The article analyzes modern approaches to the study of calligraphy (art of handwriting) in terms of its communicative function. Taking into consideration the idea of form and content unity, historically calligraphy managed to form connectional traditions and was represented as one of the ways of transmitting cultural memory. So even after the invention of the printing press, the art of calligraphy was still used to create government documents, significant religious books. Thus, calligraphy is connected both with the creation and translation of certain communicative values. Ontologically, calligraphy represents reflective communication within the object-symbolic layer of culture, based on the special characteristics of the national cultural code. It connects cultural semantic layers and visual-based image categorizations, representing both a tool and a way of storing the principles of such connections, according to a particular culture. Therefore calligraphy implies its role in maintaining interpersonal and group connections, including contacts in the field of international relations. Moreover, the modern context requires taking into account the interaction of calligraphy with the new IT-technology, and the changes that are associated with the replacing calligraphy from the compulsory field for educated people, into an optional field. The article also analyzes the therapeutic role of calligraphy and its relevance to the educational process. With reference to the latest research, the author notes values of calligraphic handwriting for development significant motor skills and related intellectual abilities, despite the attempts of the modern education system to distance itself from the obligatory development of handwriting skills. This allows us to conclude that a comprehensive study of the communicative meaning of calligraphy in culture needs to be continued.