several Malabar Rite Independent Catholic Churches which claims valid lines of Apostolic Succession in the historical episcopate. The Free Church of Antioch received several lines of this succession through its founder, the late Archbishop Warren Prall Watters...
Herbert Welch	1862–1969	106	American Methodist bishop and president of Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
Eleutherius Winance Eleutherius Winance Eleutherius Winance was a Belgian-born Benedictine monk and philosophy professor. Winance was the last surviving founders of St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, California. he taught philosophy at Claremont Graduate University for 38 years.-Early life:Winance was born in Belgium on 10 July 1909. He...	1909–2009	100	Belgian monk and co-founder of St. Andrew's Abbey St. Andrew's Abbey St. Andrew's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery of men located in Valyermo, California. In 1929, St. Andrew's Abbey in Bruges, Belgium founded St. Andrew's Priory in China and until 1953, the monks of the Priory conducted missionary work among the people of China.In 1953, the Communists expelled all...

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