Сказания о русских святых для детей: Вступление

(This post is part of a series of translations of Aleksandr Khudoshin's Stories about Russian Saints for Children. Explanatory post here.)

ВСТУПЛЕНИЕ

Наша книжка называется «Сказания о русских святых». То есть сказание об отцах Церкви, которые родилась и стали святыми в России. Не сказки, а именно сказание, потому что сказки -- выдумка, а мы написали всё как было на самом деле. Но какие такие «отцы»? Чьи отцы? Вот, у каждого из нас есть свой отец, да, это понятно. Но отец Церкви -- это как бы для всех отец. Для всех, кто к нему приходит и обращается. Пришёл богач, с кольцами на руках, пышно разодетый, -- отец Церкви принимает его как родного сына. Пришёл бедняк, худой, плохо одетый, с бледным лицом, -- и его принимает батюшка, обнимает, прижимает к сердцу, плачет вместе с ним над его горем. И наставляет его на нужную дорогу, и помогает словом и делом, иногда и денег даёт. Ну как же не отец? Но среди церковных отцов есть и совсем особые отцы, их называют «старцами».

INTRODUCTION

Our little book is called "Stories about Russian Saints". They are stories about fathers of the Church, who were born and became saints in Russia. Not fairy-tales, but stories, because fairy-tales are fiction, and we wrote about everything as it actually was. But what are these "fathers"? Whose fathers? Now, each of us has our own father, yes, that's clear. But a father of the Church- he is like a father to all, to all who come to him and appeal to him. Should a rich man come, with rings on his hands, lavishly dressed- a father of the Church will receive him like his own son. Should a poor man come, thin, poorly dressed, with a pale face- the dear father will take him, hug him, press him to his chest, cry together with him over his afflictions. And will teach him the necessary way, and help with words and deeds, and sometimes will give money. Now, is that not a father? But among the Church fathers there are very special fathers, they are called "elders".

Translation Commentary and Questions:

I was unsure about what tense to use from "Пришёл богач..." onward. Ultimately I think the hypothetical conditional best reflected the spirit of the original, but if anyone has better suggestions, or thinks I've misread something, do let me know!

More minor uncertainties:

• обращаться as "to appeal" (something like "to turn to" strikes me as more etymologically accurate, but clunky)
• пышно разодетый as "lavishly dressed" (especially when плохо одетый is "poorly dressed"). It seems that разодетый doesn't have a precise English equivalent, implying something perhaps along the lines of "decked out"; ie, implying a level of extravagance above the fairly unmarked English "dressed" or "clothed"; again, if I'm wrong, please speak up!
• прижимает к сердцу translated literally is "pressed to the heart", which isn't something we really say in English. Is it common to replace "heart" with "chest" in contexts such as these, or does it imply something stronger or different?
• над его горем: over his afflictions? over his sorrows? in sorrow, in grief?
• нужную дорогу as "necessary way"- is this too literal? Would "right" or "proper" have been more in the spirit of the original?
• Ну как же не отец? as "Now, is that not a father?" Went largely on feeling, there. Does it work?
• есть и совсем особые отцы in general confused me. Anyone care to explain the и there (I have a vague memory that it may be related to a superlative construction, but I may be making that up)? Also совсем особые seems to demand something stronger than "very special", but I'm not sure what.

Prologue: Insomnia

When I was a small child, I slept so rarely that the school nurse thought my parents were physically abusing me, because she'd never seen circles so dark under an elementary schooler's eyes. I wasn't (just) afflicted with insomnia- as early as third grade I developed a philosophical opposition to sleep, telling myself that it made no sense to lose hours and hours of life every night to unconsciousness, when instead one could be watching television, reading, writing, or simply thinking.

I recall seeing the sun rise after watching an A&E biography of JFK one morning, my eight-year-old self shamefully wiping tears away and trying to process the emotional roller coaster that was learning about JFK's handsome smile, beautiful wife, glamorous legacy, power to inspire, ability to lead, and untimely and tragic death all at once, all in one hour and a half, alone with nothing but the glow of a television, and ultimately, in my third grade perspicacity, pitying everyone who'd slept instead. Pitying, not because they should've seen the documentary, but because I felt so much wiser, more... lived, at the tail end of those ninety minutes, and couldn't everyone do something like that with all their unused seconds?

Nearly a decade and a half later I again find myself confronted with chronic insomnia, and only now have I resolved, like my eight-year-old self, to try to make use of these wakeful hours. I've given up on sleep, for now, and will instead translate, chapter by chapter, Aleksandr Khudoshin's Stories about Russian Saints for Children.

I picked it up at Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Petersburg, and to my knowledge it's as yet untranslated into English. It's an adorable book, and in its own way, and with the proper sort of reader, profound. I'll be typing up the Russian along with my translations, so if you happen to be a Russophone and disagree with any of my translation choices, please let me know! I'm doing this largely to keep up my meager Russian skills in my year off from class. All entries related to the translation will be marked with the tag СРСД (Сказания о Русских Святых для детей).