Catholic religious writings in the Pavlichean dialect existing at the time of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Bucharest
Charlton Laird’s assertion that “dialectal peculiarities […] can be used to describe how languages became what they are and which peoples went on to build what communities” suggests a deeper significance than the mere linguist’s fascination with the revelations of a semantic study. Indeed, he suggests that an archeology of language can prove extremely useful in conveying certain testimonies about a community that historical sources may have omitted. This aspect becomes even more evident when religious writings and communities are under discussion.
Although the official establishment of the Archdiocese of Bucharest occurred at the late 19th century, in 1883, it is appropriate to consider that this process had its origins in the early years of that century, when Bishop Francisco Ferreri, in collaboration with a substantial number of Bulgarian Pavlichean Catholics, founded the village of Cioplea. Despite its modest size, the locality soon became the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Nicopole, thereby paving the way for jurisdictional autonomy.
One of the pastoral urgencies of the clergy of foreign origin who served this community was to familiarise themselves with the dialect spoken by these believers and to fix it in written form. Consequently, this dialect became a prevalent medium for religious texts, including prayer books, catechisms, and brochures disseminated within the community. The Pavlichean dialect – associated with what were considered Illyrian language – was distinguished by its affiliation to the Slavic language, yet it is written using the Latin alphabet. Beyond the mystery that still surrounds, in some cases, their authors or the degree of accuracy with which the written forms reflected the spoken language, their analysis will reveal that the Pavlichean dialect constituted a lexical infrastructure capable of supporting a substantial Catholic theology. If we consider the phenomenon of inculturation – of which Catholic missionary work during the Counter-Reformation made use and proposed as a means of evangelisation – which sometimes raised questions about the orthodoxy of the teaching transmitted within new cultures and through new languages, the present study will attempt to demonstrate that the Pavlichean dialect – part of a minor culture – did not encounter such a problem.
Finally, the legacy of religious written sources in circulation at the time of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, which has hitherto been overlooked by researchers, constitutes a veritable antitypos of the universal character of Catholicism, as will be explored in depth in the future Second Vatican Council.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/LXOV9562
