Doxology of God in Prayers by the Lake of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich

Abstract: In this paper, the author investigates the question of the units by which God is named in Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich’s Prayers by the Lake. The choice of the units by which God is named in the Prayers by the Lake is usually determined by the subject of the prayer itself. Bishop Nicholai expresses his creativity by using names for God of biblical origin. And even more, he enriches already established, common expressions with God as denotation with new meaning dimensions, which is also an expression of his authentic creativity. With such a procedure, he realizes the fullness of meaning and highlights the expediency, stylistic functionality, and beauty of the chosen expression. In Prayers by the Lake, metaphorical representations form a semantic-symbolic base from which a rich series of metaphorical and comparative nominative constructions will be born, with which Bishop Nicholai addresses God in prayerful ecstasy. The analysis of the nominative units with God as the denotation used in the Prayers by the Lake only somewhat illustrated the poetic prayer soarings of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich, which reach the psalmistic ecstasy. Although prayers are characterized by a high degree of formality in the form of the existence of established linguistic structures, Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich’s Prayers by the Lake are to a significant extent a reflection of the individual style of high literary-artistic and authentic theological value. Key words: Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich, Prayers by the Lake, theolinguistics, prayer.