DAVID THE BUILDER AND THE "HYMN OF REPENTANCE" LITERARY MESSAGES

Abstract

The report concerns the poetic creation of the great Georgian king, David the Builder, “Hymns of Repentance”, which is as remarkable a monument of true poetry as the hymns created on the same theme by Ephrem Asuri, Joseph and Theodore Studile, Andrew of Crete, John of Damascus and others. It is emphasized that the work presents the deep feelings of the author’s soul, which must be caused not by the awareness of any specific sin committed by the king, but, in general, by the amazing ability to perceive and understand sins, by the king’s high ethical convictions, which are clearly and distinctly read by the author in the extreme exposure and humility of the labyrinths of his own soul.