The Apology for Dramatic Art in the Work by Archpriest Pavel Svetlov ‘The Idea of the Kingdom of God in Its Meaning for the Christian Worldview

Abstract

The aim of the research is a conceptual analysis of a fragment of the said work by archpriest Paul Svetlov dedicated to the apology for the theater. In order to make the perception of the text adequate to the author’s idea, the introductory part examines the gene­ral ideological principles of this father Paul’s research work. Since the fragment of the text devoted to the theater is primarily polemical in nature, the article also examines the theses of those authors with whom the controversy is being conducted. An attempt is made to objectively assess the degree of persuasiveness of the arguments of sides and the correctness of the rhetorical techniques used, logical errors are identified, etc. The article contains brief information about the cultural and historical context that could affect the nature of the text under consideration. Part of the article is devoted to the analysis of sources (first of all, N. V. Gogol’s letters to Count A. P. Tolstoy about the theater, included in the «Selected Places from Correspondence with Friends»), which archpriest P. Svetlov chose as the basis for his apology. As a result of the research, the semantic field was outlined, within which an internal church polemic about the theater could be underway at the beginning of the XX century.