Judas’ treachery figure of memory

ABOUT THE ROLE OF CHRISTIAN TRADITION IN BULGARIAN CULTURE

The article raises the question of the place of Christian tradition in Bulgarian national culture. It interprets the usage of the figure of Judas Iscariot in the modern historical narrative. First, it disputes the allegation, that there are no Christian images in Bulgarian literature (and culture). Second, it notes the figure of Judas gained significant popularity after the Liberation, when it started to mark up the Bulgarian traitor and became particularly important for Bulgarian national consciousness figure of memory, handling Christological (essentially compensatory) myth of the Bulgarian nation as a victim. Third, it suggests one of its alternatives; the betrayal of Vasil Levski by the priest named Krastyo, has captured the biblical prototype functions, and therefore became a secondary figure of memory. In conclusion, it emphasizes that this case does not mean Christian motifs are absent from the Bulgarian culture, but they have become a background (but not-insignificant one) for the historical narrative, which is actually an example of the immanentization (the historization) of the Christian story; the characteristic phenomenon for the western model of culture after the Enlightenment, where Biblical tradition receives structure-function and serves as a basic for the secular worldview.