# addressing priests, translation of Father/Fr.



## farzam

In English, when addressing a priest, you say "Father". In written form, this is usually abbreviated to "Fr.".

How do you address a father in Czech? I know that priest is _kněz_ and I have seen the abbreviation "Mgr." here and there, but I'm not sure what to use.

Could anyone explain this to me, please?

Děkuji.


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## werrr

farzam said:


> In English, when addressing a priest, you say "Father". In written form, this is usually abbreviated to "Fr."



So in Czech we use "otče" (nominativ "otec"), but it could be wrong in some Protestant churches. An older single-word option could be "velebnosti" (= Your Reverence).

In general, Czechs tend to address people with more words, typically "pane/paní + _profession / office / academic degree_", which in the case of clergy could tourn into expressions like "pane faráři/vikáři/biskupe". Especially "pane faráři" became viral in vernacular and is common for low-rank clergy regardless of their actual position.

In formal written code there are official forms for addressing clergymen, but I suppose that it is out of scope of your question.



> I have seen the abbreviation "Mgr." here and there, but I'm not sure what to use.


Mgr. could be either Czech master's degree or the title of Monsignor.


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## farzam

werrr said:


> So in Czech we use "otče" (nominativ "otec"), but it could be wrong in some Protestant churches. An older single-word option could be "velebnosti" (= Your Reverence).
> 
> In general, Czechs tend to address people with more words, typically "pane/paní + _profession / office / academic degree_", which in the case of clergy could tourn into expressions like "pane faráři/vikáři/biskupe". Especially "pane faráři" became viral in vernacular and is common for low-rank clergy regardless of their actual position.
> 
> In formal written code there are official forms for addressing clergymen, but I suppose that it is out of scope of your question.
> 
> 
> Mgr. could be either Czech master's degree or the title of Monsignor.


 
Many thanks for the explanation!


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## Emys

Note: Abbreviation for the title monsignor is Msgr.


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