RUSSIAN 'KRESTITEL' (BAPTIST) OR UKRAINIAN 'KHRISTITEL'?

In an article published recently, Oleg Delendik draws attention to the fact that in an Ukrainian version of the New Testament which appeared in 2003, the form 'Krestitel' (Baptist) was replaced by 'Khristitel' and claims that the latter form is more adequate than the former. The purpose of the present article is to explain how the difference between 'Krestitel' and Khristitel' arose. Russian'krest', which comes from Old Church Slavonic, is not derived directly from Greek 'Khristos' but penetrated into the Old Church Slavonic trought the medium of Old High German 'Krist', whereas Khristitel' is a more recent form, influenced by Greek 'Khristos'.