Ancient written literature is divided into secular and ecclesiastical. The latter was especially widespread and developed after Christianity began to occupy increasingly strong positions among other world religions.
Religious literature genres
Ancient Russia gained its writing along with the spiritual books that were brought from Byzantium by Greek priests. And the first Slavic alphabet, as you know, was developed by the Solun brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Therefore, church texts became the source of knowledge by which our ancestors comprehended book wisdom. The genres of ancient religious literature included psalms, lives, prayers and sermons, church legends, teachings and tales. Some of them, such as the story, subsequently transformed into genres of secular works. Others remained strictly within the church. Let's see what life is. The definition of the concept is as follows: these are works dedicated to the description of the life and deeds of saints. We are not talking only about the apostles who continued the preaching work of Christ after his death. The heroes of worldly texts were martyrs who became famous for their highly moral behavior and suffered for their faith.
The characteristic signs of life as a genre
From here follows the first distinguishing sign of what life is. The definition included some clarification: firstly, it was compiled about a real person. The author of the work had to adhere to the framework of this biography, but pay attention to those facts that would indicate the special holiness, selectivity and asceticism of the saint. Secondly, what is life (definition): this is a story written to glorify the saint as a warning to all believers and unbelievers, so that they are inspired by a positive example.
An obligatory part of the narrative was reports of the miraculous power that God endowed with the most faithful of his servants. Thanks to God's grace, they could heal, support the afflicted, perform the feat of humility and asceticism. So the authors drew the image of an ideal person, but, as a result of this, many biographical information, details of private life were omitted. And finally, another distinctive feature of the genre: style and language. There are many rhetorical exclamations, appeals, words and phrases with biblical symbols.
Based on the foregoing, what is life? The definition can be formulated as follows: this is an ancient genre of written literature (in contrast to oral folklore) on a religious theme, glorifying the deeds of Christian saints and martyrs.
The lives of the saints
Life works have long been the most popular in ancient Russia. They were written according to strict canons and, in fact, revealed the meaning of human life. One of the most striking examples of the genre is The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, set forth by Epiphanius the Wise. There is everything that should be in literary texts of this type: the hero comes from a pious family of the righteous, obedient to the will of the Lord. God's providence, faith, and prayers have supported the hero since childhood. He meekly endures trials and trusts only in God's mercy. Realizing the importance of faith, the hero spends his conscious life in spiritual works, not caring about the material side of being. The basis of its existence is fasting, prayer, the taming of the flesh, the fight against the unclean, asceticism. The lives of Russian saints emphasized that their characters were not afraid of death, gradually prepared for it and accepted their departure with joy, as this allowed their souls to meet with God and the angels. The work ended, as it began, with the praise and glorification of the Lord, Christ and the Holy Spirit, as well as the righteous man, the reverend.
The list of everyday works of Russian literature
Peru of Russian authors own about 156 texts related to the genre of life. The first of them are associated with the names of the princes Boris and Gleb, who were treacherously murdered by their own brother. They also became the first Russian Christian martyrs, martyrs, canonized by the Orthodox Church and considered the intercessors of the state. Further, the lives of Prince Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and many other prominent representatives of the Russian land were created. A special place in this series is occupied by the biography of Protopope Habakkuk, the rebellious leader of the Old Believers, written by himself during his stay in Pustozersky prison (17th century). In fact, this is the first autobiography, the birth of a new literary genre.