Names of religions with capital or small letters. Names related to religion. Is "Christmas" written with a capital or small letter?

The spelling of names associated with religion is subject to general rules for the use of capital letters.

WITH CAPITAL letters are written:

    Word God, names of God in all religions, for example: Yahweh (Yahweh), Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu and the names of pagan gods, for example: Perun, Zeus, Molo"x, Sabaoth, Aurora, Ra, Bacchus, Dionysus and etc.

    Note 1.
    At the discretion of the writer select a lowercase or uppercase letter in a word B/god in stable terms God willing, God forbid, thank God and so on.

    Note 2 . You should not capitalize interjections like By God, God, my God, Lord, My God, My God, God forbid, God forbid etc.

    All names of God's persons of the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit ) and the word Mother of God, as well as all words used instead of the words God (for example: Lord, Savior, Creator, Almighty, Creator ) and Mother of God (for example: Queen of Heaven, Most Pure Virgin, Blessed Virgin, Mother of God ).

    All adjectives formed from the word God, for example: God's grace.

    All proper names of the persons of the founders of the religion: Buddha, Muhammad (Mohammed, Mohammed, Magomed), apostles, prophets, saints. For example: John the Baptist, John Chrysostom, John the Baptist, John the Theologian, Elijah the Prophet, Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. George the Victorious .

    Words apostle, saint, reverend, martyr written before proper names lowercase, For example: Venerable Sergius of Donezh, Martyr Irenaeus, Saint Basil the Great. But: Holy Mother of God !

    All common nouns used in their own meaning, for example: Sky (Humility is a protective sword, with it you will safely pass through earth, hell and reach Heaven.); Cross of the Lord; Last Judgment; Church . The same in combinations Orthodox Church, Holy Church, Russian Orthodox Church.

    But in combinations like Baptist Church, Anglican Church the word church is used in a common sense and is written lowercase.

    First word and proper names in titles religious holidays: Easter of Christ (Easter), Nativity of Christ (Christmas), Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Ascension of the Lord (Ascension), Trinity Day, Pentecost (Trinity), Epiphany of the Lord (Baptism), Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas), Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (Annunciation), Transfiguration of the Lord (Transfiguration), Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple, Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Beheading of John the Baptist; names of holidays in other religions, For example: Bayram, Ramadan (Ramadan), Nowruz - Muslim holidays, Hanukkah, Shabbat - Jewish holidays.

    Names of fasts and weeks: Great Lent, Peter's Fast, Dormition Fast, Nativity (Philippov) Fast, Easter (Light) Week, Cheese Week (Maslenitsa).

    All words in names of the highest bodies of church authority, For example: Local Council, Council of Bishops, Holy Synod. The names of world organizations are also written, for example: World Council of Churches .

    But in the names of church authorities of other religions, words denoting generic concepts are written lowercase, For example: International Islamic Conference .
    In titles local church authorities written with a capital letter only the first word, For example: Diocesan Assembly, Diocesan Council, Parish Council .

    All words, except function words and pronouns, in the names of senior officials, For example: His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Pope of Rome.
    Names other positions and titles are written lowercase, For example: Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsk, Archimandrite Eugene, Father Alexy, Abbot Peter.

    In the names of churches, monasteries, educational institutions, icons, words church, temple, monastery, academy, seminary, icon (image) are written lowercase, and their names and all proper names in names are capitalized, for example: Church of the Conception of Righteous Anna, Kazan Cathedral, Kiev Pechersk Lavra, icon of the Don Mother of God, image of the Sign of the Mother of God, San Stefano Cathedral.

    Titles of cult books, For example: Bible, Holy Scripture (Scripture), Old Testament, New Testament (Gospel), Book of Hours. Che"ti-Mine"i, Psalter, Koran, To"ra, Talmud.

Starting with a SMALL letter:

    Church service names and their parts, for example: vespers, matins, liturgy, procession, all-night vigil[shn].

Holidays are a great opportunity to please someone. Not so long ago, this required going on a visit, choosing gifts, remembering the wishes and preferences of a particular relative or friend.

Today everything has become much simpler - it is enough to give a sign of attention to a loved one on the global network. And you can fully assume that you haven’t forgotten about anyone. But most importantly, society does not consider this type of congratulations something shameful.

Therefore, in order to avoid getting into an unpleasant situation, especially if you are communicating with a language expert, the main thing is to correctly compose sentences and write words and phrases correctly. On the eve of Christmas, let's look at how this word is spelled from the point of view of the rules for its spelling. Indeed, in this case, by making a mistake you will not only show your ignorance, but you will be able to offend the feelings of truly believing people.

Is "Christmas" written with a capital or small letter?

Let's start with the simplest thing - writing the word "Christmas". As a general rule, the names of state religious holidays are written with a capital letter. If such a name consists of several words, then the first word, as well as the proper names included in such a verbal construction, should be written with a capital letter.

In our case, we are dealing with a construction where the first word “Christmas” indicates the name of the holiday, while the second “Christ” reveals the very essence of this holiday. Therefore, in the simple phrase “Nativity of Christ,” both words must be written with a capital letter.


Like Christmas in English - Christmas

This rule will operate simultaneously with other rules of the Russian language during the declension of a phrase, as well as by adding other words to it: “Merry Christmas!”, “We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!”

How to spell "Merry Christmas"

Now let's look at the spelling of the most common phrase, "Merry Christmas!" In this case, you should be guided by the basic rules of the Russian language. We figured out how to spell “Christmas.” Any additional words accompanying this word will be subject to general spelling rules.

Therefore, if you want to leave a simple message in a comment, or sign a card with two words “Merry Christmas!”, then both words will need to be capitalized. It should read “Merry Christmas!” At the same time, if there are additional prefixes before this double phrase, then the introduction and only one word will be written with a capital letter: “I wish you a Merry Christmas!”


Merry Christmas in English - Merry Christmas

Sometimes close people, in order to emphasize the importance of individual words and events, format their congratulations in this way: “I wish you a Merry Christmas!” And although this is not entirely correct from the point of view of generally accepted grammatical rules, believe me, no one will be offended. Moreover, they will understand you and will be sincerely grateful for such a gesture of respect.

How to spell Catholic Christmas

The next popular phrase used in numerous greetings is “Catholic Christmas.” Let us immediately indicate that, regardless of what religion citizens consider themselves to be, Catholic or Orthodox, they celebrate the same holiday - the Nativity of Christ. Albeit on different dates. Here the prefix “Catholic” is no different from the prefix “Orthodox”. Except in the countries where it is celebrated.

The spelling of this phrase will depend on the construction of the sentence. If it consists of just two words "Catholic Christmas", then both will be capitalized. At the same time, if such two words are part of a more extended sentence: “Congratulations on a Catholic Christmas,” then this is an ordinary word that must be capitalized.


