Page 1ACTA LINGUISTICA LITHUANICA
XLIV (2001), 189–200
Titles of Clergy and Their History
Algis Rubinas
Institute of the Lithuanian Language, Vilnius
The article deals with the Lithuanian names for clergy, and their history. Among them, three layers can be distinguished: (1) older loan words, ultimately of Greek or Latin origin, but borrowed through the intermediary of other European languages (Polish, German etc.) and bearing traces of this mediation; (2) artificial loan words, created in recent times by adding Lithuanian endings to Latin stems; (3) loan translations created to replace words of foreign origin.
0. INTRODUCTION
Christianity came to Lithuania late, when our neighboring nations were already Christian. The ancient Lithuanian faith had its origins in the depths of time. It is as old as the Lithuanian nation, and as old as the Balts. In the Proto-Baltic period, all Balts spoke the same proto-language and held the same faith.
The ancient Lithuanian religion was a nature religion. The ancient Lithuanians worshipped gods, showing reverence for fire, grass snakes, trees, the sun, and the moon.
When Christianity came to Lithuania, people had to renounce the old gods and rites, so the entire religious lexicon also had to change, since the old pagan concepts were unsuitable for naming the concepts of the new Christian religion. The old pagan religion came to be regarded as a religion of demons, and so its rites were abandoned, along with all religious concepts. The old Lithuanian pagan lexicon was pushed aside, and an entirely new Christian lexicon and new names had to take its place, since neither the old pagan names nor the old pagan concepts suited the new religion. A Lithuanian who converted to Christianity received a new, non-Lithuanian Christian name and had to take part in new Christian rites that were unfamiliar to him and whose names he did not even know. It was necessary to name the most important rites and those who presided over them; consequently, names for Christian clergy and fundamental Christian concepts had to emerge.
This article discusses how the names of clergy arose in the religious lexicon of the Lithuanian language, since a newly baptized person first encountered the names of clergy. Therefore, we must first clarify what the names of clergy in the religious lexicon are. How and when did Lithuanian names for clergy arise?
By what routes might they have come to Lithuania? How are they similar to, and how do they differ from, the names for clergy among neighboring Christian nations? We will consider names for clergy to be those words used to designate people who have some connection with God and who, through that connection, strive to enable as many people as possible to share it. The greater part of this lexicon
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consists of persons who have received some form of ordination or have been lawfully admitted to the monastic order. Religious vocabulary entered Lithuania by two routes. Some of it came through neighboring peoples, since Lithuanians had to interact with those neighbors in one way or another, encountered their languages, and borrowed more or fewer words from them. The Germans baptized the Lithuanians first and the Poles a second time; therefore, it may be assumed that some religious vocabulary came through these languages. Another part of the religious vocabulary entered through theological works written in Church Latin.
The aim of this article is to examine how religious vocabulary entered Lithuania. By comparing the religious vocabulary of neighboring Christian peoples, an attempt will be made to determine where and when, under what circumstances, and how Christian religious vocabulary entered the Lithuanian language. The principal source used in preparing this article is Lietuvių kalbos žodynas and old writings (catechisms, Bibles, postils, and old dictionaries).
1. OLD LOANWORDS
1.1. Some names for clergy entered Lithuanian long ago, while others are recent loanwords and formations. Pagan Lithuanian designations for clergy were unsuitable for naming Christian clergy, so Christian religious vocabulary was borrowed from the peoples who baptized Lithuania. The Germans baptized the Lithuanians first, but this work of Christianizing Lithuania soon came to a halt after Mindaugas was killed. Following the second baptism, which came through the Poles, the Christianization of Lithuania was completed. The first borrowed religious vocabulary entered Lithuania along with Christianity through the Poles. We call this old religious vocabulary old loanwords. The clergy who held an order of ordination would primarily belong to this group: the deacon, priest, and bishop. First, a name was needed for a clergyman higher in rank than a deacon and lower than a bishop, who was to maintain contact with the people and live near the church. He led services, preached sermons, baptized, married, and buried people, so it was necessary for people to know this clergyman’s designation. The German loanword kunigas was chosen to name this clergyman and was given a second meaning. Today kunigas means only ‘clergyman,’ but its original meaning was ‘lord, master; ruler, prince.’ The word was used in the sense ‘ruler’ in the oldest monuments of our writing, cf.: Sultoiole karalus ƀemes ir Kunigai fueiole rodon wienon priſch wielchpati / ir priſch io Chriſtu Mž 506. The loanword was used in this sense in: C₁ 908, KLG 24, R, Mž, K. In old writings, kunigas is also used to mean a Catholic or Lutheran clergyman, higher in rank than a deacon and lower than a bishop, cf.: Kunigas idant makitu ƀmanes Mž 11. TAS jra ludimas Iona / kada ſunte Szidai ich Įerusalem Kunigus ir Leuitas / idant ghi klauſtu / kas tu eſſi? VLn EE 7 Jn 1,19. The designation is used in this sense in: BB Jn 18,19, BP₁ 149, DK 13, 97, 99, 68, 98, 101, 89, 100, PK 160, DP 17, 27, 50, 158, 67, 205, 65, 158, 67, 205, 322, 24, 49, 69, 95, 410, ¹SD 51, 67, 139, 172, SD 84, SP 41,73, MT 101, ChB Jn 18,19, Mk 1, 44, C, 908, BK 22, 25, H, R, Mž, GN Lk 10,31, Jn 18,19, N, K, R tž, M.
