Orthodox Christian fantasy authors. Bibliographic review lesson "Orthodox fantasy by Yulia Voznesenskaya" (9th grade)

“The dangerous moment arises when the fictional mixes with the real. In fact, mysticism differs from fantasy precisely in this - the absence of a clear boundary of fiction. In mysticism, truth and untruth are always mixed.” Writer Dmitry Yemets talks about what the fantasy genre allows a writer and what works “with a Christian slant” can be read in this genre.

Fantasy - a suitcase where you can pack anything

Each entertaining literary genre has its own secret laws. There are constructor genres. These are genres where the reader has not yet opened the book, but already has a rough idea of ​​what will be under the cover. For example, a detective. The book has barely been bought, and you already guess that someone will commit a crime, they will investigate it (variations of the detective from a cool superman to an absent-minded granny), think about the wrong people, and in the end everything will be unraveled.

Or love prose. He loves her, she loves him. Then someone third appears and everything collapses. Suffering, snot, screams. Or an action movie. Here, on every page, spines are guaranteed to crack and bullets will fly.

For a writer, this is at the same time a great relief, since the genre decides everything for you, but also torture, because it is terribly boring when you know everything in advance, as if you were playing some training exercise on the piano.

Only one entertainment genre stands apart - fantasy. Fantasy is a suitcase genre, that is, a universal form in which you can pack anything. Want - love story, if you want - a Greek myth in a new reading, if you want - a philosophical treatise or a serious urban novel. Actually everything.

This gives the writer complete freedom. Finally, you can break the tight embrace of the genre and express whatever you want, without being constrained by any boundaries.

Fun with a breakthrough into eternity

The fantasy genre began as a transformation of myth, fairy tale and legend - stories about heroes without fear or reproach, constantly performing feats and destroying with their swords everything living and inanimate. There is mysticism here, there is the Holy Grail somewhere and the knights of King Arthur.

But very soon this direction became almost a dead end; readers and writers got tired of it. It seemed that everything was death, but then there was a crossing of fantasy with urban realistic novel And romantic story. And then a miracle happened at the level of hybridization. At the intersection of truth and untruth, fiction and truth, exceptionally bright and interesting things began to be born.

The entertainment genre has become a serious genre, perhaps the most serious of all, even with a breakthrough into eternity. In fact, Gogol with “Viy”, and Bulgakov with “The Master and Margarita”, and Hoffmann, and Marquez, and Orlov with “Violist Danilov” can be classified as fantasy genre.

There is nothing wrong with sorcerers, magicians and everything else that occasionally appears on the pages of books. There is nothing scary in the fact that the heroes release sparks from their rings, fly on vacuum cleaners or dive into a kopeck piece on a piebald.

The dangerous moment arises when the fictional mixes with the real. In fact, mysticism differs from fantasy precisely in this - the absence of a clear boundary of fiction. In mysticism, truth and untruth are always mixed.

My own internal recipe is that Christian fantasy is a good and useful genre if you don’t overplay it and follow certain internal laws.

The main law is that you only lead to the doors of the temple, because if you step over them, there will be mysticism, and mysticism is always a mixture.

Fantasy is a populated genre. There are hundreds of different variations of it. In this list article I would like to focus on Orthodox - or, more precisely, Christian - fantasy, since the two main founders of this genre, Tolkien and Clive Lewis, were not Orthodox, and our list cannot do without their books.

1. Clive Lewis: goodness with a reference to the Bible

Usually everyone immediately remembers Lewis's books about Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and wardrobe", "The Horse and His Boy", "Prince Caspian", "The Treader of the Dawn Treader", "The Silver Chair", " last fight" While playing in their uncle's old house, the children find a wardrobe, climb into it and through the wardrobe, as if through a portal, find themselves in wonderful country Narnia.

The books are wonderful and kind. About 7-12 years, I think. There are many references to the Bible, to the Old Testament and to the New. But for me, as an adult reader, Narnia is still too simple and I like Lewis’s other books: The Divorce of a Marriage and The Screwtape Letters. I know them literally by heart, and I always recommend them to everyone. Especially "Dissolution of Marriage". By the way, there is a wonderful sound version. I started with it, and it hooked me.

2. John R.R. Tolkien: a weighty book

“The Two Towers”, “The Return of the King” and other “hobbit” books. The Hobbits destroy the Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, and other adventures. The book is wonderful and Christian. Moreover, it is better to have it in one brick, which contains about one and a half thousand pages. A very powerful book in all respects. You just begin to respect yourself when you read it carefully.

