A number of modern sources claim that these simple, but semantically very different Russian words are related by a common origin. We checked how plausible such statements are.

On May 3, 2019, on the radio program “Subscriber is available,” Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Alexey Uminsky stated: “Believers are still religious precisely in the sense of high religiosity that “religion” (the word religare itself is a Latin verb) means “connection”, and the word “faith” itself in Russian has the same root as the word “rope”, “rope”. That is, that rope, that rope that is stretched from the earth to the sky and along which you, whether you want it or not, climb up to this sky.” Same idea Uminsky repeated and November 9, 2021 on the air of the “Radio Dolin” episode.

Alexey Uminsky is far from the first person to hear such a statement. In the Russian textbook “National History from Ancient Times to the 16th Century”, edited by P. Bogdanov, V.K. Lobachev and E.A. Bessmertnykh (M.: Synergy, 2001) said: “Varangians - those who took an oath of allegiance; warriors sworn to serve faithfully. Bound by an oath - a rope, common responsibilities. “Varangians”, “faith”, “rope” (hence “rope”) - words of the same root...” In 2006, the textbook was admitted for teaching in classes with in-depth study of history and held this status until 2010. A similar idea is expressed in books "Faith or Knowledge", "Prehistoric and ahistorical religions" and in "Collection of the Russian Historical Society". But in Mikhail Zadornov's blog You can read that faith was the name of the rope with which in the old days peasants tied a goat to a peg.

Although the statement about the goat rope was made not by the owner of the blog himself, but by one of his readers (the satirist only approved), the name of Mikhail Zadornov in connection with the topic under consideration only strengthens doubts. After all, at one time the famous author got carried away “new chronology” of Anatoly Fomenko and became an active successor of his work, coming up with dozens, if not hundreds of false etymologies of simple Russian words with logical connections that are beautiful to the untrained eye.

That's it reports Max Vasmer's authoritative etymological dictionary on the origin of the word “faith”: “Vera, believe, Ukrainian. Vira, other Russian, Old Slav. faith πίστις (Supr., Klots.), Bulgarian. vära, Serbohorv. vjera, Slovenian. vera, Czech vira, Polish wiara, v.-luzh., n.-luzh. wjera. || Related to Avest. var- “believe”, varǝna- “faith”, Osset. urnyn "to believe"; see Meillet, Et. 169. Further, probably, here is the d.-v.-s. wâra w. “truth, faithfulness, mercy”, Old Norse. vár "vow, solemn promise", d.-v.-n. wâr "truthful, faithful", Old Irish. fír "truthful, true", lat. vērus "true, truthful", Gothic. tuzwērjan "to doubt", unwērjan "to be annoyed"."

The less authoritative etymological dictionary of Shansky and Bobrova draws approximately the same picture: “Obshcheslav. Indo-European character (cf. lat. verus "true", Avest. var "to believe", German. wahr "faithful", etc.). Most likely suf. derived from the same base as Lat. venus "love", Gothic wēns "hope". The original meaning is “truth, truth > oath, oath” (of fidelity, truthfulness), then “faith, confidence.”

What do these sources say about the origin of the word “rope”?

Vasmer's Dictionary: “Rope, Ukrainian. rope, other Russian vrv, st.-slav. lie σχοινίον (Supr.), Bulgarian. Vrav, Serbohorv. vrvaca, Slovenian vȓv, born. n. vrvȋ, Czech. vrv; another level of vowel alternation: vorovina “rope”, voryovo “rope, rope products”. || Related Lit. virvė̃, ltsh. vìrve "rope", Old Prussian. wirbe, Wed. lit. vérti "to thread a thread", lt. vẽrt "to string", Greek. Ƒερύω “dragging”, Ƒρυτήρ, Old Indian. varatrā́ "strap, rope, rope"; further, see string, verey, veriga.”

Shansky Dictionary:

“It will reduce it, caress it. formation (suf. -ka < -ъка) from vrv “rope” derived through suf. -v from the same base, but with a reversal b/e, as the chains (see). In the initial vyrvka, with the fall of the reduced, the so-called second full consonance developed: ьр > ер (cf. dunce (see), dial. molonya, etc.).
Chains (chains, shackles). Original Mn. h. from verig, derived through suf. -iga (cf. similar in structure to vyazig) from *verti “to bind”. Literally, “binding” (hands of the chain). Wed. shackles, shackles."

As we can see, both sources claim that the word “faith” goes back to one root (related to the concept of “truth”), and the words “rope” and “rope” - to another, meaning “to bind.” Similar conclusions can be found in others works. The connection between “Varangian” and “faith” should be excluded, judging by the series assumptions, it is impossible, but the word “Varangian” generally has a very uncertain origin - there are quite a few versions. Moreover, it was not the purpose of our study. Etymology is a field in which there are many blank spots, but the words “faith” and “rope”, apparently, should not have common historical roots.