The Role of the “Ruthenian Language” in the Religious Life of Ukraine in the 1st Half of the 17th Century (According to Cassian Sakowicz’s Introduction to His Work “Desiderosus”)

Abstract

The article deals with the role of the “Ruthenian” vernacular language in the religious life of the Ukrainian people in the first half of the 17th century. The study is based on the respective vision of the famous polemicist Cassian Sakowicz and his position declared in the introduction to his work “Desiderosus” (1625). The topic is important due to its relation to the building of European nations with the penetration of national languages into their religious life and translation of the Bible.The introduction to the Polish edition of the book “Desiderosus”, published by Cassian Sakowicz, serves as the basis for describing his approaches to determination of the role of the “Ruthenian” language in the religious life of Rus (Ukraine and Belarus). First of all, there is a general overview of the “language discussion” in the 16th – early 17th century, related to the publication of the Bible by Francysk Skaryna, the Gospel of Zabludov, as well as the works by Ivan Vyshensky and Antin Sielava. It is noted that the society had a need for the translation of the Holy Scripture “into Ruthenian”. However, representatives of the conservative circles of the Orthodox and Uniate clergy were cautious of the vernacular language, which was associated with heresy and an assault against the sacred Church Slavonic tradition.The article draws attention to the fact that Cassian Sakowicz considered it necessary to translate the works by the Eastern Church Fathers into a simple vernacular language for religious education of believers and professional training of the clergy. It is noted that Cassian Sakowicz raised the question of a deeper acquaintance of the Orthodox society with the religious heritage of the Roman Catholic Church. It is emphasized that the recognition of the need to enhance the status of the “Ruthenian” language had no signs of “linguistic chauvinism”. Cassian Sakowicz believed that religious life in Ukraine had to develop relying on the positive experience of both Eastern and Western Christian culture. Therefore, the Orthodox society would require in its spiritual life not only the native language but also other languages of the Church—Slavonic, Polish, Greek, and Latin. This was especially true for preachers, whose work quality was directly related to their level of education.