Icon vocabulary

[Daniel Rancour-Laferriere]

9 March 2005

Dear SEELANGERS,
The question is actually quite difficult, for in many cases English
terms simply do not exist (yet). There are several Russian-Russian
dictionaries and handbooks on the subject which could be mentioned here,
but apparently this would not help. But let us keep in mind how close is
the connection of icon veneration to other aspects of Russian Orthodoxy.
In view of this connection, I would recommend (and I hope I am not
repeating what anyone else has said on this thread):

A. A. Azarov, _Russko-angliiskii slovar' religioznoi leksiki (s
tolkovaniami)_ (Moscow: "Russo," 2002). Over 14,000 entries (and about
25,000 English equivalents) are included in this incredibly useful and
erudite volume (I came across it quite by accident in a Church bookstore
in Moscow). Very many terms relating to icons are included.

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere



Alexander Boguslawski wrote:

>Dear Melissa and others interested in the topic:
>There is a book by Constantine Cavarnos, Orthodox Christian Terminology,
>published by the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies,
>Belmont, Ma in 1994.  Even though I do not agree with everything
>Cavarnos suggests, he is at least consistent.  An excellent source to
>follow would be the English translation of Uspensky and Lossky's The
>Meaning of Icons. For the more adventurous, The Painter's Manual of
>Dionysius of Fourna, translated by Paul Hetherington (Oakwood
>Publications 1996) and An Iconographer's Patternbook: The Stroganov
>Tradition, translated and edited by Fr. Christopher P. Kelley (Oakwood
>Publications 1999) should solve most problems with translating titles of
>icons into English.
>This is particularly important, because Russian publishers very often
>employ English translators who have absolutely no idea how to translate
>topic-specific titles and names and who produce, I am sorry to say,
>monstrosities of translation.  Perhaps your student, using the books
>mentioned above, will be able to avoid such mistakes.
>
>Alexander Boguslawski
>Rollins College
>
>
>
>>>>mfrazier at MAIL.SLC.EDU 03/09/05 11:06 AM >>>
>>>>
>>>>
>
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>I have a question from a student of mine currently studying in
>Yaroslavl,
>and I was hoping that one of you might have an answer for him, maybe
>especially something he can access on-line.  Please send any suggestions
>to
>me at mfrazier at slc.edu.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Melissa Frazier
>
>My student's question:
>Melissa, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I
>probably mentioned that I've started working at the Yaroslavl' Museum of
>Icons, doing translations of the opisaniya of the various exhibits, and
>I
>was hoping that you'd be able to point me toward some kind of resource
>to
>help with terminology and the like. For the most part it's been fairly
>simple, but I'm sure that some of the terms have standard English
>equivalents particular to the study of Icon Art. So, if there were
>someone
>or, something that you could recommend in connexion with this, it would
>help a great deal.
>
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