Many current priests began their journey with Tolkien. In any case, I met several who talked about it.

3. Yulia Voznesenskaya: good books for girls

Our list would not be complete without Yulia Voznesenskaya. I remember the books “My posthumous adventures", "Cassandra's Path, or Adventures with Pasta", "Lancelot's Pilgrimage". These are dystopian novels that produce strong impression. Almost as strong as "Mosque" Notre Dame of Paris» Chudinova.

In addition, Yulia Voznesenskaya has a series of books about Yulianna, “Yulianna, or the Game of Kidnapping,” “Yulianna, or Dangerous Games,” “Yulianna, or the Game of Daughters and Mothers.” They evoke in me, however, an ambiguous feeling. I would define them as good books for girls aged 8-11 years. We have them, we buy them, give them as gifts, and they occupy a prominent place on children's shelves. But keywords: “girls” and “8-11”.

4. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451: Secret Charge and Pain

The hero of the book works as a fireman. What do firefighters do? That's right, they burn books, because books contain harmful thoughts, and thinking person everyone is dangerous state system. This is also part fantasy, part dystopian novel. There is some secret charge, thought, pain in the book. It is remembered immediately and for a long time. Now, when humanity has fallen into irresistible captivity to the smartphone and tablet, the book is simply prophetic. By the way, 451 °F is the ignition temperature of paper.

5. Alexander Torik, “Dimon”: good church-going effect

Alexander Thorik also has Flavian and its sequels, very useful books for churching adults, very unobtrusively introducing all the basic church concepts, but I like “Dimon” better. At one time I gave away several books to various friends. On the one hand, “Dimon” was written, as it were, completely outside the standards of literature, but this gives it special power. The story captivates you. The book has a very good church-building effect, especially if it reaches a boy of 13-14-15 years old who does not read too much.

The plot is simple. A 17-year-old teenager, pimply, unlucky, absurd, goes to hell and goes through ordeals to save his classmate, a rather frivolous girl. In any case, so much so that at the age of 17 she is already in hell. But everything ends happily - with a wedding.

6. Dmitry Yemets, “ShNyr”: less moralizing

“Lion, Pegasus and Centaur”, “No Way Out”, “Bridge to Someone Else’s Dream”, “Second Chance Dragonfly”, “Ant Maze”, “Skull and Arrow”, “A Breath of Fire”, “Saddle for the Dragon”.

“Shnyr” is my most new project, newer only the series “My big family": "Riot of the Babies", "Day of the Toddlers", "Mysterious Whototam". This is probably already in pure form Orthodox fantasy, at least that’s how I intended it.

ShNyr is not a first name, not a surname, not a nickname. ShNyr is a building in which shnyrs are collected and which can be found on the map of the near Moscow region. Outwardly, this is the most ordinary panel building, resembling the letter N from above. Every hundred years it is demolished and a new one is built so as not to attract attention.

Shnyrs are not magicians, although their abilities far exceed any human understanding. If something significant or inexplicable happens somewhere in the world, it means that there was something wrong here. It is impossible for an outsider to enter the ShNyr territory. Anyone who has betrayed the laws of ShNyr at least once cannot go back.

If the residence of darkness is in Moscow, but ShNyr is already in the Moscow region. They need a separate base; everything there is also thought out geographically. I took Kolyubakino, which I know well, as the basis for the village, which is nearby and is called Kopytovo.

This is the concept of the series. There are three worlds. Our world, a dead world – swamp, and true eternal peace, where death does not exist - kopeck piece. Kopeck piece- a world that has only yet been prepared for people and is not yet populated. The only way to penetrate the kopeck piece is with the help of a peg, a winged horse that will carry the shnyr through the dead world.

People are not born with a schnyr. No supernatural talents or relationship with a wizard are needed for this. Shnyrs are chosen by golden bees, the only hive of which in the world is located in Shnyr. No one, not even the shnirs themselves, knows who the bee will choose next time and, most importantly, why. You cannot accidentally crush or kill a golden bee, but you can betray it. In this case she dies.

And, like “Mefodiy,” outwardly “ShNyr” is absolutely not moralizing. I was probably overfed with moralistic literature at one time and that’s why I’m allergic to it. I think a moral and an idea are something that works best when you don't say it explicitly. In the actions themselves, in the interpretation of situations, etc. There should be as little moral teaching as possible.