In his dictionary, Sirvydas translates kunigą into Latin only as ‘sacerdos’ and into Polish as ‘kapłan, ksiądz,’ whereas kunigė means for him not only the head of a convent but also a princess (Latin principis uxor, Polish księżna).
A shorter form, kungas, was once also used. This form occurs in the Anonymous Catechism, AK 30, 32. Old dictionaries contain the form kūningas, meaning ‘lord,
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ruler, master¹ N, ‘prince’ R 208, K, and ‘priest’ N. In Žemaičių vyskupystė, Valančius uses the form kunegas M. VALANČ Ž, 19, 24 and the derivative kunegystė, which he formed from it.
Latvians have the word kungs ‘lord,’ while baznīckungs means ‘Catholic priest.’ The Prussian Elbing Vocabulary also contains konags ‘king.’ All three Lithuanian designations for a priest, as well as the Latvian and Prussian equivalents, are German loanwords.
The word kūnigas was borrowed from the Middle High German form kunig ‘king,’ which corresponds to modern German König ‘king.’ Middle High German kunig derives from Germanic *kuningaz ‘king’; Old High German and Old Saxon kuning, Old English cyning (now king). In the second or third century, Finns and Estonians borrowed their kuningas ‘king’ from Germanic *kuningaz. From the same source, though perhaps somewhat later, came Slavic *kunegъ, *kunezь: Russian князь ‘prince,’ Czech kněz ‘prince; priest,’ Polish ksiądz ‘priest’ (the meaning changed under the influence of Latin dominus). As late as the sixteenth century, Poles used ksiądz to refer not only to a priest but also to a secular ruler. Lithuanians had no contact with the ancient Germanic peoples; therefore, kuningo cannot be considered a loanword from Proto-Germanic. For all the Baltic peoples, the donors here were Germans who settled in the Daugava region toward the end of the twelfth century and somewhat later in the Vistula region. The brothers of the Teutonic and Livonian military orders came from various parts of Germany and, naturally, their speech contained considerable dialectal variation. These differences are also evident in chronicles and documents of the time. Sources from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries reveal as many as four variants: kunings, kuniges, kunges and konigs. These written variants suggest that the pronunciation of Old High German kuning was not unfamiliar even in the thirteenth century, although the rhymed chronicle from the end of that century uses only Middle High German kunig. The spelling also attests to the later pronunciations kung, konig. Thus, in practice, the German name for a priest could have been borrowed in any of these forms. It is therefore doubtful that both kungas and Latvian kungs arose from kunigo through the later loss of a vowel. Since Lithuanians first encountered Germans in the Daugava region, it may be assumed that kūnigas was borrowed from there around 1200. The more archaic-sounding kuningas was more likely borrowed from the Teutonic Knights.
Alongside the designation kūnigas, old writings also use kaplanas to name this clergyman, so it should be assumed that the word kūnigas had not yet become established and commonly used. The variation between kaplano and kunigo is especially pronounced in Vilentas’s Gospels and Epistles. In some places he uses kaplanas, cf.: Nūlidave tada / iog eia tū kieliu kaplanas / ir ilchwides ghj aplenke EE 107 (Lk 10,31); Bet eik / ir paffirodik kaplanui / VLN EE 27–28 (Mt 8,4); kaplanas vardu Zacharialchus BB Lk 1,5, BB Lk 10,31, ChB Lk 10,31, BP 375 (Lk 10,31), DP 56, SP 81, KN 263, but elsewhere he uses kūnigas: Chriftus elti ateghies / ieng ghis butu wiraulefki kunigas VLN EE 51 (Heb 9,11). Old dictionaries also record other forms of this loanword: kaplonas N, MŽ 119, kāplionas K. The form kaplonas came from Polish, cf. Polish kapłan.
From kunigo, Lithuanians formed kunigaikštį, which is already attested in Mažvydas’s writings, cf.: Idant Karalems ir Kunigaikfchtems pakajiu ir f̄andara dūtumbi Prafchom tawe ifch klaufik mus MŽ 557 and in Vilentas’s Gospels and Epistles: Nefa ifch tawes ateis man Kunigaigchtis / kurfai būs Wiefchpatis ant mana f̄moniu Ifrahel EE 22 Mt 2,6; Ifch Suda priegtam iog Kunigaikfchtis fchio Swieta jau apfuditas jra EE 69 Jn 16,11. The Lithuanian word kunigáikštis is derived from the word kūnigas with the suffix -aikštis.
