Life Traditions in the "Word of Life of st. Gregory Thaumaturgus"
The article is dedicated to the analysis of genre, compositional scheme and the complex of motifs that are realized in the “Word of life of St Gregory Thaumaturgus”. The aim of the article is to investigate the life traditions influence on the Christian laudable word, created according to the laws of encomia. In the course of the research it is established that the structural and compositional scheme of the monument despite of some deviations from the canon, meets the requirements made for the structure of both antique encomium and life. Moreover, the influence of different genre types of hagiography is evident on almost every structural component of the studied encomium (laudable word). Thus, the motifs typical for a Reverend's life, a martyr, a confessor's life and directly for a sanctifier's life are realized in this monument narrating about the deeds of a bishop. Thereby the “Word of life of St Gregory Thaumaturgus” is one of the works that reflect the process of interaction and mutual enrichment of genres which was typical for the Byzantine literature of the IV-VII centuries.