Airefëa
Airefëa is the Quenya name for the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity in Christianity. The term only appears in the Alcar i Ataren (Gloria Patri) prayer, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1950s. It is clearly a compound of airë ("holy") + fëa ("spirit").[1]
The term in the text was emended from fairë aista. As the editors point out, the term fëa in the legendarium is applied to the Incarnate, while the term fairë is rather applied to (disembodied) spirits in general, but both terms meant originally "radiance".[1]
In addition, Tolkien explicitely identified the Secret Fire from his legendarium with the Holy Spirit.[2]
Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]
In the Qenya Lexicon, the Qenya term Sâ is glossed as "Fire, especially in temples, etc. A mystic name identified with Holy Ghost".[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "'Words of Joy': Five Catholic Prayers in Quenya — Part One" (edited by Patrick H. Wynne, Arden R. Smith, and Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 43, January 2002, pp. 36-8
- ↑ Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien and The Silmarillion, "Tolkien as Christian Writer", p. 59
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", in Parma Eldalamberon XII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 81, entry "SAHA"