The same principle is used for the phrase “in the run-up to Christmas.”

Catholic Christmas in English – catholic church

"The Night Before Christmas" as it is written

For believers, the night before Christmas is a very important event. Considering that this holiday has significance for everyone, people do their best to remind each other of some important moments of the religious celebration. This is why the phrase “the night before Christmas” comes up quite often.

Taking into account the general spelling rules, of the three words presented, only “Christmas” should be written with a capital letter. If no other words are added to this verbal construction in front, then the word “night” will also have to be written with a capital letter. In other cases, you need to follow the rules already described above.


And even if you want to highlight the importance of an event for a particular person by breaking the rules a little, don’t go too far beyond: “May your dreams come true on the Night before Christmas!” Although this is not entirely correct, the person to whom these words are addressed will be truly flattered.

Introductory Notes

A capital (capital) letter is used in two different functions.

Firstly, it serves to highlight the beginning of certain sections of text. For this purpose, the first word of the text is written with a capital letter, as well as the first word after the period, ellipsis, question mark and exclamation mark that ends the sentence. In traditional Russian verse, the beginning of each poetic line is highlighted with a capital letter.

Secondly, a capital letter serves to highlight individual words, regardless of the structure of the text. The following discusses the rules governing the use of a capital letter in its second function.

The following words are distinguished by capital letters: 1) proper names in the narrow sense of the word and 2) names.

Proper names in the narrow sense include names and nicknames of people and animals, geographical and astronomical names. Names include the names of institutions, organizations, associations, historical eras and events, holidays, public events, orders, architectural monuments, as well as the names of newspapers, magazines, awards, works of art, societies, enterprises, industrial products, etc., highlighted in quotation marks.

§157

Highlighting words in a text with a capital letter is used to contrast proper and common nouns: common nouns are written with a lowercase letter, proper names with a capital letter. Wed, for example: lion – Leo, Neva banks – Alexander Nevsky, little red riding hood – Little Red Riding Hood(fairy tale character), health – “Health” magazine.

All words in proper names (in the narrow sense), except for function words and words denoting a generic concept, are written with a capital letter, for example: Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko, Kashtanka, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Kaluga region, East European Plain, Palace Square, Polar Star.

In proper names - names consisting of several words, only the first word is written with a capital letter (except for cases when the name includes other proper names), for example: World Federation of Trade Unions, Museum of the History of Moscow, Institute of Russian Language named after A. S. Pushkin, Peter's era, Battle of Kulikovo, "Moscow News"(newspaper), "War and Peace"(novel), "Veteran of labour"(medal).

§158

Proper names can be used to generally designate homogeneous objects, becoming common nouns; in this case, the capital letter is in many cases replaced by a lowercase letter.

They are common nouns and the names of units of measurement are written with a lowercase letter, given by the names of scientists ( ampere, volt, pascal, roentgen etc.), as well as names of objects, products (types of clothing, weapons, fabrics, drinks, etc.), data on personal names, company names, geographical names, for example: Macintosh, Colt, Winchester, Boston, Bordeaux, Khokhloma, Adidas; But: Faberge(as the name of the products of this company).

The proper names of historical figures, literary or mythological characters, used generally (figuratively) as names of people with certain character traits and behavior, are written non-uniformly - some with a lowercase letter, others with a capital letter. Their spelling, determined by the tradition of use, is established in dictionary order. Yes, words Don Quixote, Don Juan, Robinson, Derzhimorda, Judas, philanthropist, Hercules, when used in a common sense, are written with a lowercase letter, and Hamlet, Oblomov, Manilov, Plyushkin, Khlestakov, Mitrofanushka, Apollo, Cicero, Napoleon and many others retain capital letters. The same applies to the generalized (figurative) use of geographical names: for example, they are written with a lowercase letter Olympus‘the chosen circle, the top of some. society’, Sodom‘total disorder, chaos’, walker‘mass stampede of people in a crowd’, Kamchatka‘back rows in the hall, in the classroom’, but retain the capital letter in figurative meanings Mecca, Vendée, Klondike, Cheryomushki, Hiroshima, Chernobyl and etc.

The use of such names in the common sense in the plural form does not require replacing the capital letter with a lowercase one, for example: Ivans, who do not remember their kinship; Galloping across Europe; We all look at Napoleons(P.); Soviet Sharikovs; Nuclear explosion with the power of tens of Hiroshimas.

Proper names of people, animals, mythological creatures and words derived from them

§159

Personal names, patronymics, surnames, pseudonyms, nicknames are written in capital letters, for example: Olga, Alyosha, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Adam Mitskevich, Gaius Julius Caesar, Isaac Newton, Rimsky-Korsakov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Sholom Aleichem, Hans Christian Andersen, Jean Jacques Rousseau; Alexander the Great, William the Conqueror, Vsevolod the Big Nest, Richard the Lionheart, Catherine the Great, Helen the Beautiful, Yaroslav the Wise, Yuri Dolgoruky, Ivan the Terrible, Charles the Bold, Cato the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Peter the Great, Potemkin-Tauride, Seraphim of Sarov; Kim Il Sung, Sun Yat-sen, Ho Chi Minh, Akira Kurosawa. The same applies to denoting a number of persons with your own name, for example: three Natashas, ​​several Kuznetsovs, the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers, the Morozov merchants, the Tolstoy spouses. The names of dynasties are also written with a capital letter, for example: Habsburgs, Bourbons, Ptolemies, Plantagenets, Ramesses, Romanovs, Rurikovichs, Timurids, Great Mughals.

§160

Function words (articles, prepositions, etc.) van, yes, das, de, della, del, der, di, dos, du, la, le, background etc., which are part of Western European and South American surnames, are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Honoré de Balzac, Lope de Vega, Alfred de Musset, Juana Ines de la Cruz, Lucca della Robbia, Andrea del Sarto, Roger Martin du Tart, Jenny von Westphalen, Max von der Goyun, Jeanne d 'Ark; Ortega y Gasset, Riego y Nunez.

Note 1. In some personal names, function words are traditionally capitalized (usually if capitalized in the source language), e.g.: Van Gogh, D'Alembert, Charles De Coster, Eduardo De Filippo, Di Vittorio, Etienne La Boesie, Henri Louis Le Chatelier, Le Corbusier, El Greco, Dos Passos.

Note 2. Initial parts of surnames Mac-, O', San-, Saint-, Saint- written with a capital letter, for example: McGregor, O'Neill, Frank O'Connor, José San Martin, Saint-Just, Saint-Saens, Saint-Simon, Sainte-Beuve, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Note 3. Words don, donya, donna, dona, preceding Italian, Spanish, Portuguese given names and surnames are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Don Basilio, Don Cesar de Bazan, Dona Dolores; however, in the names of literary heroes Don Quixote And Don Juan word Don written with capitals (cf. Don Quixote, Don Juan in the common sense).

