Образ українського православного священника в творах Любові Василів-Базюк

Abstract

The article explores the image of the Ukrainian orthodox priest of the beginning – middle of the 20th century by analyzing the literary works of Liubov Vasyliv-Baziuk, a contemporary Canadian writer of the Ukrainian origin. Liubov Vasyliv-Baziuk was born and brought up in Western Ukraine in the family of an orthodox priest. For this reason the idea of love for the Ukrainian church, which has been plundered and destroyed for centuries is one of the leading in the authoress’ works. The struggle of the Orthodox Church for the right to exist, establish, and expand itself on the Ukrainian lands fills Vasyliv-Baziuk’s creative heritage. Living amidst high morality principles, surrounded by sacred literature as well as priests, bishops, and metropolitans, Vasyliv-Baziuk couldn’t help absorbing the most precious and valuable from the spiritually close people. Her father was an example of sacrificial love, devoted service to God and people, and readiness for self-abnegation for the sake of his neighbor. It is because of this that the Orthodox priest is depicted in Vasyliv-Baziuk’s books as a completely positive character and is represented through a set of chronological events in the way the authoress perceives them. The created image of a Ukrainian priest is collective; it is not based on one character, rather on several. It is composed of features of priest Yosyp, Liubov’s father, Archimandrite Serafym, her grandfather, who took monastic vows after his wife’s death, priest Vasyl Varvariv, her uncle, priests Hlib and Marko, Metropolitan Ilarion, and others, who appear on the pages of the books «They served Church and the Ukrainian people», «In the whirl of the totalitarian regimes», and «The roads of life». The wholeness of a character is designed as a totality of its constituents which in their turn represent everyday life of the character, his social activity, inner world etc. After a thorough analysis of the works by Liubov Vasyliv-Baziuk we have come to a conclusion that the image of the priest is composed of the following constituents: parish priest, priest-confessor, priest-prayer, priest-educator, priest-parent, priest-patriot, priest-diplomat, priest-opinion leader, and priest-manager. Each constituent has been described in the article and confirmed by citations from the literary works. Not all the characters of the priests whom we come across in the books possess all the above components, but collectively they create an integral image of the priest. The authoress succeeds in reaching the objective portrayal of the then clergy’s life and creating in the readers’ minds an ideal image of the Ukrainian Orthodox priest, who has an educational potential and can be a worthy example to follow.