“More or less, everyone has the desire to go to the sky. Poets sing to the stars, trees try to reach out to the heavens, and hungry wolves howl at the sky. Everyone has the desire to rise to the heavens.”

Goderdzi Chokheli

“Lark”

I am no exception. As soon as I opened my eyes, I began searching for the invisible. This search has led me to my current profession. I completed my Master’s in Theology. So far, nothing more beautiful I could do.

Before this profession, my path of search was quite creative. There was the first theological fairy tale, by Vingopulo Mirsini – From Me-city, to You-city. Many books have had a positive impression on me, but this one made me look into the depths of human nature. This book is about goodness, the defeat of personal egoism, the positive and negative sides of human nature, and their metamorphosis. Also, was “Oscar and the Lady in Pink”.  “Moana” – a girl who breaks the ‘rules’ imposed by the environment, goes against artificial traditions, follows her heart, seeks her true self, and listens to the world. There was ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ where the panda wants to master the art of Kung Fu, and on this journey, he discovers that the truth he is searching for is within him. There was the historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz – Quo Vadis. The novel takes place during the era of Emperor Nero. It is a time of great historical change, when the first Christians appear in Rome. The main character of the novel, Marcus Vinicius, falls in love with a Christian woman, Ligia, and tries to do the impossible to save her. Sienkiewicz, with amazing skill, describes the everyday life of the Roman Empire, brilliantly capturing, on one hand, the decadent life of the imperial court and Caesar, and on the other hand, the simple, faith-filled, and hopeful existence of the Christians, their self-sacrifice, and love. Also, countless fairy tales, books, people. One of the last books by François Mauriac was The Life of Christ. „The world spoke to me in my own language. But I was searching for my own language.“

What is theology? How does science define it, and how do the Fathers of the Church view this task?
St. Gregory the Theologian says: „Let theologians speak the language of fishermen, not Aristotle’s,“ – which I agree with.

Calistos Ware writes – on one hand, it is the doctrine of God, man, essence, and existence, which is implied by theism. On the other hand, for the Holy Fathers, theology meant much more than just a discipline. Clearly, it involves the orderly transmission of Christian teachings using human intellect, but for them, theology also meant the knowledge of God, where not only the intellect is involved, but the whole person, intuitive, spiritual perception, and the heart. None of the twelve apostles, who were chosen by Christ, received education in a theological school. If we follow this, theology is not a ‘theory of the world or a metaphysical system,’ but the expression and formulation of spiritual experience. It is not an intellectual discipline, but an experiential participation, a relationship with the Creator. God is never a passive object of knowledge; He is always an active subject.

As Nodar Dumbadze says: “The human soul is much heavier than the body, so heavy that one person cannot bear it alone. Therefore, while we are alive, we must help each other and try to immortalize each other’s soul somehow; yours is mine, mine is someone else’s, someone else’s is someone else’s, and so on without end, because after the death of that other, we should not grieve and be left alone on this earth.”

The Bible is full of parables and allegories. The purpose of parables and allegories is to make you think, to go deep into your heart, to reflect. It is not something you accept automatically, but you must discover the truth of the text in yourself, you must settle it in your heart or mind. I received answers from the Holy Scriptures, literature, and fairy tales. Based on this, I decided to start writing theological fairy tales, for the greatest ‘theologians,’ such as children, the greatest seekers.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8). A child’s heart recognizes what is true and authentic best. ‘And He said: Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18:3).

A fairy tale with theological content is necessary for both religion and art. A fairy tale, as a branch of literature, is a poetic creation, a narrative work built on a fantastic story, which is connected to reality through ideas, themes, motifs, plot, linguistic features, and national topics.

A fairy tale can be both folkloric and literary. A folkloric fairy tale is a folk tale. It is anonymous, without an author. A literary fairy tale has a specific author. The protagonist of a fairy tale increasingly carries signs of individuality. The magical hero, endowed with magical or miraculous powers, uses his own reasoning and methods to help in critical moments. This assists the child/teenager in forming their identity, making them feel that they are unique and irreplaceable. They have the power to conquer evil with goodness. A fairy tale is one of the great means of understanding cosmic forces.

Writing is a great responsibility before the reader. You are obliged to care for and nurture their inner and intellectual world. I studied at the Kettari Academy, learning both the technical aspects of writing and how to build the content side. This course helped me look into the vast world of writers and gave me the opportunity to become a part of it. Especially in the direction of writing fairy tales.

“A person is someone who has grown up and stayed a child.” – Erich Kästner.

If you like or want to write fairy tales, you must love children endlessly, love fairy tales endlessly, and you yourself must be a child.

 

Ani Oniani
Graduate of Kettari Academy.”