§161

Components of Arabic, Turkic, Persian names, denoting social status, family relationships, etc., as well as function words ( aha, hell, al, al, as, ar, ash, bey, bek, zade, zul, ibn, kyzy, ogly, ol, pasha, ul, khan, shah, ed, el etc.) are usually written with a lowercase letter, for example: Kerim Agha, Salah al-Din, Zain al-Abidin, al-Biruni, al-Jahm, Harun al-Rashid, Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, Omar al-Sharif, Ibrahim Bey, Hasan Bey, Tursun-zade, Salah zul-Fikar, Ahmed ibn Abdullah, Sabit ibn Kurra, Kor-ogly, Mamed-ogly, Abil Pasha, Seif ul-Islam, Mirza Khan, Melik Shah, el-Kuni, es-Zayat. The final part is also written −san in Japanese proper names, e.g.: Komiyama-san, Chio-Cio-san.

§162

Proper names related to religion and mythology are written with a capital letter, for example: Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Brahma, Buddha, Pallas Athena, Venus, Mars, Beelzebub.

§163

Common nouns - names of objects, products, types of clothing, weapons, fabrics, plants, as well as units of measurement, given by first and last names of persons, are written with a lowercase letter, for example: riding breeches, mackintosh, French(types of clothing); browning, colt, mauser, revolver, katyusha(types of weapons); napoleon(cake); Hercules(cereal); Vanka-Vstanka(toy); Ivan da Marya, daisy(plants); ampere, volt, coulomb, ohm, newton, pascal, angstrom, x-ray(physical units).

The lowercase writing of proper names, used not as individual names, but as generalized designations of persons possessing certain qualities, is determined by tradition and established in dictionary order (see § 158).

§164

Animal names are written in capital letters, for example: cat Vaska, cat Murka, dogs Kashtanka, Pushok, cows Mashka, Krasotka, Pestrushka, horses Sivka, Bay, elephant Sambo.

§165

Common nouns are written with a capital letter, acting as names of characters in fairy tales, plays, fables and some other works of fiction, folklore, for example: Little Red Riding Hood, Serpent Gorynych, Gray Wolf, Bluebeard, Santa Claus, Cockerel with Spurs(heroes of fairy tales); Cat, Dog, Sugar, Bread(characters of “The Blue Bird” by M. Maeterlinck); Spring, Leshy(characters of “The Snow Maiden” by A. Ostrovsky), Mayor, Darling, Lefty, Someone in Gray(literary characters); the naughty Monkey, the Donkey, the Goat and the club-footed Bear started to play a quartet(Wing.).

§166

Adjectives formed from personal names, surnames, nicknames using suffixes −ov (−ev) or −in and denoting individual affiliation are written with a capital letter, for example: Raphael's Madonna, Shakespeare's tragedies, Hegel's "Logic", Dalev's dictionary, Ivan's childhood, Tanya's book, Murka's kittens. However, as part of phraseological units and in compound terms, adjectives with −ov (−ev), −in written with a lowercase letter, for example: Ariadne's thread, Achilles' heel, Cain's seal, Procrustean bed, Sisyphus's work, Gordian's knot, Demian's ear, Trishkin's caftan, Filkin's letter; Ariel's weightlessness, Archimedes' lever, Voltaic arc, Bickford's cord, Graves' disease, Witt's dance, X-rays, Lady's slipper(plant).

The second part of compound adjectives like uncles-Vasin, uncles-Styopin, aunts-Valin, women-Dusin and both parts of adjectives like Ivan-Ivanychev, Anna-Petrovnin.

A capital letter is also written in adverbs with a prefix By- formed from adjectives on −in type Tanin, Petin, eg: according to Tanya, according to Natasha, according to Petya, according to Aunt Valin, according to Anna-Petrovnin.

§167

Adjectives formed from personal names and surnames using suffixes −sk-, −ovsk- (−evsk-), −insk-, are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Dalev's dictionary, Darwin's teaching, Beethoven's sonata, Shakespeare's tragedies, Prishvin's prose, Pushkin's harmony, Suvorov's traditions.

However, adjectives are written with a capital letter. −sky, included in the names - proper names, including those having the meaning of “the name of so-and-so”, “the memory of so-and-so”, for example: Habsburg dynasty, Peter's reforms, Stroganov School, Nobel Prize, Lomonosov readings, Bulgakov conference, Vakhtangov Theater, Royal Shakespeare Theater(in England).

§168

Nouns formed from personal names and surnames are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Oblomovism, Yezhovism, Petrashevite, Nietzschean, Nietzscheanism, Tolstoyism, Darwinism, Darwinist, Pushkinian, Leninian.

Geographical and administrative-territorial names and words derived from them

§169

In geographical and administrative-territorial names - the names of continents, seas, lakes, rivers, hills, mountains, countries, territories, regions, settlements, streets, etc. - all words are written with a capital letter, except for generic concepts (island, sea, mountain, region, province, street, square, etc.), function words, as well as words of year, years, for example:

Alps, America, Europe, Bulgaria, New Zealand, North America, Central Asia; South Pole, Northern Hemisphere;

Volga, Vesuvius, Great Bahama Bank, Kivach Falls, Tamashlyk Valley, Hungry Steppe, Blagopoluchiya Bay, Great Lakes Basin, Northern Engilchek Glacier, Dnieper Estuary, Cape of Good Hope, Abyssinian Highlands, Lake Onega, Arctic Ocean, White Sea, Ustyurt Plateau;

Central Siberian Plateau, Taimyr Peninsula, Great Sandy Desert, Blue Nile, Moscow River, Great Barrier Reef, Western Wind Current, Tropic of Cancer, Academy of Sciences Ridge, Main Caucasus Ridge;

Krasnodar Territory, Oryol Region, Shchelkovo District, Sussex County, Hautes Pyrenees Department, South Carolina, District of Columbia, Tuscany Region, Hokkaido Prefecture, Sichuan Province, Szczecin Voivodeship, Nizhny Novgorod, Kyiv, Paris, Novosibirsk;

Tverskaya Street, Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, 26 Bakinskikh Komissarov Street, Lavrushinsky Lane, Arbat Square, Frunzenskaya Embankment, Mira Avenue, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Garden Ring, 1905 Goda Street, 50 Let Oktyabrya Square, Andreevsky Spusk, Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge.

In titles starting with North(And North), South(And South), East, West, Central, Both components of the first compound word are written with a capital letter (with a hyphen), for example: North Baikal Plateau, East China Sea, West Siberian Lowland, Central Black Earth Region, Southwestern Territorial District. Components of other hyphenated words and their combinations are also written as part of geographical names, for example: Indo-Gangetic Plain, Volga-Don Canal, Georgian Military Road, Alma-Ata Nature Reserve, St. Gotthard Pass(And tunnel), Baden-Württemberg, Cape Heart-Kamen, Novgorod-Seversky, Sol-Iletsk, Ust-Ilimsk, Sadovaya-Sukharevskaya street.

