The idea of a person's selfdebasement in the russian monastic epistolary culture of the 20th century: linguo-communicative aspect

Abstract

The article deals with the specifics of the representation in the Russian church writers-monks’ epistolaria the idea of selfdebasement (kenosis) of a person, the advancement of which is linked to the development of the hesychasm, a religious-philosophical teaching in the Russian Orthodox society. On the basis of the letters addressed to the spiritual students, the author of the article outlines a range of main ideas that are realized in these letters, in particular, the ideas of repentance, peace, deification, salvation, tacit prayer, and includes the idea of selfdebasement into the hesychastic ideosphere. The focus is on the contents component of the idea of a person’s selfdebasement, representing its images and language units. The key images are the ones of Jesus Christ, a tax-collector (who embodies repentance, genuine sincere repentance, peace and selfdebasement in front of the God) and Christ-like people (the saints). The most significant language units implementing the idea of a person’s selfdebasement are the definitions used by the authors in relation to themselves are unworthy, the most unworthy, sinful, sinister, miserable, lowest and weak. Among language units diminishing themselves in front of the God and the people are the ones like a slave, a sinner used by writers-monks in self-characteristics. Separately, the author of the article considers the role of the idea of selfdebasement in the life of a Christian and a Christian society, which consists (first of all) in appropriation of obedience to the God’s will and achieving soul salvation through the realization of sinfulness, deliverance from the sin, its repentance.