Axiology of the word: emotive vocabulary in the epistolary legacy of St. Ambrose of Optina

Abstract

The article analyzes the stylistic features and the emotive component of spiritual messages from the epistolary heritage of St. Ambrose of Optina. The material of the study was “General holiday greetings”. The author of the article focuses on the fact that the spiritual letters of the elder have their own lexical-stylistic, rhetorical features, an emotive component and special rules of architectonics that originate from the epistles of the apostolic times. As a result of the study of the General Festive Greetings of St. Ambrose of Optina (41 letters), created in the period from 1870 to 1891, the author of the article draws the following conclusions: the specifics of the content consist in the features of text construction. In terms of content and composition, the following components are mandatory in letters: an appeal to the addressee; congratulations on the Easter of Christ, Merry Christmas; the use of expressive possibilities of the word (expression), emotive vocabulary, vividly reflecting the emotional atmosphere of joy and enthusiasm in the content of the letter; benevolence to the addressee, instructions; appeal to the sayings from the Holy Scripture, the Acts of the Apostles, especially the Apostle Paul; explanation of the dogmatic, theological, spiritual nature; prayer request, benevolence to the addressees. In the ideological, compositional and stylistic perspective, attention is focused on the expressive and emotional coloring of words, visual and expressive means, and tropes. At the end of the article, the importance of preserving the spiritual connection through familiarization with the life experience and works of St. Ambrose of Optina and other ascetics of piety through the study of the patristic heritage is emphasized.