Note 1. Common nouns in compound geographical names are written with a capital letter if they are not used in their usual meaning, for example: Novaya Zemlya, Tierra del Fuego(archipelagos), Golden Horn(bay), Czech Forest(mountains), White Church, Mineralnye Vody, Sosnovy Bor, Vyatskie Polyany, Tsarskoe Selo(cities), Pushkinskie Gers, Kama Ustye(villages), Hungry Lip(lake), Big Pool(plateau), Golden Gate(strait), Kuznetsky Most, Okhotny Ryad, Zemlyanoy Val(streets), Nikitsky Gate, Rogozhskaya Zastava(areas), Marina Grove(district in Moscow), Champs Elysees(street in Paris).

Note 2. Function words (articles, prepositions, particles) found at the beginning of geographical names are written with a capital letter, for example: Under the Elm, On the Rocks(streets), Los Angeles, English Channel, Las Vegas, Le Creusot, De Longa. The initial parts are also written San, Saint, Saint, Saint, Santa, eg: San Diego, Saint Denis, Saint Louis, Santa Barbara, St. Moritz(cities). However, function words found in the middle of geographical names are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Rostov-on-Don, Frankfurt am Main, Aix-en-Provence, Stratford-on-Avon, Rio de Janeiro, Choisy-le-Roi, Abruzzo-et-Molise, Dar es Salaam, Boulogne sur-Mer.

Note 3. Some foreign language generic names included in a geographical name, but not used in Russian as common nouns, are written with a capital letter, for example: Yoshkar-Ola(ola – city), Rio Colorado(rio - river), Arakan Yoma(yoma – ridge), Issyk-Kul(kul - lake). However, foreign language generic names, which can be used in Russian as common nouns, are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Sognefjord, Wall Street, Michigan Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Berkeley Square, Hyde Park.

Note 4. The names of titles, ranks, professions, positions, etc. as part of geographical names are written with a capital letter, for example: Queen Charlotte Land(islands), Prince of Wales Island, Cape Captain Gerald, Zodchego Rossi Street, Marshal Zhukov Avenue. Names containing the word saint are written in the same way: Saint Helena Island, Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Note 5. Words denoting sections of river flow are written with a lowercase letter if they are not part of the names, for example: upper Pripyat, lower Berezina, But: Upper Tura, Lower Tunguska(names of rivers).

§170

In the official names of states and state associations, all words, except official ones, are written with a capital letter, for example: Russian Federation, United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, French Republic, Swiss Confederation, Commonwealth of Australia, United Arab Emirates, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Republic of Tatarstan, Commonwealth of Independent States.

§171

The names of parts of states and continents that are terminological in nature are written with a capital letter, for example: European Russia, Western Belarus, Right Bank Ukraine, Eastern Transbaikalia, Inner Mongolia, Northern Italy, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Central America. In the names of groups of states, the generic name is written with a lowercase letter, for example: Baltic countries, Scandinavian countries, Caspian countries, Central Asian republics.

§172

The names of countries of the world, used as territorial names or included in such names, are written with a capital letter, for example: Western countries, explore the North, peoples of the East, Far East, Middle East, Far North, War of the North and South(in US history), Northwest(Northwestern region of Russia), Southwest(Moscow region). As the names of the countries of the world, directions in space, these words are written with a lowercase letter: east, west, north, south, northwest, southeast.

§173

Single-word derivatives (suffixal and prefix-suffixal), mostly informal, names of territories, regions, localities are written with a capital letter, for example: Moscow region, Transcaucasia, Polesie, Transnistria, Orenburg region, Stavropol region, Bryansk region, Oryol region, Vologda region, Baltics, Scandinavia.

§174

In unofficial stable, including figurative, names of states and cities, the first (or only) word is written with a capital letter, as well as (if any) proper names, for example: Moscow state (ist.), Russian state; Land of the Rising Sun(about Japan), Land of morning freshness(about Korea), Celestial Empire or Celestial Empire(about imperial China), Maple Leaf Country(about Canada), Country of tulips(about Holland), The eternal City(about Rome) White stone, Pervoprestolnaya(about Moscow), Northern Palmyra(about St. Petersburg).

§175

In the names of railway stations, terminals, airports, etc., all words except generic designations are written in capital letters, for example: Moscow-Pasazhirskaya station, Kazansky railway station, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports.

The names of metro stations and surface urban transport stops are enclosed in quotation marks (in texts, but not on maps and diagrams); The first (or only) word of such names is written with a capital letter, as well as all those words that are written with a capital letter as part of the corresponding toponyms, for example: metro stations “Alexandrovsky Sad”, “Oktyabrskoe Pole”, “Prospekt Mira”; stops “Nikitskiye Vorota”, “Lesnaya Street”, “School”, “Children’s Clinic”.

§176

Common nouns are written with a lowercase letter - names of fabrics and other products, drinks, animal breeds, etc., derived from geographical names, for example: cashmere, boston(fabrics), Khokhloma(about Khokhloma handicraft products), Bordeaux, Tsinandali(guilt), Narzan, Borjomi(mineral water), Newfoundland(dog breed), Yorkshires(breed of pigs).

In other cases, the lowercase spelling of geographical names used in a common noun (figurative) sense is determined by tradition and established in dictionary order (see § 158).

§177

Adjectives derived from geographical names are written with a capital letter if they are part of compound names - geographical and administrative-territorial (see § 169), individual names of people (§ 157), names of historical eras and events (§ 179), institutions (§ 189), architectural and other monuments (§ 186, 194), military districts and fronts. In other cases, they are written with a lowercase letter. Wed, for example: Nevsky banks, Nevsky embankments And Alexander Nevsky, Nevsky Prospekt, Nevskaya Battle; Don Cossacks And Dmitry Donskoy, Donskoy Monastery; Moscow streets, neighborhoods, Moscow lifestyle And Moscow region, Moskovsky station(In Petersburg), Moscow State Conservatory; Kazan sights And Kazan Kremlin, Kazan University, Kazan Cathedral(in St. Petersburg, Moscow); North Caucasian nature And North Caucasus region, North Caucasus military district; 1st Belorussian Front, Potsdam Conference, St. Petersburg Mint, Great Wall of China, Grand Kremlin Palace.

The names of residents derived from geographical names are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Petersburgers, New Yorkers, Stavropol residents, Volzhan residents.

