HESYCHASM IN CONTEMPORARY LITERARY DISCOURSE – VICTORIA BESHLIYSKA’S NOVEL THE HEART

Abstract

This study examines the artistic manifestations of Hesychasm in contemporary Bulgarian literature by interpreting the novel „Heart“ (2022) by Viktoria Beshliyska. Hesychasm is approached not only as a historical and religious phenomenon established in Orthodox tradition in the Balkans during the fourteenth century, but also as a conceptual framework for interpreting spiritual quests in the context of modern literature. The article traces how the hesychastic paradigm – with its emphasis on silence, the prayer of the heart, inner contemplation, and deification – is transformed into a literary discourse structured around the themes of suffering, love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. The analysis focuses on the characters of Dobranа and the monk Theophan as embodiments of hesychastic values and spiritual-psychological tensions related to the dialectics between eros and agape, reason and faith, the earthly and the transcendent. Key symbols and motifs are examined, including the heart as a spiritual center, the earth as a sacred space, the miracle as a sign of divine presence, and madness as a liminal state between punishment and grace. The study also draws intertextual parallels with Biblical narratives, the novel „Antichrist“ by Emilian Stanev, and Augustine’s concept of the Two Cities. The article further interprets Heart within the framework of post-secular discourse, highlighting the role of hesychastic spirituality as a contemporary response to the crisis of meaning and the existential fragmentation of modern humanity.