SACRAL TOPOS OF PRINCELY KIEV IN THE WORKS OF NATALENA KOROLEVA AND WIRA WOWK: ASPECTS OF INTERPRETATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the interpretation of the sacred topos of princely Kyiv in the works of Natalena Koroleva and Wira Wowk. Special attention is focused on the study of the artistic reception of St. Sophia of Kyiv, the Golden Gates, and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It is emphasized that these structures are described not only as artifacts of sacred art, but primarily as meaning places of memory, capacitors of cultural and spiritual meanings. It is noted that the most frequently mentioned topos in the texts is Sophia of Kyiv. This is a multi-valued symbol that represents the sacred center of Kyiv and Ukraine. In N. Koroleva’s prose, he personifies a spiritual alternative to the world of evil, a metaphysical hope for resurrection from ruin, embodied in the vision of myrrh-bearing women In the poetry of Wira Wowk, he reflects the idea of protection, God’s powerful care over Ukraine, personified in the image of the Virgin Mary-Oranta. The artistic images of the Golden Gates (a symbol of princely power) and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the embodiment of the country’s cultural heritage) are also original. The first is described through a legendary-apocryphal basis, the second through images of temples: the Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower (in Wira Wowk), as well as through the figures of monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery (in N. Koroleva). At the same time, it was noticed that N. Koroleva mostly interprets events from the historical past of the country, interprets the plots of the Paterik, and stylizes the language and presentation of the chronicles. Wira Wowk, on the other hand, depicts current events of our time, involving biblical intertextuality, metaphorical writing, and symbolism. It has been established that the basis of the artistic interpretation of the images of Sophia, the Lavra, and the Golden Gates in the works of both writers is historical parallelism, a comparison of the time planes of the 10th century and the 20th–21st centuries. In this context, the sacred topos of princely Kyiv represent the idea of the indestructibility of the Ukrainian people and their spiritual values in the crucible of dramatic trials of the past and present.