Astronomical names

§178

In the names of celestial bodies, constellations and galaxies, all words are written with a capital letter, except for generic names ( star, comet, constellation, planet, asteroid etc.) and letter designations of luminaries ( alpha, beta, gamma etc.), for example: Venus, Saturn, Alpha Ursa Minor, the star of Archduke Charles, Capella Auriga, the Milky Way, the constellation Canis Major, the Andromeda nebula, the Southern Cross, the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy; Virgo, Aquarius, Sagittarius(constellations and zodiac signs); Sun, Earth, Moon. The names of places on cosmic bodies are also written, for example: Swamp of Rot, Rainbow Bay, Sea of ​​Rain, Ocean of Storms(on the moon) where are the words swamp, bay etc. are not used in their usual meaning.

Names of historical eras and events, calendar periods and holidays, public events

§179

In the names of historical eras and events, calendar periods and holidays, the first word (which may be the only one) is written with a capital letter, for example: Middle Ages, Crusades, Peter's era, Renaissance(Also Early Renaissance, High Renaissance), Renaissance, Proto-Renaissance, Reformation, Quattrocento, Time of Troubles(in Russia in the 17th century), St. Bartholomew's Night, Battle of Borodino, Battle of Kulikovo, Seven Years' War, First World War, Second World War, Civil War(in Russia 1918–1921); July Monarchy, Second Empire, Third Republic (in French history), Paris Commune, War of Independence(in North America), December armed uprising of 1905, February revolution of 1917 (February), October Revolution (October), Jacquerie, Copper Riot, New Year, May Day, International Women's Day, Independence Day, Teacher's Day, Days of Slavic Literature and Culture.

The names of political, cultural, sports and other events of national or international significance are also written, for example: World Economic Furum, Peace March, World Festival of Youth and Students, Olympic Games, Football World Cup, Davis Cup, Goodwill Games, White Olympics. The names of other regularly held events are written with a lowercase letter, for example: alumni reunion day, donor day, open door day, subbotnik, sunday.

Note 1. In some names of holidays and historical events, not only the first word is written with a capital letter, for example: Victory Day, Great Patriotic War.

Note 2. In the names of holidays with an initial number, the name of the month is written in capital letters, for example: May 1, March 8.

Note 3. In the names of congresses, congresses, conferences, sessions, festivals, competitions, designated by serial number, the words International, Worldwide, All-Russian etc. are written with a capital letter, regardless of whether the serial number at the beginning of the name is indicated by a number or a word, for example: I (First) International competition named after. P. I. Tchaikovsky, III (Third) All-Russian Congress of Soviets, VI (Sixth) World Festival of Youth and Students.

Note 4. In the names of historical events with the first word - a hyphenated adjective from the geographical name (names), both parts of the adjective are written with a capital letter, for example: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk(cf. Brest-Litovsk), San Francisco Conference(cf. San Francisco), Vistula-Oder operation(military; cf. Vistula and Oder).

Note 5. Some generic names are written with a lowercase letter, even if they are the first word of a compound name, for example: Renaissance, Resistance movement, Decembrist uprising, 1905 revolution, Battle of Kalka(But: Battle of Nations, 1813). The word is spelled the same way year in type names Year of the Snake, Year of the Dragon.

Note 6. The names of geological periods and eras, archaeological eras and cultures are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Mesozoic era(And Mesozoic), Cretaceous, Jurassic, Ice Age, Paleolithic(And paleolithic), Stone Age, Trypillian culture.

Names associated with religion

The writing of names associated with religion is subject to general rules, but the traditional ways of representing individual groups of names that have developed in church-religious and religious-philosophical texts are taken into account.

§180

It is recommended to write the word with a capital letter God as the name of a single supreme being (in monotheistic religions). The names of God are written with a capital letter in different religions, for example: Jehovah, Hosts, Yahweh, Jesus Christ, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu; names of pagan gods, for example: Perun, Zeus, Moloch, Osiris, Ra, Astarte, Aurora, Bacchus, Dionysus. The proper names of the founders of religions are also written, for example: Buddha, Muhammad (Mohammed, Mohammed), Zarathushtra (Zarathustra); apostles, prophets, saints, e.g.: John the Baptist, John the Baptist, John the Theologian, Nicholas the Wonderworker(But: Nikolai the saint), St. George the Victorious.

§181

It is recommended to write with a capital letter: word Trinity(triune God among Christians; also The Holy Trinity), names of God's persons of the Holy Trinity ( God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) and the word Mother of God; all words used instead of words God(eg: Lord, Creator, Almighty, Almighty, Creator, Savior, God-Man) And Mother of God(eg: Queen of Heaven, Blessed Virgin, Mother of God); adjectives formed from words God, Lord, eg: grace of God, Lord (God's) will, temple of God, Divine Trinity, Divine Liturgy(but in a figurative meaning – a lowercase letter, e.g.: divine‘delicious’; the same in such stable combinations as lady dandelion, ladybug).

Words apostle, prophet, saint, reverend, martyr, blessed etc. before proper names are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Apostle Paul, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Martyr Irenaeus, St. Basil the Great, Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg, But: Holy Mother of God, Holy Trinity.

Note 1. In the position after proper names, the same words can be spelled differently, and this is determined in the dictionary order. Wed, for example: Elijah the prophet, But St. Basil the Blessed.

Note 2. In church-religious (prayers, sermons, etc.) and religious-philosophical texts, pronouns replacing words are written with a capital letter God, God's, eg: Hallowed be Thy name; may His holy will be done.

Note 3. In stable combinations used in colloquial speech without direct connection with religion, it is recommended to write God(and lord) with a lowercase letter. These include: ( Not) god knows or ( Not) God knows (who, what, which) – ‘about someone, something. not very important, insignificant’, God (lord) knows him -‘unknown, don’t know’, God bless him (her, you, you) – ‘let it be so, okay, I agree (even though I don’t like it)’, God be with you (you) – expression of disagreement, god knows what - expression of indignation; God forbid, for God's sake, kill (me) God, how God puts it on your soul and etc.

Interjections should not be capitalized By God, God, my God, Lord, My God, My God, God forbid, God forbid in contrast to those cases when the forms God, Lord express an appeal to God. In some cases, the choice of spelling depends on the context. Yes, it could be written God bless(if the context indicates that the speaker really thanks the Lord God) and God bless(if the context makes it clear that a common colloquial expression is used: That time, thank God, he came on time!). But in combination no thank god‘unfavorable’ capitalization is not possible ( He's not doing well, thank God).

§182

It is recommended to write in capital letters words that denote the most important concepts for the Christian tradition and are used in the meaning of proper names, for example: Word (In the beginning was the Word), Sky And Heaven, Cross of the Lord, Last Judgment, Holy Gifts, Holy Mysteries (partake of the Holy Mysteries- about communion), Holy Spirit(But: holy spirit– ‘it is unknown how’).

