THE GOSPEL TEXT AND THE TRADITIONS OF OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE IN DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVEL “THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV”

The article looks at two parts of Fedor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov ? A Russian Monk and Alyosha ? as texts written in the hagiographic tradition. Alyosha is a direct continuation of A Russian Monk (which includes the life of Zosima) and a start of a new vita centered on Alexei Karamazov. Both parts of the novel follow the traditions of old Russian literature, comprising the heritage of such spoken genres as confession, sermon, public address, homily, hymn, prayer, the disciple's memories of the mentor and the last will and testament. The two books of the novel are distinguished by the accent on spoken word and by the concord with the Gospel text. Thus, they are juxtaposed to Ivan Karamazov's 'poem' of The Grand Inquisitor which is in the dialogic relations of disagreement or discord with the Gospel text. The Gospel here is not quoted in the Church Slavonic as in happens in Cana of Galilee, but retold with additions which complement its meaning.