Secular trends in the dialogue between the secular intelligentsia and the orthodox clergy in Ukraine in the second half of the 1980s: an attempt at an archaeological analysis of the discourse

The article is devoted to the problem of the formation of a secular discourse, within the framework of which the dialogue between the Orthodox clergy and the national intelligentsia was carried out in Ukraine on the eve of the proclamation of its state independence. The relevance of the topic is determined by the direct connection of secular trends that developed during the period of perestroika with the processes of comprehension and implementation of the concept of the national church already in independent Ukraine. The methodology is based on the concept of archaeological analysis of discourse developed by M. Foucault. The article analyzes such practices of the formation of secular discourse as the incorporation of a secular understanding of ethical values into the church narrative, the presentation of the meanings of civic ideology as complementary units in the description of the church worldview, the artificial transfer of the evangelical context into the understanding of socio-political processes, the use of personal enthusiasm of the clergy. The idea of the Church’s active participation in public-state transformations with a clearly defined place was put forward by the secular intelligentsia in Ukraine based on the attitudes of the Soviet ideological system, within which the church was considered as an important ideological tool. The dialogue between the intelligentsia and the clergy took place within the framework of secular discourse, which was characterized by a shift in focus from nominative-semantic objects to the need for active participation in solving the problems of society, leaving on the periphery the question of the church’s proper understanding of the meaning and goals of such service.