INTERPRETATION OF LITURGICAL TEXTS OF IRMOS IN THE WORK OF HRYHORII SKOVORODA

Abstract

This work is dedicated to ancient collections of chant books of the Kyiv church. Written records of sung liturgical texts remain poorly researched. This determines the special relevance of this study. This work is an attempt to trace the influence of these texts on the formation of the philosophical outlook of Hryhoriy Skovoroda - the Ukrainian philosopher and cultural figure of the 18th century. It is realized by the method of comparative analysis of the creative work of H. Skovoroda with the texts of manuscripts and old editions of church hymns. The publication of Hryhoriy Skovoroda’s works, edited by Leonid Ushkalov, became the basis and major auxiliary material for the work. Therefore, this work is to some extent a creative reinterpretation and addition of this edition, in particular, the liturgical-sung aspect is revealed in more detail. In Skovoroda’s creative heritage, the most frequently cited of the sung works are irmos, although other genres are also mentioned. The theme of images from the canon is predominant, namely the image of the sea through which Moses passed and the sea in which the prophet Jonah drowned, echoes the author with the sea of life. In addition to quoting, the author also uses resinging of liturgical texts. Especially revealing are the ‘Garden of Divine Songs’, ‘The Battle of Archstrategist Michael’, ‘Lot’s Wife’, ‘Dialogue. Its name is serpent’s flood’, as well as separate letters. Specifically notable is the texts of the Christmas Irmos and the ‘Irmos of the Golden Image’: the first is re-sung in the work ‘Garden of Divine Songs’ (song 5), the second is retold in the memoirs of Mykhailo Kovalinsky, as a philosophical reflection. The philosopher also addresses the following topics: the Holy Trinity, both through the liturgical text and through the explanation of the trinity of the Godhead; to the image of Light, the image of the Mother of God. The study of plots, themes, images, and the structure of genres of sacred liturgical poetry, in particular irmos, added to the understanding of H.Skovoroda’s work. Therefore, we can conclude that the sung liturgical texts are organically woven into the works of Hryhorii Skovoroda. In addition, it can be confidently asserted that the lexemes of church hymns were organically included in the vocabulary of the thinking of our church, cultural and public figures, who were also often authors of poetry and prose works.