§183

The first word and proper names in the names of religious holidays, for example, in Christianity, are written with a capital letter: Easter, Christmas, Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Ascension, Trinity (Pentecost), Baptism (Epiphany), Meeting, Annunciation, Transfiguration, Dormition, Exaltation, Protection, Beheading of John the Baptist, Elijah's Day, Forgiveness Sunday, Ecumenical Parental Saturday(And Parents Saturday); in other religions: Eid al-Fitr, Ramadan (Ramadan), Nowruz, Hanukkah, Shabbat and etc.

The names of fasts and weeks (weeks), as well as individual days belonging to these periods, are written in capital letters, for example: Great Lent, Peter's Lent, Easter (Light) week, Holy Week, St. Thomas Week, Maundy Thursday, Maundy Monday, Good Friday, Sunday of All Saints, Week of the Last Judgment, and popular names of some days and periods associated with the church calendar, for example: Maslenitsa (Shrovetide Week, Cheese Week), Christmas time, Semik, Yablochny Spas.

§184

In the names of denominations, the first word is written with a capital letter, for example: Russian Orthodox Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Armenian Apostolic Church. Roman Catholic Church.

§185

The first word in the names of the highest bodies of church authority is written with a capital letter, for example: World Council of Churches, Ecumenical Council, Local Council, Holy Synod(in the truncated one-word title - Cathedral, Synod– capital letter, see also § 190).

Capital letters are used in the full official names of senior church officials, for example: Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of All Armenians, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, and Pope. However, in unofficial texts the names of these persons (usually incomplete) are written with a lowercase letter, for example: blessing of Patriarch Alexy, reception with the patriarch, residence of the pope(or pope). The names of other church titles and positions are also written with a lowercase letter, for example: Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsk, archbishop, cardinal, archimandrite, bishop, bishop, abbot, deacon, protodeacon.

§186

In the names of monasteries, churches, icons, all words are written with a capital letter, except for generic names ( church, temple, cathedral, lavra, monastery, seminary, icon, image) and function words, for example: Kazan Cathedral, Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Peter's Cathedral, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Church of the Conception of Righteous Anna, Church of All Saints, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Church of St. Demetrius of Rostov, Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki, icon of the Don Mother of God, image of the Mother of God of the Sign.

§187

The names of religious books are written with a capital letter, for example: Bible, Holy Scripture (Scripture), Gospel, Pentateuch, Old Testament, New Testament, Psalter, Koran, Torah, Talmud, Vedas; the same in the names of written monuments, for example: Ostromir Gospel, Ostrog Bible.

§188

The names of church services and their parts are written with a lowercase letter, for example: liturgy, vespers, matins, mass, procession, all-night vigil, compline.

Names of authorities, institutions, organizations, societies, parties

§189

In the official compound names of government bodies, institutions, organizations, scientific, educational and entertainment institutions, societies, political parties and associations, the first word and the proper names included in the name, as well as the first word of the names of other institutions and organizations included in them, are written with a capital letter , eg: World Peace Council, International Monetary Fund, European Parliament, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, State Duma, Moscow City Duma, Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region, State Council, General Staff, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism; State Committee of the Russian Federation on Statistics, Moscow Government, Association of Russian Banks, Information Telegraph Agency of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Eurovision; State Tretyakov Gallery, State Academic Bolshoi Theater, Moscow Art Academic Theater, State Russian Museum(and their unofficial names: Tretyakov Gallery, Bolshoi Theater, Art Theater, Russian Museum); Museum of Oriental Arts, State Public Historical Library, Central House of Artists, Theater School named after. M. S. Shchepkina, Foundation for Socio-Political Research, Information and Analytical Center of the Federation of Stock Exchanges of Russia, Center for Japanese and Pacific Studies of IMEMO RAS, Institute of Russian Language. V.V. Vinogradov RAS, Financial and Economic Institute named after. N. A. Voznesensky, Polish Sejm, US Supreme Court, Moscow Patriarchate, Middle Volga Plant, Central Department Store(in Moscow), International Olympic Committee, US Democratic Party, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Union of Journalists of Russia, Wedding Palace, Metropolitan Museum of Art, President Hotel.

Note 1. In the names of institutions and organizations beginning with geographical definitions with the first components North, South, East, West, Central, as well as hyphenated adjectives from geographical names, both components of the first compound word are written with a capital letter, as in the actual geographical compound names (see § 169), for example: North Caucasus Scientific Geographical Station, West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, St. Petersburg State University, Orekhovo-Zuevsky Pedagogical Institute, New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Note 2. By tradition, all words in names are written with a capital letter: Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, United Nations, League of Nations, UN Security Council.

Note 3. All words, except generic ones, are written with a capital letter in the names of foreign news agencies, for example: Agence France-Presse, Agence Press International.

Note 4. In the plural form, the names of authorities, institutions, etc. are written with a lowercase letter, for example: ministries of Russia and Ukraine, committees of the State Duma.

§190

The first (or only) word of a truncated name is written with a capital letter if it is used instead of the full one, for example: State Duma - Duma, State Literary Museum - Literary Museum, Central House of Artists - House of Artists, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory - Great Hall of the Conservatory, Moscow State Institute of International Relations - Institute of International Relations.

§191

The names of the highest representative institutions of foreign countries are usually written with a lowercase letter, for example: Parliament, House of Lords, House of Commons, Reichstag, Bundesrat, Diet, Storting, Riksdag, Knesset, Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) USA, Majlis. However, in titles such as State Assembly, Legislative Assembly, National Assembly, House of the People, a capital letter is used.

§192

In names consisting of a generic name and a name that is not syntactically combined with it, the latter is enclosed in quotation marks and the first (or only) word and proper names are capitalized, for example: hotel "Russia", exhibition "Gold of the Scythians", sports palace "Yubileiny", metallurgical plant "Sickle and Hammer", publishing house "Nauka", chamber orchestra "Moscow Virtuosi", consortium "Kazalmazzoloto", party "People's Will", political movement “Women of Russia”, confectionery factory “Red October”, industrial complex “Southern Machine-Building Plant”, casino “Arbat”, sports society “Dynamo”, sports club “Strela”, cinema “Khudozhestvenny”, trust “Transenergomontazh”, store “Petrovsky Passage” , Peugeot automobile concern, Panasonic, Trekhgornaya Manufactory plant, Russian Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange joint-stock company, United Fruit Company, Interfax agency.

§193

The names of institutions, educational institutions, etc., as well as departments and parts of institutions and organizations that are not proper names, are written with a lowercase letter, for example: housing exchange bureau, city liaison office, human resources department, accounting sector, board of a housing construction cooperative, district council of people's deputies, presidium, academic council, artistic council, faculty of journalism, department of foreign languages; the same when adding specific numbers and words: school number 266, school named after. Mayakovsky, motor depot No. 9, food store No. 5, 12th division, collective farm named after. Kirov.

