The epistolary legacy of St. Theophan the Recluse: narrative and image of the author

Annotation. The article is devoted to the consideration of letters to the laity of St. Theophan the Recluse in the context of linguistic methods of the 20th century. Narrative analysis involves examining the narrative component in a text. The texts of St. Theophan's letters are didactic in nature, but they contain an element of narration that performs stylistic and argumentative functions. The text as an object of reception and interpretation is multi-meaningful, especially if we are talking about an artistic text or a personal text, such as a diary or letter. At the same time, it seems acceptable to use new methods of textual analysis: “The study of chronologically earlier texts from the standpoint of modern philology seems acceptable due to the fact that modern terminology and conceptual apparatus are capable of revealing in the text those meanings that, if they were identified earlier, were not named, or the structure of these meanings was not subjected to scientific reflection” [1]. That is why, before considering the texts of St. Theophan directly, it is necessary to turn to some theoretical provisions. One of the terms of philological science of the 20th century, which is used to analyze the narrative type of text, is narrative - “a concept not only philological, but also philosophical, psychological, historical, denoting a narrative, that is, a presentation, a story about any facts, events, as a rule, in their linear sequence” [Volkova]. G. K. Kosikov, a well-known researcher of the theory and practice of intertextuality, points to a number of schools and researchers who developed the problems of narratology (the doctrine of narrative): “In the 20th century, the study of plot in literary criticism led to the creation of a number of narratological concepts - the theory of the Russian “formal school” (V. B. Shklovsky, B. V. Tomashevsky) and V. Ya. Propp, the Anglo-Saxon “new criticism” (K. Burke, R.P. Blackmoor), neo-Aristotelian (W. Booth and others), structuralist (C. Lévi-Strauss, A.-J. Greimas, C. Bremont, Ts. Todorov, R. Barth), phenomenological (P. Ricoeur) theories. The problems of science were also developed in depth by historians (J. Duby, F. Furet, P. Wein) and representatives of analytical philosophy (L.O. Mink, H. White, A. Danto, W. Drey)” [5, p. 159–160]. In the theory of narrative, there are three main levels of text analysis [5, p. 159–160]: When considering a text at the level of an event, it is necessary to remember the distinctive features of an event: an event is an action that, by violating some norm (that is, including the expectations of readers), changes the current situation. If there is no violation, then this action is not considered an event, that is, the event must satisfy three conditions: – one-time use (non-repetition), – effectiveness (irreversibility) [5, p. 159–160]. Thus, a narrative is a story about something significant in a given context, differing in structural features from reasoning or description. Concepts, terms and methods of narratology, which are relatively new to the analysis of texts, are applicable when considering chronologically earlier texts, as they serve to reveal the meanings embedded in them. This approach is especially interesting for the analysis of religious texts, since such texts, as a rule, are constructed in the mode of other types of text: reasoning, description; such, for example, is a sermon, in which, however, there are also elements of narrative. In addition, the image of the author is important in the narrative, because it is the author who, as it were, “filters” the information that he will “narrate”, and the filter is a system of values, ideological attitudes, social environment, cultural context, etc.; in addition, the author reveals himself through an appeal to the reader, that is, to the addressee of his narrative. Therefore, the analysis of the narrative element is an analysis of both the image of the author and the image of the reader. That is why this approach to the analysis of the text was chosen to consider the epistolary heritage of St. Theophan: on the one hand, here we are talking about a religious text (the figure of its author determines the direction of the texts; in addition, religious themes and issues are highlighted by key words and phrases); on the other hand, a letter addressed to a specific reader is an author’s text, directed, in which the image of the author and the reader can be revealed and described through the analysis of linguistic elements, including macroelements, such as text fragments containing narrative structures. Let us consider several letters of St. Theophan in the context of this approach. In particular, as an example, letters were taken that discussed the choice of life path - entering a monastery or living in the world. This is, for example, letter 3, the text of which can be quoted in full: “The trouble is when a person is full and content in his heart, but when