A considerable number of derivatives developed from the designation kunigas. Some derivatives of this designation belong exclusively to Catholics or to Catholics and Protestants, while others belong only to Protestants. Catholi-
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Among both Catholics and Protestants are formations: kunigauti LKŽVI 893 ‘to be a priest’, kunigavimas LKŽVI 893 ‘being a priest’, kunigobavis LKŽVI 893 ‘former priest’, kunigėdra LKŽVI 893 ‘enemy of priests’, kunigėjimas LKŽVI 893 ‘acquiring the characteristics of a priest’, kunigėti LKŽVI 894 ‘to acquire the characteristics of a priest’, kunigesnis LKŽVI 894 ‘having more of the characteristics of a priest’, kunigybė LKŽVI 894 ‘priesthood’, kunigybė LKŽVI 894 ‘the state of being a priest’, kunigija LKŽVI 894 ‘priests as a group’. Formations found in the dictionaries of Lithuania Minor are assigned to those belonging exclusively to Protestants: kuniginas LKŽVI 894 ‘pastor’, kunigynė ‘a former priest’s farmstead’, kunigininkas LKŽVI 894 ‘a priest’s pupil being prepared for confirmation’, kuniginis LKŽVI 894 ‘one who holds priestly views, a supporter of priests’, kunigpalaikis LKŽVI 895 ‘an inferior priest’, kunigužis LKŽVI 895 ‘a Protestant or Lutheran priest’.
We do not know for certain what the Lithuanians themselves actually called their priests in ancient times, when they were still pagans. In the language of Lithuanian folk songs, šventikas occurs (We must pray to the šventikai, that they may say their prayers JD 1228); it seems to be a fairly old formation. First, this word is still used in Lithuanian as the surname Šventikas, which corresponds exactly to the Prussian personal name Sventicke. The word’s original meaning may have been ‘holy person, saint, holy man’. Apparently, the ancient Lithuanians, like some other ancient Indo-European peoples, also named the representatives of their religious cult after holiness, among other things; compare Ancient Greek ἱερεύς ‘priest, sacrificer, seer, sacred minister’ (from ἱερός ‘strong, powerful, divine, holy, consecrated’), Latin sacerdos ‘priest’ (from *sacri-dot- ‘one who gives sacred things’: sacer ‘holy’ and -dot- from the root of the verb dare ‘to give’), and Russian священник ‘priest’.
Other Christian peoples have various names for a clergyman whose rank is above a deacon and below a bishop. In Slavic Orthodox languages, a person admitted to the spiritual estate is called popu (the word is also used in Lithuanian), while Russians have the name ксендз for a Polish Catholic priest, borrowed from Polish ksiądz. The Germans have Priester, which came from Church Latin presbyter ‘presbyter, senior priest’. It entered Church Latin from Greek πρεσβύτερος < πρεσβύτης ‘old, honorable, important’. In dictionaries of religious studies and foreign words we find the name presbiteris, meaning ‘a leader of the earliest Christian communities’. It is unclear who the clergyman called a presbiteriu was. Even theologians today cannot say, since there is no evidence as to whom the Latin word presbyter referred. Contemporary translators of Holy Scripture render this word in Lithuanian as vyresnysis (‘elder’), but earlier translators rendered the Latin presbyter into Lithuanian in various ways. In Bretkūnas’s Bible we find Plebonai (in the margin Wirejnieji), who in 1 Tim 5,17. Giedraitis renders this passage Kunigai, kurie gerai priweizda 1 Tim 5,17. In Chylinski’s Bible we find Teprypažįsta jog Wirauley kurie redi gierey. Skvireckas renders it Gerai viršininkaujantys kunigai 1 Tim 5,17. Latvians have mācītājs. Protestant congregations, to distinguish their clergy from Catholic clergy, call their clergyman pastoriumi.
Although the priest led services and administered the sacraments, he could neither ordain priests nor confer the sacrament of Confirmation. This could be done only by a Christian clergyman holding the highest orders, a clergyman who had attained the fullness of the priesthood through episcopal consecration—a bishop. The bishop governed the diocese, appointed priests to parishes, and decided various matters. The word with this meaning is found already in the very earliest monuments of the Lithuanian language: ³SD, 400, SP I 60, 160, SP I 285–286, SP II 198, Q 182, H 163, R, R75, Mž, GN 1 Tim 3,2, Fil 1,1, KlG 160, Sut, D. Pošk, N, K, Mit VI 42, M. Valanč, PrL XVII 8, JV 1005, NS 1251 (Škn), J, K. Būg.
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The source of the name vyskupas is the Church Latin word episcopus, which derives from Greek ἐπίσκοπος ‘overseer’, since in the first centuries of Christianity the bishop’s task was understood in the literal sense of the word—to oversee the life of the community. This name entered Lithuanian through intermediary languages. The Germans were the first to adopt it; compare Old High German bisc of, Middle High German bischof. The Czechs borrowed it from German, compare biskup, and the Poles in turn borrowed the name from Czech, compare Polish biskup, wiskup. The word entered Lithuanian through Polish.
