The Image of Christ and Russian Literature

Abstract

This introductory chapter reveals Russia's anxiety over its Christian heritage—specifically, its anxiety over the meaning and significance of Jesus Christ. Russian literature of the past two hundred plus years is as secular as any of the literatures of its European neighbors. And yet, at the same time, like European literature, Russian literature was nurtured and developed in a culture whose art, spirituality, and thought were dominated for centuries by the image of Jesus and the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Indeed, as far as Russian literature is concerned, one may even argue that in its earliest forms—numerous sermons and saints' lives—there was no literature without Jesus, for these works dealt with little else than living in accordance with the words and deeds of Christ. As such, this chapter explores the context behind the anxieties of nineteenth-century Russian writers toward Christ.