SEMANTICS OF THE SYMBOLS «LAW» AND «GRACE» IN THE SERMON OF METROPOLITAN HILARION

Abstract

The article examines the symbolic significance of the key concerts of the solemn sermon of Metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv ‘The Word on Law and Grace’. The inner essence of the Law can be formulated in one word: conscience. This idea proved to be productive for the New Testament as well, and the concept of conscience was incorporated into the system of proclaimed values of the Christian faith. The symbolic content of the image of grace is that the birth and sacrificial deed of Jesus Christ, his intercession ‘for all’ is interpreted as a manifestation of God’s great mercy. This grace has an important nuance: while God the Father (Jehovah, Eloah, Almighty, Most High) symbolises spiritual perfection and omnipotence, and is invisible and abstract, Jesus is the God-man. The symbols of Law and Grace unfold in Hilarion’s further text in a peculiar way: instead of them, the author selects a number of other symbolic images that are internally related to the main ones. Thus, at the beginning of this figurative cascade, the antithesis of the moon and the sun (Law and Grace) appears. This is accompanied by a figurative dictum that contrasts bondage and freedom. Hilarion needed the symbol of Grace to glorify the Son of God, as well as Prince Volodymyr for his epoch-making decision to accept Christianity in the Russ land. By glorifying Grace in every possible way, giving this image all kinds of symbolic meanings, the author of the Word convinced his countrymen that Christianity is the faith that enables a person to live in purity and hope for the Kingdom of Heaven. The emphasis was placed on the sacrificial deed of Jesus Christ, who interceded for all people and enlightened everyone by his act of voluntarily going to Calvary. In this way, the human and noble meaning of Christianity was revealed and warnings were made against accepting another faith regulated by the Law. Obviously, at that time (the eleventh century) this topic was relevant, and so Hilarion covered it with exaltation, care, and with the use of emotionally charged images and symbols.