Sacred Language in the Borderlands: Discussions on the Language of Belarusian Catholicism

This article considers in detail the choosing of a language for the liturgy and sermons in Roman Catholic parishes in Belarus. The choice of the Belarusian language is part of a deliberate nation-building policy by the Catholic Church. Moreover, a whole network of local peculiarities, historical ste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNationalities papers Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 446 - 460
Main Authors Lastouski, Aliaksei, Zakharov, Nikolay
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.03.2024
Subjects
Belarus
nation-building
liturgical language
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Summary:This article considers in detail the choosing of a language for the liturgy and sermons in Roman Catholic parishes in Belarus. The choice of the Belarusian language is part of a deliberate nation-building policy by the Catholic Church. Moreover, a whole network of local peculiarities, historical stereotypes, and political attitudes is concealed beneath the unified cover of a preference for the use of the Belarusian language. Based on interviews with clergy and religious activists, the article shows that the Roman Catholic Church repeatedly works out compromise solutions that allow it to adapt to the pressures of the state and believers going through a process of contradictory and conflicting nation-building.
ISSN:0090-5992
1465-3923
DOI:10.1017/nps.2021.74