If everything were different, it would be enough to write something absolutely correct fifty times in a row, like: “Children, study well and be wonderful people!” so that everyone becomes an excellent student and keeps all the commandments. However, this is not how the human brain works. If I say fifty times in a row: “Be a good man!”, everyone will automatically want to become bad, and perhaps throw a stool at the moralizer.

I always try to remember this when I write something.

Library Lesson - Review

Grade: 9th grade.

Topic: “Orthodox fantasy by Yulia Voznesenskaya.”

Goals:

Introduce works of art Orthodox themes, written in the fantasy genre;

Tell 9th ​​grade students about Orthodoxy as a religion using fascinating books as an example;

Give an idea of ​​the commandments and spiritual and moral values preached by Christianity in general, and Orthodoxy in particular.

Stimulate interest in reading.

Equipment: book exhibition, presentation, computer.

Preparatory work. A month before this library lesson, a presentation of the books “Cassandra’s Way, or Modern Fantasy” is organized for 9th grade students. After which the children read the works presented at the exhibition.

Move

I . Org moment.(slide 1)

Hello guys. I'm glad to see you in school library. (slide 2)

II. Introductory conversation.

Guys, are you familiar with the fantasy genre? What genre is this?

Which writer was the founder of the fantasy genre?

Librarian. (slide 3)

Fantasy is a literary genre that was formed in the twentieth century as a dream of a person’s personal freedom from economics, laws and other aspects of everyday life, incorporating the edification and humanity of a fairy tale, the epic and tragic nature of a myth, and the nobility of a knightly romance. Authors working in this genre create worlds located parallel to reality or not connected with it at all. The worlds are characterized by the harmony of man and nature, the diversity of intelligent beings, and magic is present everywhere. Fantasy reveals philosophical and humanistic ideas in an accessible form.

Today it is quite difficult to define fantasy, because now works of this genre are very popular, and you can find them on almost any book counter. But on the other hand, how literary movement, it was formed in the middle of the twentieth century. So what is it: a universally recognized classic or a fleeting burst of fame caused by the propaganda of the gaming and film industry?

Video about the film “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”. (slide 4)

What do you guys think, can such a secular literary genre as fantasy serve as an impetus for thinking about the meaning of life, its spiritual fullness and moral ideals?

Librarian. One of the most famous books written in the fantasy genre is C.S. Lewis's book "The Chronicles of Narnia". The book, first published in the 50s of the twentieth century, was included in the classic fund of children's literature. It tells about the adventures of the heroes in the amazing country of Narnia, created by the kind and wise wizard the lion Aslan. Narnia is inhabited by talking animals and birds, centaurs and fauns, giants and other amazing creatures. The heroes of the book defend the freedom of Narnia in the fight against the forces of evil. “Narnia” is rightfully considered a book that tells about the biblical commandments by which every person should live. This is the “first sign” in a series of books written in the style of fantasy with a moral treatise.

In our country there are writers working in this genre. Let's talk about one of them. This is Yulia Nikolaevna Voznesenskaya. Orthodox writer, trying himself in various popular literary genres.

The books of Yu. Voznesenskaya are books by a person deeply rooted in the Orthodox faith.

Video “God-Bearing Russia” song-clip by S. Kopylova. (slide 5)

III. Statement of the topic.

Librarian. (slide 6). Today we will get acquainted with the works of Yulia Voznesenskaya. Let's reread excerpts from these works.

IV. The main part (presentation of works, conversation on books read, reading passages).

Librarian. The first book, “My Posthumous Adventures,” was written in France, where the writer emigrated from Soviet Union. Yu. Voznesenskaya began working on the book in 1990, and she was inspired to do this work by the nun of the Lesninskaya Holy Mother of God Convent, who survived clinical death and told Voznesenskaya about what she saw...

1. “My posthumous adventures”, Voznesenskaya, Yu.N. (slide 7)

Librarian. What are the ordeals of the soul, what awaits us after death, what temptations lie in wait for us - “My Posthumous Adventures” tells about this - a collection of grains of spiritual wisdom and experience of many people.

Who is this work about?

Who was Anna before she fell into a coma?

How does the book end?

Reading a passage.

What character traits did the heroine of the book display during her ordeal? the afterlife?

