The Religious and Philosophical Interpretation of Paleya Tolkovaya

Abstract

The paper aims to summarise the experience of studying and interpreting the piece of ancient Russian literature Paleya Tolkovaya. Paleya is a complex semantic text containing polemical, exegetical, and encyclopedic components. Moreover, it has significant religious and philosophical content. Particularly, the paper discusses the apologetic and missionary meanings which can be found in the text of Paleya. The key conclusion of the paper is that the text of Paleya Tolkova is rather affirmative and defending than a polemic piece of literary art in its attitude to Orthodox faith. The theological ideas contained in the text are sustained in the spirit and traditions of the Antiochian theological school, and the apologetic messages of the text are confirmed by the exegesis of the sacred books, supported by the patristic tradition and apocryphal legends.