Traditio, traductio, aptatio: Applying the Principles in the Russian Translation of the Roman Missal

Abstract

The article is devoted to experience of translating the main divine book of Latin rite – the Roman Missal (Missale Romanum) into Russian. Since the second half of the twentieth century, the use of contemporary languages of various peoples in the Liturgy of the Catholic Church has become common practice. “The Roman Catholic Church Missal in Russia” in its full official version was published in 2011, and since then it has been used for the celebration of Mass in Russian both in Russia and in Russian-speaking communities outside the country. The first part of the article deals with the general instructions of the Catholic Church teaching on the translation of liturgical texts into national languages, which come down to three basic principles and are denoted by the triad of Latin terms: traditio (transmission), traductio (translation), aptatio (adaptation). The article then presents the history of the Russian translation of the Missal, a rather lengthy process that started still before the official reopening of the Catholic Church in Russia in 1991, the process which turned out to be difficult and, at some stages, multidirectional. The third part of the article highlights some questions of a fundamental and practical nature, when the application of the main general translation criteria was not simple and obvious, but required a creative and, to a certain extent, innovative approach, considering the peculiarities of the Russian language, cultural environment and mentality.

Keywords

• latin rite
• roman missal
• translation
• liturgical text
• catholic church in russia
• adaptation
• inculturation
• литургика
• латинский обряд
• римский миссал
• перевод
• литургический текст
• католическая церковь в россии
• адаптация
• инкультурация