THE METHODOLOGY OF ROMAN INGARDEN IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS ART

Abstract

Purpose of article is the disclosure of Roman Ingarden's aesthetic methodology as an important basis for the analysis of religious art. Methodology of the research is to use the phenomenological method of Roman Ingarden as a methodological basis in the analysis of religious art in the paradigmatic dimension of Religious Science. For the first time, the methodological potential of the aesthetic concepts of the Polish phenomenologist Roman Ingarden in the study of religious art on the example of the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem as an example of an architectural narrative has been proved. In particular, separate phases of the aesthetic experience, which is based on religious values: an introductory emotion (entrance to the architectural complex, immersion in the buried light of the temple space), the constitution of the aesthetic object (iconography, decoration, the basilical structure of the building, the throne of Saint James, the relics of James the Greater and James, brother of the Lord); contemplation of the subject of perception and emotional “response” after recognizing its value (comprehension of the Christian message of this place, understanding of life as a pilgrimage to eternity, internal personal change of man, catharsis). The phenomenological theory of Roman Ingarden can be used in the study of religious art with a structured allocation of its content, which implicitly contains aesthetically marked axiological dominant, whose verification is possible through the analysis of certain artistic means of the corresponding art form. In further studies in religious studies (this may also apply to studies in aesthetics or cultural theory), it is advisable to trace other angles of the philosophical and aesthetic teaching of Roman Ingarden, which creates a heuristic space for a wellfounded interpretation of works of religious art, which is especially important for their understanding not only by scientists, but also and believers in acts of communication with the supernatural, a deeper understanding of religious practices and sacred worship.