he is hungry and poor, it is so good. A beggar, even in the cold, runs through the windows and begs. Would he go if he had a piece of bread? When trouble is felt, then there is no end to a person’s troubles and labors. Same with the heart! When the feeling of misfortune, poverty and hunger touches him, it gives neither body nor soul peace. Do this and move on to the other. Then there is no place for self-pity, and all work is not work. And the Lord sends hunger and misfortune to those who pray and ask. This is a sign of health. The patient has no appetite; He’s full, even though he hasn’t eaten for weeks. Lord have mercy on us! A bird tied with a short thread will flutter and fall, flutter and fall. When the thread is long, the bird will fly high and fly far, but everything will be attracted to the same place. If not for the thread, the bird would have flown away to the red meadows. And the birds fly in large cages, but they are not all free. How to break away? When fire threatens someone tied, he will jerk so hard that he will break an iron chain, let alone a weak thread. So it’s not a big deal: we need to spark trouble around the city. But everything has its time, although why not time, sometimes it’s our fault. It’s better not to make any plans – neither for the monastery, nor for the monastery; for that is not the strength. You have to hurt and disturb your insides so as not to fall asleep. In the dream, Sampson was tied up and shaved and deprived of his strength. When there is a monastery in the heart, then whether the building is a monastery or not is all the same. This is what is in the heart of the monastery: God and the soul. However, when God brings you to the monastery, you must go. Just don’t guess again about what you will meet there. You can't even imagine it. Everyone there meets what they need. For one, everything is different from the other. It is better to surrender to the will of God and accept everything as if from His hand” [3]. Let us consider this text according to the formal and semantic features of the narrative: 1) agent: beggar, praying, asking; 2) situation: “feeling of trouble, poverty and hunger”; 3) action: lack of peace (“gives neither body nor soul peace”); 4) goal: “it’s better not to guess anything”; “You have to hurt and disturb your insides so as not to fall asleep”; 5) means: “we need to ignite trouble around.” - level of events: leaving for a monastery - life in the world (“It’s better not to make any plans - neither for the monastery, nor for the monastery; for that is not the power... When there is a monastery in the heart, then whether the monastery structure is there or not is all the same. In the heart there is a monastery: God, and the soul. However, when God brings you to the monastery, you must go. Just again, don’t guess about what you will meet there. You can’t even imagine it. Everyone there meets something that what exactly he needs. For one, everything is different from the other. It is better to surrender to the will of God, and accept everything as if from His hand." – plot level: manifests itself in three moments: 1) “It’s trouble when a person is full and content in his heart, but when he’s hungry and poor, it’s so good. A beggar, even in the cold, runs through the windows and begs. Would he go if he had a piece of bread? When trouble is felt, then there is no end to a person’s troubles and labors... But the Lord sends hunger and misfortune to those who pray and ask. This is a sign of health. The patient has no appetite; he’s full, even though he hasn’t eaten for weeks”; 2) “A bird tied with a short thread will fly and fall, fly and fall. When the thread is long, the bird will fly high and fly far, but everything will be attracted to the same place. If not for the thread, the bird would have flown away to the red meadows. And the birds fly in large cages, but they are not all free. How to break away?"; 3) “When fire threatens someone who is tied, it will jerk so hard that it will break an iron chain, let alone a weak thread.” Through all these elements of the narrative, the meaning of the statement “Trouble must be kindled around you” is revealed: trouble as a kind of borderline state, a state of hunger, deprivation, leads to the fact that the soul can break away from the earthly and choose the good destiny of monasticism. However, the saint warns at the level of the event that this path should not be an end in itself, since the goal is one - the Lord: “It is better not to make any plans - neither for the monastery, nor for the monastery; for that is not the strength... When there is a monastery in the heart, then whether the building is a monastery or not is all the same. This is what is in the heart of a monastery: God and soul. However, when God brings you to the monastery, you must go... It is better to surrender to the will of God, and accept everything as if from His hand.” Letter 22 continues the same theme: “I’m surprised and can’t guess what happened to you. Thank the Lord that it has passed. Let's