The Polish biskup, wiskup, Russian епископ (directly from Greek), German Bischof (the Latvian form bīskaps was borrowed through German), and English bishop correspond in meaning to this Lithuanian name for a Christian clergyman holding the highest orders.
In M. Mažvydas’s catechism we find the form biskupas, now extinct in the living language, used as a name for a clergyman holding the highest orders; compare Reik tadrin Bilkupas butu cžiltas jr nepatepta kuna MŽK 29. Other authors from Lithuania Minor render this biblical passage as follows: BIlkupas tur buti benutarties VLN ENCH 39 (1 TIM 3,2); Bet Bilkupas tur buti benutarties BB 1 TIM 3,2. In Daukša’s Catholic postil we also find bilkupai DP 120, 28, 59, 61, 205, 68. In Morkūnas’s Evangelical Reformed postil we find BIlkupas MP₃ 82. In Chylinski’s Bible the name for bishop is užweždetojas CHB 1 TIM 3,2, FIL 1,1. It may be assumed that the Dutch source word op-sjender, used to translate Greek ἐπίσκοπος ‘overseer’, influenced the emergence of this name.
A considerable number of derivatives arose from this name, with meanings closely related to that of the word: vyskupáuti DŽ, NdŽ, LEₓ 275, vyskupáuti NdŽ ‘to be a bishop’, išvyskupáuti NdŽ ‘to be a bishop for a time’, vyskupáavimas NdŽ, DŽ¹, A 1884, 96, LEₓ 89, NdŽ, vyskupystė Š, RŽ, DŽ, NdŽ, KŽ, Q 93, H 163, D. Pošk, N, M, L, ŠT 34, vyskūpystė (2) K, RTR, FRNW₁, R 75, MŽ 100, SG 76, GN 1 PvTm 3,1 ‘the bishop’s title and the position he holds’, vyskupiškas, -a NdŽ, KŽ, SD 14, D. Pošk, N, L, LL 8, vyskupiškas (1) Krš, vyskūpiškas (1) K₁ 242, K, RTR, NdŽ ‘of or belonging to a bishop, characteristic of a bishop’, 1 vyskupiškis, -ė (2) NdŽ, KŽ, D. Pošk, vyskūpiškis, -ė (2) K, NdŽ ‘a person living near a bishop, or under a bishop’s protection’.
A clergyman holding the first degree of ordination in the sacrament of Holy Orders could not conduct services in church, and deacons had no contact with the people; therefore, the name diakonas entered through written sources, especially through Holy Scripture. The word was used with this meaning in the oldest Lithuanian-language monuments: CHB 1 TIM 3, 8–12, CHB FIL 1,1, GN 1 TIM 3, 8–12, GN FIL 1,1.
In Mažvydas’s writings, instead of the word diakonas, the loanwords kaplanas (Kaplanai leſta wenas moteis wirai MŽK 30 1 TIM 3, 12) and kunigas (Kunigai ſechto budu weſliby, ne dwileſuwei MŽK 30 1 TIM 3, 8) are used. Bretkūnas translated this biblical passage as Teipug, Diakai turi buti cželtingi BB 1 TIM 3, 12. In Chylinski’s Bible this passage is translated Diakoney teypag (reykeia idand) butu wiezliweys CHB 1 TIM 3, 12. In Giedraitis’s New Testament the passage is translated Diakonay teipajeg giedingi GN 1 TIM 3, 12. Why Mažvydas uses kunigas and kaplanas to name a deacon is unclear, since Mažvydas took this passage from J. Willich’s Latin catechism, which uses the word diaconus.
The source of the name diakonas is the Greek word διάκονος ‘servant’. From Greek, through the New Testament, it first entered Latin; compare diaconus. It also passed from Latin into Vulgar Latin, giving rise to diacus. Having entered Church Latin
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The word retained its original Greek form diaconus. The Greek word διάκονος entered European languages by two routes: through ecclesiastical Latin and through Vulgar Latin. Via Vulgar Latin, the Germans borrowed diacus, cf. Middle High German diaken, while via ecclesiastical Latin they borrowed diaconus, cf. German Diakon. From German, the Czechs borrowed both forms of this designation, diacus and diaconus, from which diacus gave rise to žák, and diaconus – diakon. From Czech, both forms of this designation passed into Polish. The designation entered Lithuanian via Polish. In this meaning, it spread throughout the Christian world: Latvians use diakons, and Russians use диакон, which entered Russian from Greek διάκονος via Church Slavonic (Vasmer 1964: 512). Russian also has other forms of this designation: дьяк and дьякон. Polish has dyakon, diakon, and German Diakon. German Protestants have another word for a deacon: Gemeindehelfer. This designation apparently dates back to the first centuries of Christianity, when one of a deacon’s duties was to provide assistance to the poor and widows.
