At a ceremony in Pretoria on Sunday 25 August, two Orthodox priests were honoured in what must surely be a milestone in the history of Orthodoxy in this country. Father Zacharias van Wyk and Father Jacobus van der Riet were given a special commendation by the FAK (Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations) for their services to Afrikaans literature and culture for translating Orthodox liturgical texts into Afrikaans.
Afrikaans is the third most widely spoken language in South Africa and is used as a first language by 13.5 percent of the population. It has historically been identified with the Dutch Reformed churches, but in his speech at the presentation of the awards Dr Johann Rossouw pointed to the widespread disintegration of modern forms of Christianity among Afrikaners, and argued that they are in need of the historical witness of the Orthodox Church which is the original form of Christianity. In this context, the translation work of Father Zacharias and Father Jacobus is of immense importance, for it opens up a religious world to people who are in a state of crisis and would otherwise be ignorant of Christian Orthodoxy.
Father Zacharias and Father Jacobus work together in translating the texts. Father Jacobus, a Greek scholar, ensures that they are faithful to the original Greek, together they work on making them readable in Afrikaans in a way that is worthy of the Liturgy, and Father Zacharias then sets them to music, using mainly Slavonic melodies that fit well with the Afrikaans language. Father Zacharias is a priest of our Archbishopric and serves at the Church of Saint Mary of Egypt in Robertson, while Father Jacobus is a priest of the Archbishopric of Johannesburg and Pretoria where he serves in the parish of Eldorado Park.
In response to the award, Father Zacharias said that he found it remarkable that the FAK had given them this award. The number of Afrikaans-speaking Orthodox Christians is still very small, but it is encouraging that our Orthodox Christian heritage is becoming known and acknowledged. It is also important that people can see that Orthodoxy is not something foreign. By being able to pray these ancient texts in their own language, people are able to make them their own and truly identify with the Church’s faith.