Formation of Eschatological Ideas. Depiction of People in the Ukrainian Icons of the Last Judgment (15th–18th Centuries)

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Formation of Eschatological Ideas. Depiction of People in the Ukrainian Icons of the Last Judgment (15th–18th Centuries)

Journal Title: Українознавство - Year 2019, Vol 1, Issue 70

Abstract

The article provides the analysis of specific features of depicting people in the Ukrainian icons of the Last Judgment (15th–18th centuries). The subject of the study is the information source of the icon, particularly in the context of impact on the image of the era, as well as the verification of the image content of the icon with historical events. The objective of the study is to outline the formation of eschatological motifs, as well as the main historical features of depicting different peoples and religions in the Ukrainian icons of the Last Judgment during the period of the 15th–18th centuries. This will help follow changes in the attitude towards certain ethnic groups of the Ukrainian titular ethnos. Features of the eschatology as a system of ideas of the end of the world are defined. Historical sources of depicting the Last Judgment in icons (frescoes) are considered. The first images of the Last Judgment in Ukrainian churches are characterized. The sequence and logic of forming the iconography of the eschatological plot are defined. Historical evolution of the Ukrainian so-called eschatological icons is observed. The article also reveals the origins of the idea for dividing people into righteous persons and sinners, studies the distribution and the list of different nations’ representatives in the icons of the Last Judgment, who expect the God’s trial. Thus, the eschatological icons reflect the reality of that time: interfaith relations, aggravation of religious problems, as well as the prevalence of certain ethnic groups in Ukraine. Samples with the image of the Last Judgment – icons, mosaics, frescoes – allowed the medieval person, as well as our contemporaries, to lucidly visualize the moment of meeting God and to think about the need to prepare for it. However, at the same time, it was a sort of encrypted message, hard to reveal without being punished, about those who were perceived as negative characters.

Authors and Affiliations

Anastasiia Hryhorak

Keywords

icons. Last Judgment. Christianity. Orthodoxy. church. history of religion

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EP ID EP572834
DOI 10.30840/2413-7065.1(70).2019.161994
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