The Path of Human Spiritual Development in Georgian "Balavariani"

Abstract

One of the most critical issues in hagiography is the presentation of the path of human spiritual development. The writer conducts the narrative while maintain-ing the compositional integrity of the works, presenting an idealized image of the hagiographic hero through the main plot line and its tributary episodes. An analysis of the plot and compositional structure of the Georgian “Balavariani” shows that the main character, Iodasaf, undergoes a visible spiritual transfor-mation from prince to saint, becoming an ideal hero against the backdrop of other characters in the work. Moreover, the prince, educated by Balavari, is the initiator of the spread of the Christian faith in his kingdom. King Abenes tried to educate the prince with pagan religious teachings, but God guided his future through a different spiritual life, a Christian worldview, and self-awareness. Io-dasaph, despite the prohibitions, accepted Christianity and reached the highest level of self-awareness; he was able to convert others to the Christian faith, Of particular significance is the conversion of King Abenes himself. The purpose of the works is the deification of the hagiographic hero who has embarked on the path of sainthood and his transformation into a god-clothed one. The author uses the artistic method of establishing Jodasaph as a saint as a key issue; he himself creates Jodasaph as a saint, employing a hypodigmatic-paradigmatic structure and symbolic-enigmatic facial expressions. The saint of the hagiography, Bal-ahvari in “Balavariani,” and his disciple Jodasaph gradually become clothed with a heavenly image, which is completed by deification and communion with God as a result of their worthy life-work in this world; they achieve citizenship in heaven. The article aims to present the spiritual image and the process of be-coming saints of the characters in the Georgian “Wisdom of Balahvari”.