2017 Vol. 8 №1

This article outlines the major problems of studying Russian hagiography. The author responds to the challenge of performing a comprehensive analysis of a hagiographic text, while preserving the unity of the content and the form. Considering hagiography as an ecclesiastical genre and a form of the Sacred Tradition, the author addresses the analysis methodology and proposes to combine the principles of hagiology and literary and philological research on hagiographic texts. The primary focus is on understanding the category of hagiographic topoi, which is linked to the concept of literary etiquette. This concept is examined from a polemic standpoint since it does not fully conform to the genesis and function of hagiographic topoi. It is concluded that the worldview and mindset of the hagiographer play a crucial role in the creation of a vita belonging to a particular historical period and church traditions. The author addresses the problem of studying Russian hagiographic literature of the modern and contemporary periods.

Using art history interpretation methods and the methods of historical cultural studies, the author demonstrates the role of rhythm and metaphor as the most expressive artistic means of icon painting. The interaction of rhythm and metaphor is an integral part of the imagery and semantics of icon painting. It is stressed that the entire theological and aesthetic image of icons, which is based on rhythm and metaphor, expresses the cosmogonic ideas of the Church Fathers. However, the practical realisation of this image would have been impossible without the conscious creative contribution of the artist. Icon painters never perceived iconography as a dogmatic prescription. Iconography played the role of a cognitive scheme steering artists’ creative ideas. Creating visual metaphors required the development of rhythmic symmetry, based on linear repetitions and figurative semblances of elements. This principle of iconography is clearly seen in Russian icon painting.

The article explores the main principles behind modern church paintings. The author examines the key factors affecting the structure of mural paintings and pays special attention to their semantic content. The main objective of the analysis is to identify means of expressive visualisation of the Divine Oeconomy, which is the semantic fundamental of the murals’ iconography. The author employs the methods of iconographic and iconological analysis correlating with the objectives of the study. It is concluded that the soteriological aspect of mural iconography is one of the most traditional and semantically justified. It is reflected in the composition and the choice of colours as well as in the selection and juxtaposition of motifs and their correlation with the architectural elements of the Kaliningrad Cathedral. The soteriological aspect does not diminish the significance of other factors determining the iconography of the murals, i. e. the architectural design, the dedication of the Cathedral, liturgical aspects etc. On the contrary, it contributes to a deeper understanding of such aspects.

Analysing the Intercessor type of Marian iconography, this author identifies the iconographic features of such depictions and explores the transformation that the image has undergone in the Russian icon painting tradition. To achieve this goal, the author employs the methods of comparison and generalisation and traces the transformation of the Byzantine image of Paraklesis into the Intercessor iconographic type of Russian icon painting. By examining the image in more recently painted icons, the author produces its first full description and introduces the 19th-century icon ‘Mother of God the Intercessor of the Deesis row’ from the collection of the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Art. The results of the analysis suggest that the Intercessor type of Marian iconography is characterised by a full- or half-length image, showing Virgin Mary from a distance. She is painted without the Child and holding a scroll. The text on the scroll may vary depending on the shade of meaning the icon painter attempted to convey. However, it always communicates the message of advocacy and intercession of Mother of God for humankind before her Son.

This article analyses the symbol of light and the motif of acquiring wisdom in the icons and the vitae of saints conveying the spiritual ascension of Saint Paraskevi of Iconium and Saint Juliana of Nicomedia. The common motifs in the two vitae are flagellation (whipping), death by beheading, and the punishment of torturers after the execution of the martyrs. Both vitae correspond to the Passion of the Lord. The vita of Saint Paraskevi of Iconium reveals the symbols of the Passion. It is stressed that the icons of Paraskevi the Great Martyr from the collection of the Rybinsk museum and preserve differs from the copy of the vita included in the 17th-century manuscript held at the museum.