The word žėkas derives from the same source and has two meanings: one is ‘student’: M. VALANČ: Ei tu, žėke, žėkeli, visų žėkų mokytojau, švento rašto skaitytojau RT. Pasakyk, žėkeli, kas dangų girdėt? LTR (Rod). Esmi žėko mokytojas, švento rašto pildytojas LMD (TVR); the other is ‘a priest’s assistant during Mass’ Mž 494: Kadda Ponas Dievas ira garbinams (chwentomis gielemelis, tada ir ghie drauge fu ʃēkeleis tur giedoti BP II 357; Po tam Kunigas alba ʃēkelei tur gedoti MŽ 500. It seems that Mažvydas is attempting to restore the earlier meaning of deacon—that is, to perform auxiliary duties in the church. The designation žėkas is found already in old writings ¹SD 208, Q 465, Sut, N, RtŽ, M. The word’s source is the Vulgar Latin word diacus, a shortened form of Greek διάκονος. The loanword žėkas entered Lithuanian via Polish, cf. żak ‘student’. The Poles borrowed this word from Czech, cf. žák ‘pupil’. Russian borrowed the word from Polish, cf. Russian жак ‘pupil at a Catholic school’, and Ukrainian, cf. Ukrainian жак ‘student at a bursary, seminarian, student at a theological seminary’.
1.2. With the introduction of Christianity, it became necessary to name the newly emerging clerical offices; consequently, among the older loanwords are designations for clergy based on their duties. First, it was necessary to name the head of a parish, who was obliged to maintain contact with the people and live near the church. The designation chosen for the head of a parish was the loanword plebōnas, which came via Polish and was used until the 17th century. This designation is found in BB Sk 31,31, BP 1, DP 388, 366, 299, ¹SD 123, ³SD 114.
The form plebōnas came via Polish, cf. pleban. The Poles most likely received this word from Czech, cf. Czech pleban ‘village parish priest’, while the Czechs borrowed it from ecclesiastical Latin (FrnW)¹. Mažvydas uses two forms to designate the head of a parish: plebōnas Mž 11, 95, 556 and plebanas Mž 11. The word plebonas is also found in Vilentas’s Enchiridion: Catechismas mafas / del palpalitu Plebonu ir Koznadiju Vln ENCH 1. In Margarita theologica the form Klibonas first appears, MT XIX; sometimes plebōnas is also used alongside Klibonas.
From the second half of the 17th century onward, the form klebōnas became generally established in written sources. Since 16th-century Polish had both pleban and the Polish dialect form kleban, in Lithuania the word plebonas was replaced by
1 Salys (1985: 280) mano, kad lietuvių plebōnas, klebōnas, klibōnas kirčio vieta sutinka su gudų plebán, klebán, klibán, tai gudai bus greičiausiai tarpininkavę mums skolinantis žodį klebōnas, nes jei būtų skolinta tiesiai iš lenkų, turėtų būti klebōnas.
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klebonas. The word was used in this meaning already in the oldest monuments of the Lithuanian language: KLG 158, LEX 133, B, R, MŽ, GN Mt 12,5. Among the later sources for this designation are K, M, J, RtŽ.
A number of other religious vocabulary terms have also derived from this designation. Some derivatives of the designation belong exclusively to Catholics or to both Catholics and Protestants, while others belong only to Protestants. The derivatives shared by Catholics and Protestants include: klebonáuti LKŽVI 21 ‘to serve as a parish priest’, paklebonáuti LKŽVI 21 ‘to serve as a parish priest for a while’, praklebonáuti LKŽVI 21 ‘to serve as a parish priest for some period’, klebonávimas LKŽVI 21 ‘serving as a parish priest’, kleboniêtis LKŽVI 22 ‘a resident of a parish priest’s house’, klebonýstė LKŽVI 22 ‘serving as a parish priest; the parish priest’s position’. Derivatives found in dictionaries of Lithuania Minor that belong exclusively to Protestants include: klebonáitis CII 204, N, Q 396 ‘parish priest’s son’, klebonáičia [K], N ‘parish priest’s daughter’, klebonienė K, N, R ‘parish priest’s wife’, klebonikė [K], N ‘parish priest’s daughter’, kleboniškas ‘belonging to a parish priest’, klebonytis CII 204 ‘parish priest’s son’, klebonkà KII 115 ‘parish priest’s wife’.
Alongside pleban, Polish also has proboszcz, borrowed via German (Middle High German brobest, German Propst) from Latin propositus. In old Lithuanian dictionaries, writings, and dialects, we find the designation for a parish head prābaščius, borrowed from Polish proboszcz, N, [K], S. DAUK, Žem, ŠLN, DS, Č: Prābaščius rašo gromatą an dzekoną, klausia rodos VoL 373; O senasis prabaštėlis dar gyvas? SKRD.
In Latin, the head of a parish is called parochus, a word that formerly meant ‘master of a postal station’ to the Romans. In return for a fee set by the state, he was required to provide lodging and sustenance for traveling magistrates and messengers. Later, with the emergence of parishes (in the 4th century), the word acquired the meaning ‘head of a parish’. The word entered Latin from Greek πάροχος.
