www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Titles for the wives of priests and deacons

What are some of the titles (and thier meanings) for the wives of priests and deacons?

Probably OK to use "missus" (Mrs)

Paňi is the term used in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese and the Ruthenian and UGCC byzantine Catholic churches. I think also in the Ukrainian Orthodox in America (under the EP).
I think the full term would be Paňimatka or Paňimatushka.
In the OCA and other Russian Orthodox based churches the priests wife goes by Matushka.
It is pronounced MAtushka.
In the Greek Churches she is called Presbyter,
pronounced with a v not a b.

I am fairly certain you can call the deacon's wife Paňi, hence Paňi Rose. Also, in the OCA I believe the deacon's wife can be called Matushka.
If I am wrong feel free to correct me. Same goes for the Greeks?
And Paňi I have heard prounounced pawny or pawnyee. I can pronounce it, it is harder for me to try to explain, ň is pronounced like the ne in news and connect it with the i you get a sound that you don't really use in English.

Like the "n" sound in "onion."

And the Greek would be "presbytera," not "presbyter," right? I mean, that would connote something else entirely...

Pani Rose, if you're Melkite, how come you use the "Pani" title? What do the wives of most Melkite priests and deacons use?

Logos Teen

Dear Logos Teen,

You are right about the Greek form of address "Presvytera". I know in Antiochian circles and it probably carries in Melkite Circles the form of address to be "Kouhriya".

Forgive my spelling on the above. I believe that since Pani Rose is from a Ruthenian background, the use of Pani would be appropriate. Also the Greek form for a Deacon's wife is "Diaconissa".

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

"Pani" is actually a formal way to address any lady. Common forms for clergy wives are "Pani Matka" and "Pani Dobrodivka".
DD

We call our priests wife Khouria, with the end not like eeya, but aaya.

Andrew

Yes, the Melkites also use Khouria as do the Antiochians.
DD

Ok, I forget the A!! Stupid typo!Every Liturgy we pray for a Presbytera. And presbyeter is a priest.. I have my head in my stats book and I took a break and made a typo. Thank you for clearing that up!
I looked it up and from the orthodoxwiki site
Albanian= Priteresha
Finnish=Ruustinna
Old Icelandic=Prestkona
Romanian=Preoteasa
Serbian=Popadiju

At the American Carpatho Russian Cathedral in the bulletin from the Nativity they go out of their way to add the ň and not just an n. That's where I heard it pronounced differently than the pawn-knee.

I will definitely have to remember that when I meet an old Icelandic priests wife...

Yeah, what do you say to a young Icelandic priest's wife?

The wives of priests have generally had a title of courtesy such as pani, pani matka, matushka, etc. The wives of deacons are generally not accorded a unique title. In the pastoral handbook of Pittsburgh it states, "The deacon's wife has no proper title." I believe Van Nuys has the same rule in theirs.

Since most OCA parishes were originally Greek Catholic (right?) I would have thought priests wives would be called Pani and not Mastushka.