How did this work make you feel?

2. “Cassandra’s Path, or Adventures with Pasta”, Voznesenskaya, Yu.N. (slide 8)

Librarian. The book by Yulia Nikolaevna Voznesenskaya “The Way of Cassandra, or Adventures with Pasta” is a futuristic dystopian novel telling about the times of the reign of the Antichrist-False Messiah on earth.

The main character of the book, the girl Cassandra, revived for real life a great miracle of love, overcomes many difficulties and finds his way to God. The story "Cassandra's Way" is another attempt to remind us that the end of the world will come, according to the Apostle Paul, when love becomes scarce and people become selfish, proud, arrogant, slanderous, ungrateful and cruel...

Tell us how the world is shown in the story?

Could you imagine yourself in the place of the main character?

Reading a passage to students.

3. “One Hundred Days Before the Flood”, Voznesenskaya, Yu.N. (slide 9)

Librarian. The heroes of the parable story “One Hundred Days Before the Flood” are Noah, his family and their contemporaries, who do not want reconciliation with God.

The book is based on biblical story, but this story is about our time, about you and me and about whether we heed the warnings of Holy Scripture, or whether everything is repeating itself, as in the times Flood when Noah called people to salvation for a hundred years, but only animals responded.

Name the main characters of the work.

How did people live in anticipation of the flood?

Which episodes show that people did not heed Noah's call?

Students read the passage role-playing.

4. “Yulianna or the game of kidnapping”, Voznesenskaya, Yu.N. (slide 10)

Librarian. This is the first book in a fairytale trilogy. famous writer Yulia Voznesenskaya "Yulianna". Two twin girls, Julia and Anya, are experiencing dangerous adventures that happened to them due to the fault of their stepmother-witch. It turns out the world is full dark forces who, at any cost, strive to force people to commit evil acts. But faith in God and the intercession of Guardian Angels help the girls overcome all dangers. But “Julianna” doesn’t end there! Several more books in this series have been written.

Reading of a passage by a librarian.

V. General conversation.

What works were presented?

What are these works about?

What works moved you? Why?

VI. Miracles of our time. Watch a video clip.

Librarian. Guys, today we talked to you about the heroes of the books who came to Faith, encountering obstacles in their life path. Now let's see real stories from life about miracles that occur in our time.(slide 11)

Conversation

Why do many people turn to God in moments of the most difficult trials that they encounter on the path of life?

Do you believe in miracles and have you encountered them in life?

VI. Bottom line. Reflection.

Librarian. Guys, our library lesson on the topic “ Orthodox fantasy by Yulia Voznesenskaya" ends. Let's summarize.

- Complete the sentences:

We got acquainted with works about...

Today I found out...

It was interesting to me…

Librarian (slide 12) Having examined some of the works of the writer, we can safely say that Yu. Voznesenskaya is the connecting link between the Orthodox Church and humanity. Her novels, novellas and stories serve as a guiding star that leads every person to the foundations of Orthodoxy. But any religion is, first of all, a set of moral laws and rules that every person around the world must follow in order to live in harmony with himself and others. Thank you for your attention!

Bibliography

1. Voznesenskaya Yu.N. My posthumous adventures / Yu.N. Voznesenskaya. - M.: Lepta Book, 2009. – 288 p.

2. Voznesenskaya Yu.N. Cassandra's Path, or Adventures with Pasta / Yu.N. Voznesenskaya. - M.: Lepta Book, 2011. – 592 pp.: ill.

3. Voznesenskaya Yu.N. One Hundred Days Before the Flood / Yu.N. Voznesenskaya. - M.: Lepta Book, 2011. – 128 p.: ill.

4. Voznesenskaya Yu.N. Yulianna, or the game of kidnapping / Yu.N. Voznesenskaya. - M.: Lepta Book, 2010. –275 p.

Application

Brief content of excerpts from works read in class.

1. "My posthumous adventures." « My posthumous adventures began with the fact that I fell from the fourth floor and crashed.<…>

Our cat Watermelon loved to go to the toilet in nature, and my boxes with flowers, suspended from the balcony lattice - from above and below - served him as such. As soon as the balcony door was left open for exactly a minute, he would immediately sneak into the luxurious thickets of petunias and shit there with pleasure. And that wouldn’t be so bad: but, having committed obscenity and sensing retribution, the vile desecrator of innocent flowers cowardly tried to hide the traces of the crime, while clods of earth and scolded branches of petunias flew in different directions.

