The Iconostasis as an Image of the Garden of Eden

This paper aims to substantiate the hypothesis that the design of the architectural and decorative organization of iconostases of the second half of the seventeenth — first half of the eighteenth centuries is based on the symbolic concept of the iconostasis as an image of a paradise garden. Methodology. The author uses semiotico-hermeneutical and iconological approaches as a methodological basis of this study. The iconological methodology allows to study the architectural and decorative organization of the iconostasis from new meaningful positions. The semiotico-hermeneutical approach was applied to interpret the culturally predetermined forms of the Ukrainian iconostasis and its basic symbolic foundations. Results. The author examines the reasons for the transformation of architectural and decorative design of iconostases of the second half of the 17th — the first half of the 18th century in an icon of the mountain. The paper shows that such changes occur in the iconostasis as a realization of the concept of the iconostasis as an icon of the Garden of Eden represented as a garden on a mountain in Christian exegesis. Novelty. The article proposes a hypothesis explaining the symbolic basis of composition and decoration of iconostases of the time. It proposes to link the changes in the iconostasis architecture with the theological concepts actual of Ukrainian society of the 17th-18th centuries. The practical significance. The information provided may be used for researching further the semantics of iconostasis and developing the new courses of lectures and seminars in history of Ukrainian art and culture.