Names of documents, monuments, objects and works of art

§194

In the compound names of the most important documents and collections of documents, state laws, as well as architectural and other monuments, objects and works of art, the first word and proper names are written with a capital letter, for example:

Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federative Treaty, UN Charter, Decree on Peace, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Labor Code, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Fundamentals of Civil Legislation, State Convention on Refugees, Magna Carta, Hypatiev Chronicle, Red Book(list of protected animals and plants), Guinness Book of Records; Sistine Chapel, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Grand Kremlin Palace, Piskaryovskoe Memorial Cemetery, Elagin Palace, Winter Palace, Great Wall of China, Triumphal Arch, Vodovzvodnaya Tower, Chamber of Facets, Bronze Horseman(monument), Venus de Milo, Colossus of Rhodes, Amber Room(in Tsarskoe Selo), Eiffel Tower, Tsar Bell; Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Chopin's Second Ballade, Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Note 1. The initial generic name in similar names of architectural and other monuments, works of art is written with a lowercase letter, for example: monument to Pushkin, monument to the Millennium of Russia, Pashkov's house, portrait of Dostoevsky by Perov, Oginsky's polonaise(But: Palace of Congresses, Palais des Nations).

Note 2. In such names of memorial buildings and collections of documents as Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Wailing Wall, Walk of Fame, Mound of Immortality, Book of Remembrance, the first word and subsequent words expressing high sacred concepts are written with a capital letter; but in combination Eternal flame- only the first word.

Note 3. In the names of architectural monuments with the first word being a hyphenated adjective from the geographical name, both components of the adjective are written with a capital letter, for example: Santo Dominga Cathedral(cf. Santo Domingo, city).

Note 4. For the spelling of names associated with religion, see § 186, 187.

Note 5. The names of artistic styles are written with a lowercase letter, for example: Empire, Baroque, Gothic, Rococo, Renaissance(cf. Renaissance in the meaning of the era, § 179).

§195

The names of literary and scientific works, works of art, documents, periodicals, etc. are enclosed in quotation marks and the first (or only) word and proper names are capitalized. These include:

A) names that are not syntactically combined with the generic name, for example: the novel “The Noble Nest”, the story “The Lady with the Dog”, the poem “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, the opera “The Queen of Spades”, the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty”, the film “The Cranes Are Flying”, the paintings “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, “The Girl Illuminated by the Sun” , sculpture “The Thinker”, symphony “Jupiter”, newspapers “Arguments and Facts”, “Moscow News”, “Evening Moscow”, magazines “New World”, “Russian Speech”, collection “Syntax and Stylistics”, program “Partnership for peace";

b) names including generic names, e.g.: “A Novel Without Lies”, “Optimistic Tragedy”, “The Tale of a Real Man”, “Literary Newspaper”, “Teacher’s Newspaper”, “Newspaper” publications, “Weekly Magazine”.

If the title of a work of art consists of two titles connected by the union or, then the first word of the second name is also written with a capital letter, for example: “Twelfth Night, or Whatever”, “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath”.

Names of positions, ranks, titles

§196

The names of positions, ranks, titles are written with a lowercase letter, for example: president, chancellor, chairman, minister, prime minister, deputy minister, mayor, emperor, queen, khan, sheikh, secretary general, honored cultural figure, Nobel laureate, ambassador, attaché, director, general director, academician, doctor of sciences, professor, corresponding member, major general, commander of troops, head of department, head of department, business manager.

In official texts, the names of senior government positions and titles are written with a capital letter, for example: President of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Duma, Prime Minister of India, Her Majesty the Queen of England(see also § 202). However, in unofficial texts these names are written with a lowercase letter, for example: presidential elections, speech by the Chairman of the State Duma, order of the Prime Minister, reception with the Queen.

Names of orders, medals, awards, insignia

§197

The names of orders, medals, awards, insignia that are not syntactically combined with the generic name are enclosed in quotation marks and the first word and proper names are capitalized, for example: Order “Mother Heroine”, Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, Medal “Veteran of Labor”, Medal “In Memory of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow”, Badge “Marshal Star”, Badge “Excellence in Public Education”, Award “Golden Mask”.

All other names of awards and insignia are not highlighted in quotation marks and the first word (except for the words order, medal) and proper names are written in capital letters, for example: Order of Friendship, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, Order of the Legion of Honor(France), Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, Order of St. George, Medal of Motherhood, Cross of St. George; State Prize, Nobel Prize.

Names of trademarks, product brands and varieties

§198

The names of species and varieties of agricultural crops, vegetables, flowers, etc. - terms of agronomy and horticulture - are highlighted in quotation marks and written with a lowercase letter, for example: Krymka wheat, Victoria strawberry, Marlboro raspberry, Black Prince tulip, Nikolskaya plum.

§199

Trade names of grocery, perfume, etc. goods, tobacco products, fine wines and other drinks are enclosed in quotation marks and written with a capital letter, for example: "Russian" cheese, "Doctorskaya" sausage, "Romashka" candies, "Jubilee" cake, "Inspiration" chocolate, "Children's" soap, "Marlboro" cigarettes, "Solnechnaya Dolina" wines, "Bull's Blood", "Monastic Izba" , port wine “Aygeshat”, drink “Fanta”.

§200

The names of manufacturing brands of technical products (machines, devices, etc.) are enclosed in quotation marks and written with a capital letter, for example: cars “Moskvich-412”, “Volga”, “Volvo”, “Zhiguli”, “Toyota”, “Mercedes-Benz”, airplanes “Boeing-707”, “Ruslan”, washing machine “Eureka”, refrigerators “Biryusa” , "Minsk", video recorder "Panasonic". However, the names of these products themselves (except for names that coincide with proper names - personal and geographical) are written in quotation marks with a lowercase letter, for example: "Moskvich", "Toyota", "Volvo"(cars), Boeing, Phantom(aircraft), "Panasonic"(record player); But: "Volga", "Oka", "Tavria"(cars), "Ruslan"(airplane), "Minsk"(fridge); exceptions: "Lada", "Mercedes"(cars).

Capital letters in special stylistic use

§201

Some names in the texts of official documents, messages, contracts are written with a capital letter, for example: High Contracting Parties, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary– in acts of international significance, in diplomatic documents; Author, Publisher– in the copyright agreement; President, Prime Minister, Emperor of Japan– in documents at high-level meetings.

§202

Pronouns are written with a capital letter You, Your as a form of expression of politeness when addressing one specific person in letters, official documents, etc., for example: Congratulations..., We inform you...; in response to your request...

Words are written the same way You And Your in texts intended for repeated use, such as questionnaires, advertising, leaflets.

Both words in combinations are written with a capital letter when officially titling Yours (His her) Your Majesty (His her) Highness(see also § 196).

§203

Some common nouns can be written with a capital letter in contexts where they are assigned a special high meaning: Motherland, Fatherland, Fatherland, Freedom, Good, Honor, Man, Teacher, Master and so on.

