The Role of Byzantine Chant in Ukrainian Religious Mentality, Orthodox Church and Paraliturgical Music Traditions

The purpose of the study was to identify the characteristic features of the development of liturgical singing in the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition and to establish its connection with musical practices originating from the Byzantine rite. The methodological basis of the study was the historical and genetic method, which allowed tracing the evolution of liturgical singing from the Byzantine period to the present, comparative analysis, which was used to identify differences and common features between different forms of liturgical singing. It was found that the sign singing preserved the key principles of Byzantine monody, including unison performance, focus on the harmonic organisation of the osmoglasia, and flexibility of intonation development without clear rhythmic metricalisation. In the process of reception of Byzantine music in the environment of Kyivan Rus, the chant underwent a gradual adaptation to the phonetic, lexical, and melodic features of the local tradition, which testified to its transformative ability. The transition from monody to polyphony was not a one-time event, but unfolded within the framework of a long cultural dialogue between the Byzantine tradition and Western European influences, in particular in fraternal schools and theological academies. The study of contemporary practice found that elements of Byzantine chant continued to function in the Ukrainian Orthodox environment, in monastery choirs and specialised religious educational institutions.