While processing the text of the Der Lutheraner volumes for publication, an article by C. F. W. Walther caught my eye that I had to dig into to learn more about its subject matter. It addressed not only a mysterious German word, but also the provocative nature of the para-church LC–MS organization of Lutheran "priests" called Gottesdienst, the ones who call each other "Father".
The title in German was "
Wer sind die Pfaffen?". When trying to translate Walther's essay title, I consulted several dictionaries on the term "
Pfaffe" which yielded confusing results. My old (1993) Langenscheidt's German-English translated it as "
cleric,
Holy Joe". "
Holy Joe"? My
Dictionary of Modern Theological German by Helmut Ziefle (Baker, 1993) translated it "
priest,
cleric,
parson". So I went to the Internet and found the perfect solution to my dilemma. This came from
Wiktionary when I asked Google the question "What is the difference between
Pfaffe and
Priest in the German language?" and it returned the answer in a definition of the German word "
Priester":
“An earlier West Germanic word for “priest” is Pfaffe, which remained in use alongside Priester during the Middle Ages, but has had a pejorative tone since the Reformation.”
So, "Pfaffe" is a derogatory term for priests because of Luther's Reformation. But that means I still have a dilemma, especially since Walther also used the word "Priester". How do I translate the many times that Walther used the word "Pfaffe" and its derivative terms? Do I translate it as "priest"? That does not quite express the Reformation's meaning and it does not distinguish it from our English "priest". Do I translate it as "cleric"? That too does not necessarily convey the "pejorative tone" of the German. After considerable thought, I have decided to keep the German term "Pfaffe" or "pfaffe", also "Pfaffen" which means both the singular and plural.
So dear reader, familiarize yourself with the term "Pfaffe". I like to think that it sounds a little like "puffed":
Pfaffe → puffed up
Yes, that sounds about right. Or how about "Pfooi"! Hmmm, that sounds "pejorative" enough. I will think of "puffed" and "Pfooi" when I translate the old Germanic term "Pfaffen".
So now that I have made the decision on what term to use, I can present the best English translation of Walther's essay title:
Who are the Pfaffen?
In this essay, Walther uses the German terms "
Pfaffen", "
Priester", "
Pfarrer", and "
Pastor". All of these could be confused with each other by English speaking people. But we are interested mainly in what Walther wants to teach us on the usage of the German term "
Pfaffen", and its derivatives such as Pfafferei, Pfaffish, Pfaffenthum, etc.— Now that we have a little background on what Walther is going to talk about, we can allow him to take the next step and introduce the topic. From
Der Lutheraner, vol. 30 (1874), p. 49 (
underlining follows Walther's emphasis)
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Who are the Pfaffen?
[by C. F. W. Walther; Part 1]
Among the various evil titles with which the enemies of religion in our days use to honor or rather insult the preachers of the Gospel, a very common one, as is well known, is the title “Pfaffen,” hence those who use the service of such preachers are now usually scolded by them as “Pfaffen’s servants” [“Pfaffenknechte”]. So it is not unnecessary to examine who is actually rightly to be called a Pfaffe and a Pfaffen’s servant. Well, let us deal with the question: Who are the Pfaffen? [page 49-3]
The word “Pfaffe” originated from the Greek word papas, from which also the Latin word papa has its origin, and thus actually means a father. Originally, therefore, the word “Pfaffe” was not a dirty word at all, but rather a title of honor, [confirming the Wiktionary account] which was initially given to the priests [Priestern] in the Roman church to indicate that they were respected as spiritual fathers.
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Continued in Part Pf02 - - - - - - - - - - -
The reader is about to be treated to a very informative essay on not just the term "
Pfaffen", but also on Church History, Reformation History. We learn that this term was considered by one zealous papist (Emser) to be at the heart of Luther's Reformation. And there is perhaps no better historian than C. F. W. Walther to instruct us. — So now that we have the proper introduction, Walther begins his "deep dive" in the next
Part Pf02.
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Pf01: This introduction; "Pfaffen" translation; originally not a dirty word
Pf02: We are all born simply as priests & Pfaffe; Pope: “supreme Pfaffen”; Luther's strong statement
Pf03: “Pfaff” loses good meaning, gets bad reputation
Pf04: Pfaffen: all false teachers, man pleasers
Pf05: Pfaffery: Lotteries, booze, food parties, dance festivals [& church bazaars]
Pf06: Pfaffen: Rationalistic, don’t believe Bible is God’s Word
Pf07: Pfaffen: Seek comfortable life, money, property, honor
Pf08: Pfaffen: Special holiness, mysterious power, dignity
Pf09: Pfaffen: Servant behaves like the master of the house
Pf10: Good pastors aren’t “Pfaffen”, honor them!
Pf11: Don’t be “persecutors of faithful servants”