First of all, I want to say right away that the site is not a religious, but a secular publication. Therefore, he does not obey the rules of this or that religion, and in writing words he is guided by the rules of the Russian language. By putting this or that word with a capital or small letter, we do not try to artificially lower or elevate the meaning of this or that word or person.

The greatest outrage occurs when Christians see the words “devil” or “Satan” written with a capital letter.
Here are some explanations for this.

god or god
Now the “Rules of Russian Spelling and Punctuation” of 1956 are officially in force. Word on them God must be written in small letters. But this requirement of the “Rules” does not correspond to modern writing practice; no one has followed it for the last 15 years. Now in all texts (religious and non-religious) it is recommended to write: God, if we mean a single supreme being in monotheistic religions. At the word God there are other meanings, in these cases it is written with a small letter. These meanings are as follows: in polytheism: one of the supernatural beings that controls any part of the world whole, influencing one or another aspect of life, for example Poseidon - god of the seas; a powerful person with authority over other people, e.g.: I am a king, I am a slave, I am a worm, I am a god; about an object of worship, admiration (usually about a genius): Yes, this is a culinary god!

Bible or bible
Right: Bible(collection of the holy books of the Jewish and Christian religions) and Bible(translated: the main book for someone).

Satan or Satan
Right: Satan(king of darkness, head of evil spirits) and Satan(expletive).

Talmud or Talmud
Talmud(holy book of the Jews) and Talmud(a collection of dogmatic provisions; a thick, boring book).

And I’ll also give an interesting explanation from a specialist.

In Russian, God is always written with a capital letter when used as a proper name for the one supreme being - the same one about whom “in the beginning there was a word and the word was God.” We say: “Vasya Pupkin prayed to God” and we mean that Vasya turned to a being known to Christians under the name God (and other names). And in this case, God with a capital G.
God is written with a small letter if the author does not mean a specific person, but a group (breed) of creatures denoted by this word, although each individually may have his own name: “Egyptian and Greek gods.” “Vasya prayed to the rain god Kapitoshka.”
And finally, God is written with a small letter if this word is used as part of the established phrase “God knows how much time has passed”, “Thank God, it turned out okay.” It’s easy to check: the word “god” in this phrase (and the entire phrase) can be replaced with something else without loss of meaning (“who knows,” “thank the eggs, it turned out okay,” “fortunately, it turned out okay”). If you are going to write: “Vasya plays hockey like a god,” you don’t need to draw a capital letter, because Jesus didn’t play hockey.

We have collected rules for writing some words related to Orthodoxy. You may also need this, since there is no single reference book on writing church terms yet, and questions arise not only from secular media, but also from our colleagues from the Orthodox media.

Every word is written with a capital letter realities of the highest hierarchy (heavenly and earthly):

  • Holy Life-Giving Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit;
  • Church Council ([the central governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church by decision of the Local Council), Local Council.
  • The realities of other Christian denominations and other religions do not have the highest degree of significance for us and should contain no more than one capital letter.
  • Historical realities (the highest governing bodies of the church and state in the past) should also contain no more than one capital letter (for example, Zemsky Sobor).
Written with a capital letter:
words Trinity, God, Divinity, Christ, Lord, Hypostasis (of the Trinity), Person (of the Trinity), Theotokos; and most adjectives derived from these words.
  • Only simple derived adjectives retain capital letters (for example, God's, Divine);
  • complex ones are written with lowercase letters (for example, God-loving, God-chosen, God-fighting).
  • applications (definitions expressed by nouns) related to these words: Lord Almighty, Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world; Mother of God, zealous Intercessor;
  • pronouns, these words replacing: Her (the Mother of God) Divine Son; Her (Trinity) appearances; His (Christ’s) suffering, His (Christ’s) Blood.
  • definitions for the indicated words, expressed by adjectives or participles, are written with a lowercase letter: Christ, born for the salvation of the world; God is omnipresent, omnipotent.
But: One God, Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed Mother of God.

Names are written with a capital letter ranks of angels:

  • Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Forces, Dominions, Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
  • Guardian angel
  • Heavenly Forces
  • Heavenly forces are ethereal
  • Heavenly Host
Everything is written with a capital letter twelve and great holidays(Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Vaiyi Week), Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary, etc.; Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, etc.). But: the day of remembrance of the holy supreme apostles Peter and Paul.
* The names of holidays (except for the twelve and great ones) must have one capital letter (not necessarily the first): memory of St. Sergius, finding the relics; finding the relics of St. blgv. Kng. Anna Kashinskaya, Lazarev Saturday.

If the name of the holiday does not contain a proper name, then the first letter of the name becomes capitalized: Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, Week of Vai, Week of the Forefathers, Week of the Publican and the Pharisee, Week of All Saints; as well as the Sunday of Thomas, the Sunday of the Saints of the Father of the First Ecumenical Council. But: the week of the publican and the Pharisee, the week of cheese, Maslenitsa, Christmastide (Maslenitsa and Christmastide are also acceptable).

Written with a capital letter names of the Sacraments:
Marriage, Eucharist, Blessing of Anointing, Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Communion, Priesthood (for example, the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Blessing of Anointing).

Titles of liturgical books written without quotation marks with a capital letter (first word), the second word (definition) with a lowercase letter: Missal, Breviary, Menaion of the month (general, additional, holiday), Lenten Triodion (colored), Great Book of Hours (small), Psalter with succession, Typikon , Octoechos notation, Irmologius notation.
But: Colored (Lenten) Triodion, General (Festive, Additional) Menaion.

In the names of individual Churches each word is written with capital: Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Church, Polish Church, Patriarchate of Constantinople, Albanian Church, Eastern, Western Church, Roman Catholic Church, Autonomous Church, Autocephalous Church
But: the apostolic Church; Wed: Kiev St. Nicholas Church (i.e. temple).

In the names of dioceses of all Christian denominations, adjectives are written with capital letters: Abakan and Kyzyl diocese, Kyoto diocese, Serbian archdiocese, Ohrid archdiocese, Kiev metropolis, etc.

In the titles of bishops Adjectives of all Christian denominations are also written with capital letters: Metropolitan of Novgorod, Archbishop of Volgograd.
But: not to be confused with adjectives denoting place of residence: Novgorod metropolitan, Volgograd priest.

In the names of churches and monasteries adjectives denoting a location are written with lowercase (cf.: those denoting a holiday - with capital): Vladimir Assumption Cathedral (monastery), Trinity Compound; Moscow Epiphany Monastery, Kostroma Nativity Church. But: Trinity monk (abbot, abbot).

In the titles of the supreme rulers of states adjectives are written with capital letters: Tsar of Russia, Emperor of All Russia, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania (Moscow). In the titles of the rulers of individual lands within the state, adjectives are written with lowercase letters: Prince of Ryazan (Belozersky, etc.). But: Andrey Vladimirovich Uglichsky.

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