REPENTANCE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR HOLINESS IN THE WORKS OF THE FIRST UKRAINIAN PREACHERS (FROM KYRYLO TURIVSKYI TO METROPOLITAN ILARION)

     It turns out that stereotypical medieval themes can be actual in the secularized society of the XXI c. under the influence of strong stimuli, such as war (that is why there are reasons to identify the state of modernity as post-secular). Now we especially feel the desire for a religious worldview, which can provide support in the unstable world today, so it is interesting to understand how our culture and, in particular, literature responded to similar requests about a thousand years ago, in what forms repentance – one of the fundamental categories of Christianity – is reflected in our earliest works. Therefore, the goal of the research is to trace the specifics of the theological concept of repentance and outline its role in the spiritual life aimed at holiness. The title of this article, at least its second part, resonates with the work «The First Ukrainian Preachers and Their Works» by father-doctor Yaroslav Levytskyi. The research is based on the texts of Luka Zhydiata, Teodosii Pecherskyi, and Klym Smoliatych and primarily on the works of Metropolitan Ilarion and Kyrylo Turivskyi. Even though Ilarionʼs activity should be dated approximately 100 years earlier than Kyryloʼs, an anti-chronological sequence is in parentheses, and the motivation of such an authorʼs idea will, I hope, become logical as the research unfolds. The correlation of «repentance – holiness» in the oldest Ukrainian sources became the subject of special studies for the first time, and the interdisciplinary approach with distinct theological accents and deep dives confirms the scientific novelty of the study. Conclusions. The works of the first Ukrainian preachers present various aspects of the theme of repentance – one of the fundamental themes in the Christian worldview. In the prayers of Kyrylo Turivskyi, penitential motives are pervasive: with a bright emphasis on the person of the sinner and his search for God and salvation. Instead, according to the text of Metropolitan Ilarion, a larger role is attributed to Godʼs Grace on the path to holiness, which a person, in particular Prince Volodymyr, can perceive and actively cooperate. The teaching On Godʼs Executioner, considered the fruit of the work of Theodosius Pecherskyi, represents the perception of punishment as a component in the sequence «repentance – holiness». So, the concept of repentance is complex and essential in Christian (but not only) culture, understood in original literary forms and genres ten centuries ago and does not lose its relevance today.