DULIA (Latinized form of the Gk. douleia, “servitude, service”): The name technically applied in Roman Catholic theology to the veneration accorded to the saints and angels, and sharply distinguished (in kind, not alone in degree) from latria (Gk. latreia), or the worship due to God alone. Hyperdulia is a somewhat higher degree of veneration paid to the Virgin Mary on account of her intimate relation to God. Dulia is expressed by external acts of reverence and by invocation, and may be extended, in the former shape at least, to objects closely connected with the saints, such as their garments and other relics and their images, which are, however; venerated not for any intrinsic virtue of their own, but only with respect to those whom they represent or with whom they are associated. See SAINTS, VENERATION OF.