Hesychastic tradition as a source of Ukrainian cordocentrism

author: Vitalii Ihnatiev

Urgency of the research. Many well-argued criticisms of the logocentrism and rationalism of the classical philosophical paradigm led to its destruction. But along with this, elements of non-classical methodology of various directions and schools were formed, which made it possible to understand and even discover the historical-philosophical traditions. In this article, we are talking about a fairly new direction from the point of view of philosophical justification, which was called “Ukrainian cordocentrism”. This direction is interesting in that, unlike the Western European classical philosophical paradigm with a logocentric foundation, Ukrainian cordocentrism belongs to a non-classical philosophical paradigm, because it was consciously built on the principle of “heart”. In turn, this principle has its own paradigmatic force, which developed on the “sidelines”, “periphery” of the classical European philosophical paradigm. Analyzing the texts of Ukrainian thinkers, D. Chyzhevsky identified the central “sign-symbol - the human heart”, which marked not only the Ukrainian baroque culture, but also formed the problem of the “philosophy of the heart” as the main characteristic of the entire tradition of Ukrainian philosophy, represented by H. Skovoroda, P. Yurkevich, M. Gogol, T. Shevchenko, V. Vynnychenko. And if so, then the question arises about the historical and philosophical sources that determined this direction of Ukrainian thinkers.

Target setting. The peculiarity of Ukrainian cordocentrism lies in the fact that Ukrainian culture has not only the roots of Christian culture in general, but rather of Orthodox culture with the Hesychast tradition. It was the Hesychast tradition during the formation of national Ukrainian statehood that determined not only the vector of Ukrainian history, but also the culture of Ukrainian thinking. The author examines the historical and cultural influence of the Hesychast tradition on the process of formation of Ukrainian history, national Ukrainian statehood and, in general, on the culture of Ukrainian thinking. Without taking into account the influence of the Hesychast tradition, it is impossible to understand the sources of the ideas of H. Skovoroda and P. Yurkevich as the founders of Ukrainian cordocentrism. Taking into account the hesychast tradition, Ukrainian cordocentrism appears as a phenomenon of a non-classical philosophical paradigm, which has not only historical and philosophical significance, but also determines the present and prospects of the philosophical, religious and cultural space.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. Despite the different emphases emphasized by modern researchers: I. Bychko, M. Bulatov, I. Moiseev, S. Yarmus, N. Khamitov, K. Kislyuk, V. Kremen, O. Strazhny. Ya. Hnatiuk points out that that Ukrainian cordocentrism is a rather complex phenomenon, and therefore, from the point of view of traditional philosophy, a whole spectrum of hermeneutic layers can be distinguished in it: metaphilosophical, historical-philosophical, ontological, epistemological, anthropological, axiologi-cal, socio-philosophical, historiosophical, ethical. Looking for the original sources of the formation of this tradition, S. Yarmus and A. Bychko claim that the sources of the idea of cordocentrism are laid down in the period of Kyivan Rus. But it is especially necessary to pay attention to the research of S. Shumil, who for the first time consistently researches and proves the direct connection between the hesychastic tradition and Ukrainian history and statehood.

The research objective. Our task is to prove the thesis that the hesychast tradition is the source of Ukrainian cordocentrism as a non-classical philosophical tradition.

The statement of basic materials. The history of the adoption of Christianity by Kyivan Rus from the very beginning shows close ties with the monastic republic on Mount Athos. Researchers testify that Mount Athos was already the center of enlightenment and culture of Kyivan Rus. Only in this way does it become clear that Antony Pecherskyi was not a historical accident that suddenly fell from the sky like a star. Not only in Kyiv, but also in other cultural and political centers, monasteries appear in the context of the Athos heritage. XV century became catastrophic for the Byzantine Empire. But Athos retained relative autonomy. In the 16th century it is Volyn that becomes the spiritual and educational center of connection between the Ukrainian land and Mount Athos. The decline of Byzantium also affected the history of Ukrainian lands. The gradual strengthening of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth led to the beginning of projects to absorb Orthodox culture. The Union of Brest in 1596 provoked a movement of Orthodox spiritual and cultural resistance. And Athos, with the tradition of the Hesychasts, fulfilled his spiritual mission. The Athos influence on the literary works of Ukrainian figures was direct. S. Shumylo claims that Elder Ioann Vyshenskyi was the brightest personality of the Orthodox movement in Ukraine in the 17th century. His spiritual and literary work is a century ahead of the forerunners of the “philokalic revival” in Orthodoxy of the 18th-19th centuries. The works of I.  Vyshenskyi are deeply imbued with ascetic and hesychastic motifs. But he was not only an experienced practitioner of the incessant Jesus prayer, but also tried to instill the hesychastic tradition in his homeland. It was from this that he wanted to build a spiritual and educational system in Orthodox monasteries according to Athos customs. The Ukrainian hesychastic revival had not only a religious and cultural-political influence. He was a statesman. The direct influence on the formation of Ukrainian statehood is confirmed by the blessing and, in fact, the legitimization of the “holy war” for the defense of Orthodoxy by the well-known Aphonite Patriarch of Constantinople Athanasius, who twice met with Bohdan Khmelnitsky and who ended his life in the Cossack Mgar monastery. The participation of Aphonites not only in the spiritual, but also in the political life of Ukraine was systematic and widespread. The 17th - 18th centuries also had a significant influence of the hesychastic tradition on all levels of Ukrainian society, from the spiritual and political elite to the masses. This is what can explain the phenomenon of H. Skovoroda.

Conclusions. Ukrainian cordo-centrism as a historical-philosophical phenomenon is a direct consequence of the influence of the hesychastic tradition on the formation of the Ukrainian culture of thought. Hesychasm, as a spiritual and religious phenomenon of Ukrainian culture, became the basis of the revival of Orthodox monasteries and Ukrainian statehood, went beyond the boundaries of Ukrainian monasticism and was widely spread not only to the Cossack elites, but also to the poorest strata. Thus, kobzarstvo was born, which was not only a socio-cultural phenomenon, but also a manifestation of the Hesykhat practice of traveling elders. Despite the era of secularization by the Russian Empire, following this tradition became the basis of G. Skovoroda's work as the founder of Ukrainian Cordocentrism. Despite the lack of a single religious-philosophical text among the representatives of this direction, their internal context can be attributed to a non-classical philosophical paradigm. Because the basis of the latter is not classical rationalism, but the problem of the “heart”, which was realized through spiritual mysticism, aesthesis and intuition. In this sense, even the influences of Western European mysticism did not so much determine, as complement and fit into the features of Cordocentric thinking.

Keywords: hesychastic tradition, cordocentrism, non-classical philosophical paradigm. 

 

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