Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 23 Issue 1

“family of David”. The dedication is also marked with a blue background, which is considered to be the color of the Most Holy Theotokos. The inclusion of the theme of the dedication of the temple in the program of its painting is always a creative process, in which both the customer and the artist participate. The glorification of new saints by the church and the consecration of new churches in their honor requires the creation by icon painters of new iconographic plots that make up the “life cycle” of the saint. The saturation of the temple painting program largely depends on the spiritual needs of society in a particular historical period. III. T he P ossibility of a C reative A pproach in D rawing up a P rogram for P ainting an O rthodox C hurch A common feature for the programs of murals of Orthodox churches, painted in the 21st century, both in Ukraine and in other countries, is the possibility of a creative approach to the creation of new programs of murals and new artistic solutions, which was practically impossible in the 19th and 20th centuries. The question of the admissibility of making changes to the iconographic programs of Orthodox churches remains relevant in the 21st century. On the one hand, it is necessary to preserve the tradition of temple painting, without departing from its main purpose, on the other hand, church art should not turn into a craft and stereotyped copying of ancient samples. Compromises in resolving this issue regarding the iconographic program can most often be found in monastic churches. As the researcher Olga Smolina notes, monastic art is always relevant for the historical period of its creation, plot, composition, color is associated with the solution of socially and / or state significant problems, corresponds to the tastes and artistic styles of the era, performs the functions of illustration, education, decoration 3 . New architectural solutions and the dedication of churches to newly glorified saints require the creation of new programs for murals, without departing from church canons. However, while working on the painting of the temple, the icon painter does not set himself the goal of creating a masterpiece or conquering the parishioners praying in the temple with his skill. Analyzing the features of monastic art and culture, Doctor of Cultural Studies Olga Smolina emphasizes that «art should play a service role here, it acts as a conductor of Christian religious ideas and values, it is strict, restrained, ascetic, “laconic”. Achieving a high artistic level in icon painting and 3 Smolina. O.O. The specificity of "monastic" and "monastic" in the Orthodox Christian culture. // Culture and civilization. (1) 2011, pp. 44-46. architecture may not only not be set as a goal, but it may not be welcome either » 4 . IV. A F ew W ords about S tyles in T emple P ainting One of the pronounced trends in the modern painting of Orthodox churches in Eastern Ukraine is the use of the Byzantine style. It cannot be overlooked that Orthodox churches in the East of Ukraine, built (or restored) and painted during the period of state independence, were painted either in the style of academic painting or in the Byzantine style. Moreover, the style of academic painting is more characteristic of churches painted in the 90s of the 20th century - the beginning of the 21st century, and in the last two decades, customers and icon painters prefer the Byzantine style of painting. First of all, this trend is due to the fact that the period of independence of Ukraine was marked by a special revival of the spiritual self- consciousness of the people, an important component of which was the appeal to religious sources. In the dissertation of A. V. Simonova, it is emphasized that, despite the diversity of trends within Byzantine art, uniform artistic principles are preserved within its framework 5 . Byzantine monumental church painting adopted the classical traditions of antiquity, which were transformed by masters who gave (iconographic) images spirituality. Artists were able to convey through visible images the invisible, spiritual, mystical. The Byzantine icon-painting style is characterized by an emphasis on the internal, and not on the external, abstract abstract forms are not inherent in it. The images convey joy, light, Easter festive mood, they lack tragedy and even drama. Images painted in the Byzantine style are characterized by contemplation, concentration of the mind, calmness, lack of dynamism, self-absorption, withdrawal into the inner world. They reflect the divine presence, so they are often motionless, pillar-shaped, candle-shaped 6 . In the iconographic compositions of the Byzantine style, there are no sharp movements, intense gestures, since the eternal, not the momentary, was valued in everything. The images are timeless and extra- spatial. The main feature of the canonical (Byzantine) style of temple painting is that these images represent a person who has already been transformed by divine grace and a transformed world. In the Byzantine cultural 4 Smolina. O.O. The specificity of "monastic" and "monastic" in the Orthodox Christian culture. // Culture and civilization. (1) 2011, pp. 44-46. 5 Simonova A. V. Byzantine traditions in modern paintings of Orthodox churches of Ukraine (end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century) Kharkiv. 2015. 198 p. 6 Popova O. S. Ways of Byzantine Art. M. GAMMA-PRESS, 2013. - 460 pages. Volume XXIII Issue I Version I 31 Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 ( ) A © 2023 Global Journals Features of the Programs of Murals of Modern Ukrainian Orthodox Churches