Papers by natela vachnadze
Analebi, 2007
N. VACHNADZE, G.TCHEISHVILI
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding... more N. VACHNADZE, G.TCHEISHVILI
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding the mediaeval aspect of the world – this postulate on the example of the Georgian language has been known in Kartvelology since the 90s of the 20th century (N. Vachnadze).
In the present paper, by applying a comparative-historical method and retrospective analysis the authors tried to throw light on two linguistic layers – the language of preaching and the language of liturgy, i.e. in what language St. Nino, "equal of the apostles", prea¬ched Christianity on the one hand, and on the other – in what tongue church services were celebrated and all prayers said in the Kingdom of Kartli in the 4th-5th centuries.
The history of missionary activities indicates that both in the western and eastern parts of the Christian world, beyond the frontiers of the Roman/Byzantine Empire the process of converting and evangelizing "the barbarians" was going on in the native tongues of these peoples. In the epoch when Christianity was declared the state religion in Kartli (Iberia) – probably, even previous to this fact – it was preached in the Georgian language, i.e. in the language of the autochthon population of the country. This surmise is supported by numerous examples from the history of different countries of the Christian world that are referred to in the present work, this is why the authors think it to be of particular significance; it for the first time in Georgian historiography that such work has been done.
In the kingdom of Kartli, in the churches of the Georgian state to be exact, almost for a century church services were celebrated in the Greek and Aramaic languages, the Georgian language was used in reading religious texts by means of their being translated orally from the aforementioned Greek and Aramaic languages and commented on.
By the end of the 4th century the process of establishing and declaring the Georgian tongue as the language of the Christian community had finished, its finale being the translation of the books of the New and Old Testaments into the Georgian language. As for the language of the divine services, in the course of the 5th century the Georgian language was gradually obtaining its legitimate place as the main language of the liturgy.
Translating the Biblical books into the Georgian language as well as celebrating church services in Georgian is a vivid example of revealing the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Iberians (resp. Georgians). This, to great extent, was facilitated by the opposition between Christian "Greece" and Persia – a country of Mazdaizm.
On the basis of the ecclesiastic-Georgian language both the Georgian Christian culture of the Early (and not only Early) Middle Ages and the national identity of the people were developing. It is how the new Georgian Christian community was assuming shape.
The main conclusions concerning the language of the church services are corroborated by numerous examples from the history of Evangelization of different countries worldwide, this, of course, enriches the historiographic basis of the present paper, which the authors think to be paramount importance, since it is first work of this kind in Georgian historiography.
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Papers by natela vachnadze
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding the mediaeval aspect of the world – this postulate on the example of the Georgian language has been known in Kartvelology since the 90s of the 20th century (N. Vachnadze).
In the present paper, by applying a comparative-historical method and retrospective analysis the authors tried to throw light on two linguistic layers – the language of preaching and the language of liturgy, i.e. in what language St. Nino, "equal of the apostles", prea¬ched Christianity on the one hand, and on the other – in what tongue church services were celebrated and all prayers said in the Kingdom of Kartli in the 4th-5th centuries.
The history of missionary activities indicates that both in the western and eastern parts of the Christian world, beyond the frontiers of the Roman/Byzantine Empire the process of converting and evangelizing "the barbarians" was going on in the native tongues of these peoples. In the epoch when Christianity was declared the state religion in Kartli (Iberia) – probably, even previous to this fact – it was preached in the Georgian language, i.e. in the language of the autochthon population of the country. This surmise is supported by numerous examples from the history of different countries of the Christian world that are referred to in the present work, this is why the authors think it to be of particular significance; it for the first time in Georgian historiography that such work has been done.
In the kingdom of Kartli, in the churches of the Georgian state to be exact, almost for a century church services were celebrated in the Greek and Aramaic languages, the Georgian language was used in reading religious texts by means of their being translated orally from the aforementioned Greek and Aramaic languages and commented on.
By the end of the 4th century the process of establishing and declaring the Georgian tongue as the language of the Christian community had finished, its finale being the translation of the books of the New and Old Testaments into the Georgian language. As for the language of the divine services, in the course of the 5th century the Georgian language was gradually obtaining its legitimate place as the main language of the liturgy.
Translating the Biblical books into the Georgian language as well as celebrating church services in Georgian is a vivid example of revealing the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Iberians (resp. Georgians). This, to great extent, was facilitated by the opposition between Christian "Greece" and Persia – a country of Mazdaizm.
On the basis of the ecclesiastic-Georgian language both the Georgian Christian culture of the Early (and not only Early) Middle Ages and the national identity of the people were developing. It is how the new Georgian Christian community was assuming shape.
The main conclusions concerning the language of the church services are corroborated by numerous examples from the history of Evangelization of different countries worldwide, this, of course, enriches the historiographic basis of the present paper, which the authors think to be paramount importance, since it is first work of this kind in Georgian historiography.
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding the mediaeval aspect of the world – this postulate on the example of the Georgian language has been known in Kartvelology since the 90s of the 20th century (N. Vachnadze).
In the present paper, by applying a comparative-historical method and retrospective analysis the authors tried to throw light on two linguistic layers – the language of preaching and the language of liturgy, i.e. in what language St. Nino, "equal of the apostles", prea¬ched Christianity on the one hand, and on the other – in what tongue church services were celebrated and all prayers said in the Kingdom of Kartli in the 4th-5th centuries.
The history of missionary activities indicates that both in the western and eastern parts of the Christian world, beyond the frontiers of the Roman/Byzantine Empire the process of converting and evangelizing "the barbarians" was going on in the native tongues of these peoples. In the epoch when Christianity was declared the state religion in Kartli (Iberia) – probably, even previous to this fact – it was preached in the Georgian language, i.e. in the language of the autochthon population of the country. This surmise is supported by numerous examples from the history of different countries of the Christian world that are referred to in the present work, this is why the authors think it to be of particular significance; it for the first time in Georgian historiography that such work has been done.
In the kingdom of Kartli, in the churches of the Georgian state to be exact, almost for a century church services were celebrated in the Greek and Aramaic languages, the Georgian language was used in reading religious texts by means of their being translated orally from the aforementioned Greek and Aramaic languages and commented on.
By the end of the 4th century the process of establishing and declaring the Georgian tongue as the language of the Christian community had finished, its finale being the translation of the books of the New and Old Testaments into the Georgian language. As for the language of the divine services, in the course of the 5th century the Georgian language was gradually obtaining its legitimate place as the main language of the liturgy.
Translating the Biblical books into the Georgian language as well as celebrating church services in Georgian is a vivid example of revealing the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Iberians (resp. Georgians). This, to great extent, was facilitated by the opposition between Christian "Greece" and Persia – a country of Mazdaizm.
On the basis of the ecclesiastic-Georgian language both the Georgian Christian culture of the Early (and not only Early) Middle Ages and the national identity of the people were developing. It is how the new Georgian Christian community was assuming shape.
The main conclusions concerning the language of the church services are corroborated by numerous examples from the history of Evangelization of different countries worldwide, this, of course, enriches the historiographic basis of the present paper, which the authors think to be paramount importance, since it is first work of this kind in Georgian historiography.