Apocryphal - what is it? This word refers to religious literature and has a foreign origin. Therefore, it is not surprising that its interpretation often causes difficulty. But the more interesting it will be to investigate the question of whether it is apocryphal, which we will do in this review.
Let's start with the noun.
To find out the meaning of the word "apocryphal", which is an adjective derived from the noun "apocryphal", we first consider this noun. It seems that it will be advisable to seek the help of a dictionary for its precise interpretation. There we find two options for meaning.
The first of them says that this is a religious term that means a work that has a biblical plot, but contains a deviation from official dogma. Therefore, it is rejected by the church and is not included in the religious canon. Example: “In the book“ Problems of the Poetics of Dostoevsky ”M. M. Bakhtin notes that Fedor Mikhailovich knew very well not only canonical religious sources, but also apocrypha.”
Second interpretation
In the dictionary, it is accompanied by the notation “colloquial” and “figurative meaning” and denotes such a work, composition, authenticity or alleged authorship of which is not currently confirmed or is unlikely. Example: “M. Dorfman and D. Verkhoturov in their book “On Israel ... and Something Else” report that a lot of rumors have been circulating about Joseph Stalin’s plans in this country, about helping her and reparations, there are many apocrypha, but nothing concrete was nowhere to be found. "
Next, we proceed to a direct examination of the question of what is “apocryphal”.
Adjective Values
The dictionary says that apocryphal is one that is apocryphal or based on it. And also it is unreliable, imaginary, unlikely. Example: “At a lecture on religious studies, the teacher explained to students that certain apocryphal writings may well contain reliable information.”
And also in the dictionaries, there is another version of the interpretation of the word “apocryphal” - colloquial. He implies that the composition, called apocryphal, is a fake, a fake. Example: “When the conversation turned to letters belonging to the Empress and Grand Duchesses, which were distributed with reference to Guchkov, both interlocutors suggested that they are apocryphal and distributed in order to undermine the prestige of the authorities.”
Understanding that this is apocryphal will help the study of words close and opposite in meaning, as well as origin. Consider them.
Synonyms and Antonyms
Among the synonyms (words close in meaning) there are such as:
- unreliable
- fake;
- fake
- doubtful;
- fictional;
- false;
- falsified.
Antonyms (words with the opposite meaning) include:
- true;
- truthful;
- real;
- reliable;
- authentic;
- present;
- original.
Etymology
As for the origin of the word, its roots are in the pre-Indo-European language, where there is a basis krau in the meaning of “hide, hide”. Further, in the ancient Greek language, by adding the prefix ἀπο (meaning “from, from”, formed from the right Indo-European apo - “from, away”) to κρύπτω the verb ἀποκρύπτω appeared - “I hide, hide, darken”.
From it came the adjective ἀπυκρυφος, meaning "secret, hidden, false." The result was the Greek noun ἀπόκρυφἀ and the Russian “apocryphal”, from which, as was said above, the adjective “apocryphal” arose.
In different faiths
Apocryphal religious writings (Christian and Jewish) are mainly devoted to events related to church history - both Old and New Testament. They are not included in the canons of the Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic churches and the Jewish synagogue. However, the understanding of the term "apocrypha" in different faiths has a different interpretation.
For Jews and Protestants, this term refers to books that, in Orthodoxy and Catholicism, are included in the text of the Old Testament, but are not included in the Jewish Bible. Such books are called noncanonical, or deuterocanonical.
Those books that are regarded as apocrypha in Catholicism and Orthodoxy are called pseudo-epigraphs by Protestants.
In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, apocrypha is a work that is not included in the Old or New Testament. They are prohibited from reading in the church. Those clergy who use them during services, the Christian church has the right to strip.
Nevertheless, the content of apocryphal writings often became a Holy Tradition in the Christian church. It, along with the Holy Scriptures, in historical churches and the Anglican church acts as one of the sources of dogma, as well as church law. The church extracts from it that helps to make up and illustrate events that are not mentioned in the Scriptures, but which are considered reliable according to Tradition.