Вероисповедальная символика переживания смерти и обряда погребения в русской православной культуре

V. Yu. Darensky

V. Yu. Darensky Lugansk State Pedagogical University

Keywords: the visual, Russian culture, religious symbolism, death, burial, transfiguration, memorial service

Abstract

Russian religious character, brought up by Orthodoxy, is vividly expressed in the article on the basis of various cultural material, an important visual aspect of Russian culture is considered. In the modern era of secularization, it is largely preserved and continues to determine the worldview. The article deals with the opinions of Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh about the differences between Orthodox and Western perceptions of death and the deceased. A special Russian experience of death and burial rites is shown in the examples of I. Bunin’s stories “Transfiguration” and G. Gazdanov’s “Panikhida”. Here death is understood as a beginning of resurrection – a new birth of a person into eternity, and not just the end of earthly life, which is more typical for Western consciousness. The Transfiguration of the hero’s soul, which occurs during the reading of the Psalter over the dead mother, turns into a cosmogonic process of transformation of all life and all being – a manifest prototype of the transformation that will take place after the end of this world. And it can be experienced as a real fact of a person’s spiritual life only in this situation of close proximity to the deceased. The memorial service as a “short-term invasion of eternity” is the “formula” of the Russian understanding of death. The rejection of the dead, the fear and loathing towards the dead are characteristics of the Western mentality, which led to the emergence of the vampire image as the personification of the dead. If the ultimate symbol of the deceased person in Orthodoxy is imperishable relics, then for the Western culture such an ultimate symbol was vampire. In addition, decorating the dead to make them look “like they are alive” is very typical for a Western person, because he does not want to see death, but only wants to preserve the memory of the person in this world. However, at the height of poetic inspiration and the deepest spiritual sorrow, the Western people awaken the experience of death, which is very close to the Orthodox experience-death as the Paschal sacrament of entering into eternal life and the expectation of a future bodily resurrection, professed in the “Symbol of Faith”. The understanding of death, which is embedded in the “code” of Russian culture, is also manifested when the author is far from certain national mentality and Orthodox faith – since this “code” is so strong that it subordinates the author through the language of the cultural tradition itself.

Author Biography

V. Yu. Darensky, Lugansk State Pedagogical University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2021-1-41-59

Vitaliy Darensky
Lugansk State Pedagogical University, Ukraine
darenskiy1972@rambler.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2042-5527

Abstract
Russian religious character, brought up by Orthodoxy, is vividly expressed in the article on the basis of various cultural material, an important visual aspect of Russian culture is considered. In the modern era of secularization, it is largely preserved and continues to determine the worldview. The article deals with the opinions of Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh about the differences between Orthodox and Western perceptions of death and the deceased. A special Russian experience of death and burial rites is shown in the examples of I. Bunin’s stories “Transfiguration” and G. Gazdanov’s “Panikhida”. Here death is understood as a beginning of resurrection – a new birth of a person into eternity, and not just the end of earthly life, which is more typical for Western consciousness. The Transfiguration of the hero’s soul, which occurs during the reading of the Psalter over the dead mother, turns into a cosmogonic process of transformation of all life and all being – a manifest prototype of the transformation that will take place after the end of this world. And it can be experienced as a real fact of a person’s spiritual life only in this situation of close proximity to the deceased. The memorial service as a “short-term invasion of eternity” is the “formula” of the Russian understanding of death. The rejection of the dead, the fear and loathing towards the dead are characteristics of the Western mentality, which led to the emergence of the vampire image as the personification of the dead. If the ultimate symbol of the deceased person in Orthodoxy is imperishable relics, then for the Western culture such an ultimate symbol was vampire. In addition, decorating the dead to make them look “like they are alive” is very typical for a Western person, because he does not want to see death, but only wants to preserve the memory of the person in this world. However, at the height of poetic inspiration and the deepest spiritual sorrow, the Western people awaken the experience of death, which is very close to the Orthodox experience-death as the Paschal sacrament of entering into eternal life and the expectation of a future bodily resurrection, professed in the “Symbol of Faith”. The understanding of death, which is embedded in the “code” of Russian culture, is also manifested when the author is far from certain national mentality and Orthodox faith – since this “code” is so strong that it subordinates the author through the language of the cultural tradition itself.

Keywords: the visual, Russian culture, religious symbolism, death, burial, transfiguration, memorial service

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About author

Vitaliy Yu. Darensky
Dr. Sci. (Philosophy), Professor of Philosophy Department.
Lugansk State Pedagogical University, Ukraine
E-mail: darenskiy1972@rambler.ru

For citation:
Darensky V. Yu. Religious Symbolism of the Experience of Death and Burial Rites in Russian Orthodox Culture. Journal of Visual Theology. 2021. 1 (4). P. 41–59.
https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2021-1-41-59