RELIGIOUS CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE TEACHINGS OF INNOKENTY GIEZEL ON MORALITY

Abstract

Innokenty Gizel played a prominent role in cultural and religious movements in Ukrainian lands in the middle of the 17th century. However, the life and work of this church figure, writer, philosopher and theologian remained out of the attention of researchers for a long time. The same can be said about the treatise «Peace with God to a Man», published with the blessing of Innokenty Gizel and under his editorship. The treatise «Peace with God for a Man» should be considered as an exposition of religious and moral norms inherent in Christianity. By religious morality we mean a set of concepts and principles that are conditioned by a religious worldview. Religious morality is interpreted as having a divine origin. However, its norms depend in a certain way on socio-cultural circumstances. This is what is substantiated in the treatise «Peace with God to a Man». A lot of attention is paid to the problems of good and evil, moral virtues and vices, sinfulness, as well as moral duty. Such an orientation was intended to expand the range of cultural assets that could be used by the Orthodox. As a rule, researchers consider the treatise «Peace with God to a Man» and the work of Innokenty Gizel in general in the context of Ukrainian Baroque culture. In the treatise «Peace with God for a Man», Innokenty Gizel gives a broad classification of sins as moral defects, which are interpreted from a theological point of view. In the foreground are sins of a religious or purely ecclesiastical nature. Then there are sins that concern worldly life, in particular, family relationships, the activities of people of various statuses and professions. It is worth noting that it is generally problematic to clearly distinguish the religious and secular components in the interpretation of sins in the treatise «Peace with God to a Husband». Considering religious and ecclesiastical sins, Innokenty Gisel, despite referring to the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church, relies on the realities of life in Ukraine at that time. When analyzing universal (common) sins, he appeals not only to his contemporary realities, but also to church tradition, and emphasizes religious aspects. Innokenty Gisel assumed that the basis of social relations is the family. In the treatise «Peace with God for a Husband» a lot of attention is paid to family sins. Giving preference to the patriarchal family, he still advocated the humane attitude of men to women, for harmonious moral relations. The treatise pays attention to children, their upbringing, instilling in them good customs and faith in God. The main social force in the treatise «Peace with God to a Man» is the Orthodox clergy. It is structured, divided into bishops and monks. The main mass is white parish clergy. Innokenty Gisel knew well the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox clergy, the violations and defects inherent in its environment. When describing the sins of spiritual persons, he relied mainly on the realities of his time. I understood that the clergy, being influenced by trade and market relations, increasingly began to «serve mammon». Innokenty Gisel describes the sins of the worldly people separately for each condition. He draws attention to the fact that those in power treat their subjects humanely. He calls on the representatives of the social classes to respect the authorities and their masters, not to raise riots or uprisings.