Batyushka vs. Svyashchennik

[ursula.doleschal]

>Hello Seelangers,
>
>What is the real difference between a "svyashchennik" and a "batyushka"?
>In my dictionary, they are "clergyman" and "father or priest"
>respectively.  I am worried about the former, calling a svyashchennik a
>"clergyman".  Can anyone explain how these terms differ, who is one or
>the other, is one a formal and one an informal, form of address?
>
>Thanks, Daniekl

                        Dear Daniel!
"SVJASHCHENNIK" means "priest", that is,
                1) "a priest in general", independent of the concrete
religion (as a form of address is impossible!).
                                Synonyms:

"svjashchennosluzhitel'"(bookish),
                                                         "pop" (familiar, a
little vulgar or ill-mannered, often with a nuance of


depreciating or disregarding)
                                                          "duxovnoe lico"
                                                          "sluzhitel'
kul'ta" (independent of even mono-/polytheistic nature of the

religion, a little disregading)
                                                           "sluzhitel'
bozhij" (in the speech of priests)
                                                           "pastyr'"
(solemn, in the speech of priests)
                                                          etc.
                 2) "a person serving in the Orthodox church and having a
title between the "diakon" and "bishop" (as a form of address is
impossible!).
                                Synonyms:
                                                         "ierej" (special
term).
"BATJUSHKA" means:
        1) "father"  (obsolete, respectful) (is possible both in actantial
positions and as a form of address);
                Synonyms:
                                                        "otec" (in the
meaning No.1) (neutral; but if it serves
                                                                        as
a form of address, then it is too bookish, high or solemn)
                                                        "papa" (colloquial;
but if it serves as a form of address then neutral! )

        2) form of address to a male person (gentle, familiar, friendly) (a
little obsolete or - if not obsolete, then a little jocular) (serves only
as a form of address!)
                Synonyms:
                                                        "golubchik" (but
instead of "friendly" should be "tender"!)
                                                        "otec" (in the
meaning No.6) (but instead of "gentle, familiar, friendly"


should be "popular");
                                                        "brat" (in the
meaning  No.2)(but without "gentle")
                                                        "bratec" (in the
meaning No.2) (but without "gentle")
                                                        "synok" (in the
meaning No. 2) ("popular", but besides, it serves only as
                                                                        a
form of address of an old person to a young man or to a boy)
                                                         etc.

        3a) "an Orthodox priest" (independent of title, so including
diakons and bishops) (usually in the speech of a believers, with the nuance
"respectfully").
                        Synonyms:
                                                "svjashchennik" (in the
meaning No. 1) (but independent of confession and
                                                        instead of "usual
in the speech of a believers, with the nuance
                                                        "respectfully""
should be "neutral");
                                                "pop" (but instead of
"usual in the speech of a believers, with the nuance
                                                        "respectfully""
should be  "familiar, a little vulgar or ill-mannered, often
                                                         with a nuance of
depreciating or disregarding)
                                                etc. (see above,  about
synonyms to "svjashchennik")

        3b) form of address to an Orthodox priest (independent of title, so
including diakons and bishops) (with the nuance "respectfully").
                        Synonyms are possible only as exotisms (for
example, when one quotes addresses of the Catholic believers to Catholic
priests):
                                                "gospodin kjure^" (while
describing French reality)
                                                "padre" (while describing
Italian or Spanish reality)
                                                etc.

        (3a) and (3b) differ in their syntactic possibilities: (3a) is used
in acant positions, and (3b) - in the position of address. NB: (3b) bears a
"compensatory" function, so that it is used instead of
"svjashchennik" (No.1) in the position of address.
         There is also a little semantic difference between (3a) and (3b):
(3a) is used "usually in the speech of believers"; and (3b) is neutral in
this respect. (But it may be not a lexical phenomenon but a pragmatical
one, because "respectful" reference to a priest is in most cases correlated
with whether the speaker is a believer.  So, the problem remains unsolved).


        4)  (obsolete, popular) form of address "from bottom to up", that
is, a "respectful" address (gentle,  a little friendly, but not "familiar")
- to a landlord or to a "big" clerk from the side of a peasant or of a
little" merchant) (can be a kind of apposition to the full name (first name
+ father's name), for example "batjushka Arkadij Pavlych")

                        With best wishes -
                                                                Sergej A. Krylov

Ursula Doleschal (ursula.doleschal at wu-wien.ac.at)
Institut f. Slawische Sprachen, Wirtschaftsuniv. Wien
Augasse 9, 1090 Wien, Austria
Tel.: ++43-1-31336 4115, Fax:  ++43-1-31336 744