pray that it doesn't happen again. His darkness, the prince of the century, gets to you, tries from which side you can knock him off your feet. There are many temptations around. Run under the roof of the Mother of God and the Saints of God! No one can escape temptation; but you can avoid falls! You can’t do it on your own, but with God and heavenly help. She is ready, she surrounds everyone, but we must not separate ourselves from her, not drive her away. It is driven away by passionate thoughts, feelings and desires. The Lord looks into the heart, and as it is towards Him, so is He towards it! Then the inevitable law for all who seek the Lord: to pay attention to oneself, or to lead an inwardly alert and sober life. Do you have the Philokalia? Look there at Hesychius, Philotheus the Sinai, Theoliptus, and also Diodochos, Bishop of Photiki - all about sobriety. With their help you will understand what sobriety, spiritual vigil and vigor are. There is a saying: the silence is such that a fly can fly by, you can hear it... So for a sober person everything is quiet in the soul; like a candle burns, the lifting of the heart to God is continuous. A little something from outside now sees and drives away; and again peace... and so on... This is what we need to achieve. Do this. Do you know the place of prayer, or the place of the heart, warmly praying? Where it is warm during prayer, pay attention and be there and do not want to go out; but be not alone, but with the thought of the Lord who is also in you; At the same time, take care of one thing, to preserve this unquenchable warmth towards the Lord. This is the main thing! When you begin this inner feat, then the matter itself will teach you how to do this - what helps it and what hinders it. Get a hold of it. Only when warmth is established does internal cleansing begin” [3]. 1) agent: “his gloom, the prince of the century”; “you” as the addressee of the letter; 2) situation: “There are a lot of temptations around”, 3) action: “no one can escape from temptations”, 4) goal: “but falls can be avoided”; 5) means: “pay attention to yourself, or lead an internally alert and sober life. Do you have the Philokalia? Look there at Hesychius, Philotheus the Sinai, Theoliptus, and also Diodochos, Bishop of Photiki - all about sobriety.” – level of events: “With their help you will understand what sobriety, spiritual vigilance and vigor are. There is a saying: the silence is such that you can hear a fly fly by... So in a sober person everything is quiet in the soul; like a candle burns, the lifting of the heart to God is continuous. A little something from outside now sees and drives away; and again peace.” - level of the plot: from temptations, which, according to the definition of the saint, cannot be avoided, the movement of the plot goes to warm prayer, with the thought of the Lord - this is the plot of this letter, a plot that has a beginning (the presence of an “agent”, an antagonist - the devil), development of action (temptation), climax (resisting temptations through reading the holy fathers), denouement (preserving “warmth for the Lord”). Based on all that has been said, one can trace how the author manifests himself and what his image is made up of: on the one hand, he knows theological terminology and thinks within the framework of theological discourse. On the other hand, at the level of events and plot, the saint cites situations that, at first glance, are in no way connected with the issues raised in the texts of the letters (such as comparisons with a bird or a fire in letter 3, where the question is about choosing a path - a monastery or life in the world). However, this narrative part is a narrative in the full sense of the word, since it is a story about a certain event, embedded in the text of a letter that has a didactic, homiletical character. Thus, the narrative element in the saint’s letters has a dual function: firstly, it is a structure-forming element, that is, it participates in the construction of the composition of the text, performing a stylistic function; secondly, it serves as a method of argumentation of the thought to which St. Theophan leads. The letters of St. Theophan are not the only example of how the text itself can be examined using the methods of textual analysis, without resorting to theological terminology or theological conclusions. As material for such an analysis, it seems possible to also take the exegetical works of the saint, in which the element of narrative is present and fulfills its function, which is different from the function in the epistolary heritage. 1) Volkova A.G. Structure and poetics of narrative in Byzantine hymnography // Theological and historical collection. No. 18. 2020. 2) Narrative // Modern Western philosophy. Encyclopedic dictionary / article by G. K. Kosikov. – M.: Cultural Revolution, 2009, p. 159–160. 3) Theophan the Recluse, saint. Letters // https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Feofan_Zatvornik/pisma/ (access date: 10/22/2020).