The parish priest, as head of the parish, would have one or several assistant priests. The designation vikāras came via Polish, cf. Polish wikary ‘vicar’. The source of the word vikāras is the Latin vicarius ‘deputy’. In Daukša’s Postil we find the forms of this designation: Wikorius DP 99, 247, 612, Wikariumis DP 203. In the Polish-language Postil of Jakub Wujek, we find Wikary in the corresponding passage. This shows that the designation was adopted directly from Polish.
As the number of parishes grew, a senior priest was needed to supervise a group of parishes and serve as head of the deanery. The designation dekānas came via Polish, cf. Polish dziekan ‘dean’. The word was first used in this sense in K. Sirvydas’s dictionary ¹SD 97.
The source of the designation dekānas is the ecclesiastical Latin word decanus ‘leader of ten’, a derivative of the Latin word decem ‘ten’. In ancient Rome, decanus referred to the senior of ten lower-ranking officials in the imperial palace. The word acquired the meaning ‘senior priest’ in ecclesiastical Latin later, when dioceses had been established and bishops appointed deans to administer ten parishes. Through ecclesiastical Latin, the word spread throughout the Christian world, and everywhere today it denotes a priest who heads a deanery: Latvians have dekāns, Poles dziekan, Germans Dekan (older form Dechant), French doyen (from which English dean).
The head of the Catholic Church is the pope. The designation was already widely used in the oldest monuments of our writing: VLN 4, DK 39, PK 206, DP 50, MTP 38, SD 241, ¹SD 119, Q 68, R 274, MŽ, K, RtŽ.
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The source of the title popiežius is the ecclesiastical Latin word papa ‘father’. This title entered Lithuanian through intermediary languages. The Germans were the first to acquire this title; compare Old Bavarian papas, Old High German babes. The Czechs borrowed it from German, compare papež, and the Poles borrowed it from the Czechs, compare Polish papież. The word entered Lithuanian through Polish (Būga 1959: 26; FrnW).
This title also gave rise to numerous derivatives: Popiežė ‘a woman who heads the Protestant Church of England’ DP 85, popiežiauti ‘to be pope’ NdŽ, popiežiavimas ‘being pope’ NdŽ, popiežija ‘popes and their collective body’ LL 138, NdŽ, popiežinis ‘belonging to or associated with the pope’ NdŽ, popiežystė ‘papacy’ DP 19, popiežystė ‘the pope’s authority’ K II 104, Q 68, SD 119, R 274, DP 84, popiežiškas ‘belonging to or characteristic of the pope’ DP 89, MT 75, popiežiškai K, popiežiškis ‘belonging to or associated with the pope’ MT XXV.
A Catholic priest had to serve not only in parishes, but also perform liturgical rites in private chapels or monasteries and teach religion. A priest holding these duties was called a kapelionu. This is an old word, already recorded in K. Sirvydas’s dictionary as kapelonas ¹SD 83, SD 96. The source of Lithuanian kapelionas is the ecclesiastical Latin capellanus.
Other forms are also used in old writings: kapelionis M, M. VALANČ, kāplionas K, kaplonas N, MŽ 119. The soft consonant in the Lithuanian form kapelionas reflects the Polish form kapelan.
The title is widespread in other languages as well; compare German Kapellan, French chapelain, English chaplain, Latvian kapelāns.
Words whose meanings are closely related to that of this title were derived from it: kapelionauti ‘to serve as a chaplain’, kapelionavimas ‘serving as a chaplain’.
1.3. Old writings use clerical titles that denote a cleric’s honorific rank. We have two such titles; one of them is kanaunininkas. The word was already used in this sense in old Lithuanian-language monuments by S. DAUK, [K], M. VALANČ.
We also find the form kanonykas WP 199, KL 30, SD 83 in old writings. The old title kanonykas came through Polish; compare Polish kanonik, from ecclesiastical Latin canonicus. The word entered Latin from Greek; compare Greek κανών ‘standard, rule’. The title is widespread in other languages too; compare Latvian kanoniķis, Polish kanonik, Russian каноник. In Polish, alongside the form kanonik used today, an alternative form kanownik is also attested, which could be (although this cannot be proven) the source of the Lithuanian form kanaunininkas.
Another priest holding an honorific rank among Catholic clergy is a prelatas. Old writings use the Latin word prālōtas, which came through Polish (compare prałat) and is recorded by S. DAUK, M. VALANČ, VoL 104. In the Katekizme, Dauksa uses the Polish borrowing prōłatos; compare Antri tewai pagalėi Dwasią, tai yra kunigai, Pratōtai ir mokitoiei DK 82. The source of the word is ecclesiastical Latin praelatus, meaning ‘having precedence, best’.
From the title prōłatos, M. Valančius coined the derivative pralotystė ‘a domain governed by a prelate’.
2. N E W C O I N A G E S
2.1. In the second half of the 19th century, the Lithuanian nation found itself on the brink of an abyss, and concern arose for its survival. A national revival movement began. A determined struggle was waged for the rights of the mother tongue, first and foremost in the church.
