Hate Speech and Church Slavonic Literature: Towards the History of the Editing of Liturgical Books in Russia (19th–20th centuries)

The article describes the history of eliminating words and expressions which are offensive to non-Christians from liturgical books. It shows that the reasons for such corrections were primarily diplomatic and political in nature. Thus, harsh characteristics of sultans and other political figures were removed from the liturgical books addressed to the Slavs living on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. The reason for such editing was the discontent of the Ottoman Empire authorities. Similarly, the displeasure of the representatives of the St. Petersburg Armenian community prompted a softening of the anti-Armenian passages. Words and expressions belonging to the language of enmity were eliminated from church books. Words with the жид- root were removed, disrespectful and offensive characteristics of non-Christians were tempered. Such editing could have taken place hand in hand with the appearance of new liturgical texts which contained very harsh descriptions of non-Christians. Thus, a service to Gabriel of Bialystok composed at the beginning of the 20^th century does not feature vocabulary with the жид- (zhid-)root, but clearly contains the «blood libel» topic. The rejection of pejorative linguistic characteristics is therefore no indication of a change in attitude towards dissidents and non-Christians.

Keywords

Church Slavonic, Hate Speech, liturgical texts, xenophobia, Russian Church History, interfaith relations, Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov).

Received

16.02.2023

Publication date

30.04.2023

Number of characters

43036

Cite

GOST	Kravetsky A. Hate Speech and Church Slavonic Literature: Towards the History of the Editing of Liturgical Books in Russia (19th–20th centuries) // Slavianovedenie – 2023. – Issue 2 C. 31-46 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://slav.jes.su/S0869544X0025350-8-1 (circulation date: 11.02.2025). DOI: 10.31857/S0869544X0025350-8
MLA	Kravetsky, Aleksandr G "Hate Speech and Church Slavonic Literature: Towards the History of the Editing of Liturgical Books in Russia (19th–20th centuries)." Slavianovedenie 2 (2023):31-46. DOI: 10.31857/S0869544X0025350-8
APA	Kravetsky A. (2023). Hate Speech and Church Slavonic Literature: Towards the History of the Editing of Liturgical Books in Russia (19th–20th centuries). Slavianovedenie (2), pp.31-46 DOI: 10.31857/S0869544X0025350-8

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 317

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Beliakova Je.V., Moshkova L.B., Oparina T.A. Kormchaia kniga: ot rukopisnoi traditsii k pechatnomu izdaniiu. Moscow; St. Petersburg, Tsentr gumanitarnykh initsiativ Publ., 2017. 496 p. (In Russ.)

2. Beneshevich V.N. K istorii jevrejev v Vizantii VI–X vv. Jevreiskaia mysl’. Leningrad, 1926, pp. 127–224, 305–318. (In Russ.)

3. Iazyk vrazhdy i etiologiia konfliktov v istoriko-filosofskoi perspektive. Kollektivnaia monografiia, responsible editor I.R. Tantlevskii. St. Petersburg, RCAH Publ., 2022, 293 p. (In Russ.)

4. Iazyk vrazhdy i iazyk soglasiia v sotsiokul’turnom kontekste sovremennosti. Kollektivnaia monografiia, responsible editor I.T. Vepreva, N.A. Kuprina, O.A. Mikhailova. Yekaterinburg, Ural University Publishing House Publ., 2006, 562 p. (In Russ.)

5. Klier John D. Zhid: Biography of a Russian Epitet. The Slavonic and East European Review, 1982, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 1–15.

6. Maizulis M. Voobrazhajemyi vrag: Inovertsy v srednevekovoi ikonografii. Moscow, Al’pina non-fition Publ, 2022, 436 p. (In Russ.)

7. Sedakova O.A. Slovar’ trudnykh slov iz bogosluzheniia. Tserkovnoslaviano-russkije paronimy. Moscow, Praktika Publ., 2021, 424 p. (In Russ.).

8. Semenenko-Basin I.V. Sviatost’ v russkoi pravoslavnoi kul’ture XX veka: istoriia personifikatsii. Moscow, RSUH Publ., 2010, 291 p. (In Russ.)

9. Teoreticheskije i metodicheskije osnovy sudebnoi psikhologo-lingvisticheskoi ekspertizy tekstov po delam, sviazannym s protivodeistvijem ekstremizmu. Moscow, RFCFS of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Publ., 2011, 330 p. (In Russ.)