Canonicality/Variability in the Depiction of the Image of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Modern Children’s Hagiographic Literature

Abstract

The article is devoted to a review of the actual problem of children’s reading and modern children’s hagiographic literature based on canonicity and variability, the factors for which are goal-setting, the nature of the addressee, topics, etc. In the article, we analyze the image of Sergius of Radonezh from the point of view of his canonicity and variability in a very new, for the modern reader, genre of clerical drama R. V. Koshurnikova «God is wonderful in His saints. Scenes from the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh», using a comparative analysis of the canonical life of Epiphanius the Wise and the modern hagiographic drama of Rima Koshurnikova, we identified the variability of the image of a saint in a modern hagiographic work, which is due to the addressee factor — the child. The speech, external and internal portraits of the saint were considered, fictional episodes were highlighted, the motivation of the saint to commit this or that act was explained, which speaks of the psychologism of the protagonist.