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There was concern that all Lithuanians needed a single standard language. Efforts were made to improve it and cleanse it of centuries-old accretions—foreign constructions and lexical barbarisms. However, the language of the church long lagged behind the secular language. The existing state of the Lithuanian language of the church did not satisfy the revitalized intelligentsia. As the 19th century drew to a close, Lithuanian began to be spoken among priests and in rectories. Polish-oriented priests who mangled the Lithuanian language in their sermons were not tolerated. Once it was understood that most loanwords had entered Lithuanian through the church, efforts were made to correct the errors of the past. Barbarisms had to be removed from religious vocabulary and new Lithuanian vocabulary created. Accordingly, the old borrowed religious vocabulary was translated into Lithuanian. This is how Lithuanian names for clergy emerged, and new forms of titles were introduced, modeled more closely on the original Latin forms. One example is the form prelátas, created from the older form prálotas in order to bring it closer to the Latin word praelatus. The title is recorded in LKŽX 602.
An entirely new title, pãstorius, emerged, meaning a Protestant Evangelical pastor. The word is recorded in this sense in LKŽIX 535. Another form of this title is also found: pastóras JD 1084. The word derives from the Latin word pastor, ‘shepherd, herdsman, priest’. The title is widespread in other languages as well; cf. Latvian pastors, Polish pastor, Russian пастор, German Pastor, English pastor.
2.2. With the beginning of the revival, old Polish loanwords were abandoned and new Lithuanian names for clergy were coined on the models of other languages. It became necessary to have a general designation for all persons duly admitted to the ecclesiastical estate, who had taken monastic vows or in some way belonged to the church hierarchy.
Dvãsininkui came into being because, alongside the word for priest, a new, specific designation was urgently needed for a particular religious concept—namely, as in English priest (Anglo-Saxon prēost, from later Latin presbyter, from Greek πρεσβύτερος ‘older’) ‘priest’; French prêtre and German Priester are distinguished from English clergyman, French ecclésiastique (from Latin ecclēsiasticus ‘ecclesiastical, belonging to the church’), and German Geistlicher. Similarly, in Lithuanian, over time kunigas ‘a representative of a religious cult who, having received the sacrament of ordination, performs the duties of a priest’ came to be distinguished from dvasininkas ‘a member of the ecclesiastical estate, consecrated to the service of God’. Dvãsininko has a much broader meaning than kunigo: dvasininkas is a generic concept; a priest is merely a subtype of dvasininko. The word dvãsininkas was coined. In this sense, the word is recorded in LKŽII 942.
Besides the meaning just mentioned, the word dvãsininkas is also used in Lithuanian dialects with another meaning: ‘one who catches spirits, who deals with spirits’ (LKŽII 942).
The Lithuanian word dvãsininkas derives from the word dvasia ‘spirit’ and the suffix -ininkas, with which nouns are most often formed as designations for persons.
The title dvãsininkas appeared recently and is first found in Jablonskis’s writings. Various forms of this title were used for persons admitted to the ecclesiastical estate: Sirvydas uses the form dvasingystė ¹SD 27, SD 47, [K]; dvasiškija Š ‘the ecclesiastical estate’, dvasiškis Š, dvasionis; cf. Pusę viešųjų mokyklų dv asionys veda VAIŽG.
The title was formed similarly in other languages: Latvians have the word garīdznieks, Polish has duchowieństwo ‘clergy’, and Russian духовенство ‘clergy’.
From this title was derived dvãsininkiškas, -a LKŽII 943 ‘characteristic of a clergyman, belonging to a clergyman’.
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There were already many monasteries in Lithuania; they had their own names, but there was no common name for all members of religious orders. Such a name was first recorded in the writings of J. Jablonskis vienuolis. The word was used in this sense in RtR, BŽ 609, Š, DŽ, NdŽ.
The Lithuanian vienuolis is formed from the word vienas and the suffix -uolis. It may be supposed that the Latin word monachus ‘monk’ influenced the emergence of the Lithuanian vienuoliui. Latin monachus was borrowed from the Greek word μόνοχος ‘solitary person, one living apart, hermit’. Via Latin, German Mönch ‘monk’, English monk, Polish mnich (alongside zakonnik ‘monk’), and Latvian mūks (feminine form mūkene) derive from this Greek word, while Russian монах derives directly from Greek. Alongside the form vienuolis, Kuršaitis’s dictionary gives vienuōlys, vienuolius.
