Антитеза «грешник — праведник» в древнерусском эпистолярии
The antithesis «sinner — righteous» in the Old Russian epistolary prose

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the epistolary genre in the context of other genres of Old Russian literature and raises the question of its originality. The genre of letter is analysed in view of the antithesis «sinner — righteous», which is one of the most stable ones in the Old Russian literature which is relevant, for example, for such genres as saints' lives, teachings, and eulogies. However, it is precisely in the message that this antithesis, by virtue of its greatest personality and specific target, is represented most diversely, in each case, although basically it is recognizable. Old Russian epistolary authors humbly characterize themselves as sinners, while their addressees as described as righteous. However, the antithesis invariably reveals its relativity: the sinner is righteous, and the righteous is a sinner.

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