by Adriano Xhafaj

Abstract

This study examines the linguistic competence and religious comprehension of Arvanite communities in Greece during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the relationship between language, religious practice, and cultural identity. The Arvanites, whose primary language was Arvanitika, a variety of Albanian, often possessed limited knowledge of Greek, the exclusive language of Orthodox liturgy and formal education. As a result, many Arvanites participated actively in religious life without fully understanding the linguistic content of church services. This linguistic gap reflects broader historical processes involving education, state formation, and ecclesiastical standardization. The absence of liturgical translation into Arvanitika and the limited availability of Greek-language education in rural communities contributed to a situation in which religious devotion coexisted with incomplete doctrinal comprehension. This study argues that the Arvanite case illustrates the central importance of language in shaping religious experience, institutional integration, and cultural transformation in modern Greece. It further demonstrates how linguistic assimilation functioned as a key mechanism in the formation of national identity and the gradual integration of minority linguistic communities into dominant cultural and institutional frameworks.

Introduction

The Arvanites constitute a historically significant Albanian-speaking population in Greece whose presence dates to the late medieval period.¹ Their traditional language, Arvanitika, remained the primary means of communication in many rural communities well into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.² During this period, Greek functioned as the dominant institutional language, particularly in education, administration, and religious life.

The linguistic gap between the vernacular language of the population and the institutional language of the Church created a situation in which religious participation did not necessarily correspond to linguistic comprehension.

Liturgical Language and Comprehension

Orthodox Christian liturgy in Greece was conducted exclusively in Greek, regardless of the linguistic background of local populations.³ For many Arvanites, especially in rural areas, Greek was not their primary language and was often poorly understood or not understood at all.

Historical testimonies and ethnographic accounts indicate that many Arvanites attended religious services regularly and demonstrated deep religious devotion, yet did not fully comprehend the linguistic content of liturgical texts.⁴ Religious participation was therefore based primarily on ritual familiarity, oral tradition, and communal identity rather than textual understanding.

In some cases, even clergy of Arvanite origin possessed limited formal education in Greek, reflecting broader educational inequalities within rural communities.⁵

Education and Linguistic Access

Greek-language education during the nineteenth century was unevenly distributed, with access concentrated primarily in urban centers and among social elites.⁶ Rural populations, including many Arvanite communities, had limited access to formal schooling.

As a result, Greek remained a second language for many Arvanites, learned primarily through institutional exposure rather than early childhood transmission. This educational disparity reinforced linguistic divisions between urban and rural populations.

The absence of systematic translation of liturgical texts into Arvanitika further limited religious comprehension among Arvanite-speaking populations.

Language, Religion, and Cultural Identity

Despite linguistic barriers, Arvanite communities maintained strong religious identities and active participation in Orthodox Christianity. Religious identity was transmitted through ritual practice, communal participation, and oral tradition rather than textual literacy alone.⁷

Language played a central role in shaping both religious and cultural identity. Over time, the expansion of Greek-language education and institutional integration contributed to gradual linguistic assimilation.

This process reflects broader patterns of nation-state formation in which language standardization functioned as a mechanism of cultural integration.

Conclusion

The experience of the Arvanites illustrates the complex relationship between language, religious practice, and identity in modern Greece. The use of Greek as the exclusive language of liturgy and education created linguistic barriers for Arvanitika-speaking populations, limiting their direct comprehension of institutional religious discourse.

Nevertheless, Arvanite communities maintained strong religious and cultural identities through participation in ritual and communal life. Over time, education and institutional integration facilitated linguistic assimilation, contributing to the formation of modern Greek national identity.

The Arvanite case demonstrates the central importance of language in shaping religious experience, cultural continuity, and processes of social and institutional integration.

Footnotes

1. Johann Georg von Hahn, Albanesische Studien (Jena: Mauke, 1854), 213–220.
2. Robert Elsie, Historical Dictionary of Albania (Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010), 39–41.
3. Dimitri Obolensky, The Byzantine Commonwealth (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971), 340–345.
4. Michael Herzfeld, Ours Once More: Folklore, Ideology, and the Making of Modern Greece (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982), 45–52.
5. Nicholas Pappas, Greeks in Russian Military Service in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1991), 112–115.
6. Paschalis Kitromilides, Enlightenment and Revolution: The Making of Modern Greece (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013), 189–194.
7. Peter Mackridge, Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766–1976 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 102–110.