The Lithuanian word vienuolis appeared late. We do not know what monks were called after Mindaugas’s or Jogaila’s baptism. We do not find this designation in Mažvydas’s writings either. In early writings, a member of a monastic community is called minychas (from Polish mnich). It is first recorded in Vilentas’s Enchiridion: ik fcholei Minichai ir mi-nichkas y Klochtoriu Vln Ench 46; also in BP II 355, WP 132, Lex 123. Daukša uses various forms: minychas DP 89, 91, 233, 565 and minykas DP 13, 70, 84, 119, etc. This form is also found in Sirvydas’s dictionary SD 153, and is used in Lithuania Minor in Q 349. In early writings, instead of the word vienuolis, the designation zakonykas was used, because after the mendicant orders were established in the thirteenth century, their members sought not only personal perfection but also preached, went on missions, and interacted with people. As a result, in the canons of the Catholic Church monks came to be called Ordens Leute, zakonni, that is, people who observe the laws of a religious institution. The word entered Lithuanian from Polish zakonnik or Old Belarusian законникъ. The loanword is used in Daukša’s Postil zakonykas DP 612, 535, 308, 324 and DK 131. Early writings and dialects use various forms of the loanword: žōkanininkas NdŽ, zakōninkas (-ykas), e.g.: Once a farmhand, instructed by a monk, went into the barn with a Candlemas candle and saw the devil riding a horse LTs IV 512; They were monks, a brother and a sister Dv; žōkanykas (-nykas BzF 201, KŽ), NdŽ, BsMt II 38, S. Dauk, M. Valanč, e.g.: And how far does the Lord God want to remove you from those monks, so that you might escape that eternal torment DP 11, žōkaninkas NdŽ, KŽ, zōkauninkas, e.g.: The monk took it, lit a Candlemas candle, and set it on the table S I 313, zokonininkas KŽ, žōkoninkas (-ykas; M), I, NdŽ, KŽ, Sut, DP 324, S. Dauk. From this loanword the derivative zokōninkiškas ‘characteristic of zokoninkas, monks’ was formed. In M. Daukša’s Postil the word pūstelnykas DP 196 (cf. Polish pustelnik or Old Belarusian пустельникъ) WP 192 is used to designate a monk.
The designation vienuolis gave rise to many other words related to monastic life, cf. vienuolystė ‘being a monk, the life of a monk’, vienuoliškas, vienuoliškumas, vienuolinis ‘characteristic of a monk’, vienuolyniškas ‘like that of a monastery, characteristic of a monastery’.
There are positions in the Church that a priest holds only for a limited time. A priest who hears confessions is a nuodėmklausys. The designation was first recorded in written sources in the writings of M. Valančius. A. Juška’s dictionary gives the form nuodėtklausis.
Latin has two designations for a confessor: paenitentiarius and confessarius.
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Other related languages have different designations for a priest who hears confessions, cf. Russian духовник ‘confessor’, Polish spowiednik, German Beichtiger and Beichtvater (Beichte ‘confession’); Latvian biktstēvs derives from the latter.
A priest who delivers a sermon is a pamókslininkas. The designation was first recorded with this meaning in written sources in A. Lalis’s Lithuanian-English Dictionary. The word was used in this sense in RtR, LKŽIX 304.
In Lithuanian dialects, the word pamókslininkas is also used with other meanings: ‘one who likes to speak instructively, to teach others’ Krš, ‘one who is studying, preparing for confirmation’ TP 1881, 19.
The Lithuanian word pamókslininkas is formed from the word pamókslas and the suffix -inin-kas, with which the nouns formed are most often designations for persons.
The form pamokslasakýs, found in Silvestras Gimžauskas’s glossary, is recorded in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language, LKŽIX 304.
Authors of early writings used a loanword from Polish to designate a preacher, cf. Polish kaznodzieja (kazać + *dzieja), adapting the second part of the word to Lithuanian (Lith. -deja by association with dėti ‘to put’). The forms of this loanword differ: koznadeja [K], VLN ENCH 1, KLG 41, koznadeja BzB 295, M. VALANČ, koznadejas R, MŽ, N, koznadejeus BzB 102, koznodiejus BB Iz 40,3, koznadėjienė N, [K] ‘female preacher’.
The emergence of the word was apparently influenced by designations for a preacher in other languages, cf. ecclesiastical Latin k. praedicator < praedicare, Russian проповедник, Latvian sprediķotājs.
3. CONCLUSIONS
1. All the old terms for clergy were borrowed from neighboring Christian nations. Most borrowing was from Polish. The borrowed terms were usually not Polish words, but Latin terms for clergy that had come through Polish. Most Latin terms could not be translated into any language, since they were Latin words that had acquired a religious meaning only in ecclesiastical Latin. Therefore, no one translated these words; they were left in Latin. When such terms entered another language, they usually retained their Latin form or were changed in accordance with the rules of that language. Lithuanian terms for clergy spread chiefly through ecclesiastical literature. The ecclesiastical literature of that time was usually translated from Polish ecclesiastical literature. Christian concepts came along with the translations. Thus came the terms pope, bishop, and others.
2. During the national revival at the end of the 19th century, concern arose about ecclesiastical language and its lexicon. The old terms derived from Latin and introduced through Polish were Latinized again. For example, the form prālotas was brought closer to the Latin form, giving rise to prėlatas. Concern also arose about terms borrowed from Polish, and they began to be replaced with Lithuanian ones. In place of the Polish kaznodzieja, pamokslininkas was coined; in place of zakònininkas, vienuolis. The entire ecclesiastical language and religious lexicon were being Lithuanianized.
ABBREVIATIONS
The source abbreviations are the same as in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.
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LITERATŪRA
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Algis Rubinas Lietuvių kalbos institutas Antakalnio g. 6, 2055 Vilnius, Lietuva
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