VISUAL RHETORIC OF PROTESTANT ARCHITECTURE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF ADVENTIST CHURCHES IN KIEV)

Abstract

The article examines the features of the architecture of prayer houses of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine, from the end of the 19th century to the present day. An attempt was made to explain the phenomenon of the development of Gothic elements in the construction of houses of worship in the late XX - early XXI centuries, a chronological period that coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s independence. The connection and role of architecture with the dogmatic foundations of the doctrine of the SDA church has been established. The study partially refers to the methodological approaches proposed by Erwin Panofsky in his work «Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism». It is stated that the architecture of houses of worship largely depended on the political system and religious climate in the state. It is indicated that until 1917, before the Bolshevik coup, new Protestant movements, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had almost no opportunity to build houses of prayer and were persecuted, since there was a specific system of state-confessional relations in the Russian Empire. It is shown that after the Bolshevik coup of 1917, the position of those churches that were based on the teachings brought from Western Europe and the United States succumbed to exceptional obstruction, and their clergy were repressed. Therefore, all existing houses of worship had the appearance of barracks, not standing out among residential and industrial buildings. This situation largely persisted until the collapse of the USSR. Based on the analysis of the architectural features of the three main church buildings in the city of Kiev, it was demonstrated that with the gaining of Ukraine’s independence, architects, during the reconstruction and construction of houses of worship, are turning to borrowing Gothic elements. It has been established that this appeal is due to the fact that, in their image, Gothic buildings, along with aesthetics, are able to embody important theological ideas and serve as visual preaching. It is emphasized that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in its activities is open and oriented towards the evangelization of society, and therefore it is important for it not only to declare its dogma, but also to show an organic connection with the early history of the Christian Church. Together with the high aesthetic content, the Gothic appearance of the buildings allowed the new churches to become attractive spiritual centers and important architectural dominants of the city.