concept
Meeting a Priest on the Road (bad-luck omen)
priest-road omen
also: встретить попа - плохая примета
A widespread Russian folk superstition holding that encountering a priest (or monk) while setting out on a journey or undertaking is a bad omen portending failure or misfortune, prompting the superstitious to turn back; Shilokhvostov treats this belief as near-certain fact despite protesting he is too educated to credit "old wives' superstitions."
Reading notes
- Not Fated! §9 Can't you see Father Onisim coming toward us?
The Russian folk belief that meeting a priest or monk on the road while setting out is an ill omen was widespread well into the nineteenth century; superstitious travelers would turn back rather than proceed, exactly as Shilokhvostov insists on doing here despite his professed education and skepticism.