No amount of educational measures, including beating him on the head with a folded Russian Thought in four, could cure the cat of his favorite vice.

That ill-fated morning, I went out onto the balcony several times so as not to miss the taxi I had ordered the night before, and I simply forgot to close the balcony door behind me for the last time.<…>After that I went to the bedroom and fell asleep. The heart-rending meow of Watermelon woke me up. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the balcony, from where his cries for help were flying.

The sneering cat, taking advantage of the open door and the silence in the house, this time got to the bottom drawer, did his dirty deed there, and was unable to get out back: his fat belly, for which, in combination with his stripes, was nicknamed Watermelon, did not let him to crawl between the bars of the grate, and spreading petunias prevented him from climbing over the top. I leaned over the railing and grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck, and he was so scared that, just to be sure, he twisted around and grabbed my hand with all twenty claws. I jerked in pain and, trying to grab him with my other hand, leaned too much over the railing: my legs almost came off the floor, and the scared Watermelon at this decisive moment did not lose his head and jumped up over my shoulders and back and thereby saved his striped skin, me pushed down. I completely lost my balance and fell headfirst from the fourth floor. I hasten to reassure those who are passionate about the welfare of pets: after I was taken to the hospital howling in an ambulance, and the police broke into the apartment, our neighbor Frau Hoffmann took the poor orphaned cat under her care, and he was doing well with her.

It was bad for her geraniums.

The lilac bush, which I fortunately fell into, was old and spreading - perhaps this slightly softened the blow. After all, I didn’t break softly, but only broke half of the bones and smashed my head like a nut.

When I woke up in the intensive care ward and in the mirrored ceiling above me I saw my mortal remains surrounded by doctors, I once again admired the successes of German medicine: a whole team of doctors treated my unfortunate limbs! Some were putting the broken ribs back into my chest, sticking out of it like springs from an old sofa, others were screwing some screws and dowels into the scattered bones of my legs, others were digging into my slightly open stomach and sewing something there - and I watched everything that was happening in the mirror above me and felt neither pain nor fear - only complete and absolute peace.

I looked at the reflection of my face as it appeared between the green tops of the doctors bending over me: I wanted to see how my appearance corresponded to this medicinal bliss - and that’s when it all really began. I saw my face, but it was the face of a corpse: white to the point of bluishness, the nose became pointed, blue lips stuck to the teeth, between which a transparent tube stuck out, and in it something hissed and gurgled. I felt disgusted with myself - I was always scared by the faces of the dead, and then there was my own... But the worst thing was that my eyes were closed - so how can I see all this?!

Out of fright, I jerked to the side and... found myself hanging between two lamps from the ceiling. And in an instant everything turned upside down: there was no mirror above me - it was I myself who was at the top and looking from there at what was spread out below own body…»

2. “Cassandra’s Way, or Journey with Pasta.”

“... Of course, in the morning I woke up at six o’clock on a signal, like all the planets. I took a shower while simultaneously checking my blood pressure, pulse and other health indicators on a diagnostic device placed on the floor of the hygiene room: if the indicator mounted in the wall level with my eyes showed any deviation from the norm, I took medicine or vitamins on his advice . Then I got dressed, drank my morning energy drink and at exactly seven o’clock joined the general program. I sang the Anthem with everyone and watched the morning news. Then I switched to mine work program and within two hours fulfilled incoming orders, and upon completion of work sent a report to the Labor Department. From that moment on I was free.

I chose some simple and nutritious dish from today’s menu on the food control panel, after receiving the container, I immediately ate my order, often without even heating it, quickly drank a fortified energy drink and went into my beloved Reality before the evening news at nineteen o’clock. If watching the news wasn't mandatory for everyone, I think a lot of people would miss it evening program, because it lasted twice as long as the morning one and ended at about twenty hours. Every eighth week, since it was a general day off, the program began two hours earlier due to the constant and beloved program “Week of the Messiah.” While watching it, I had dinner at the same time and immediately after the evening performance of the Anthem again went to see friends, sometimes until the morning. On such nights, I even slept in Reality: like everyone else, I had my own chambers in the castle. I noticed, however, that sleep in Reality was not complete and was a little detrimental to my health, but sometimes I really didn’t want to be chained with a safety belt in my chair-bed, in a narrow room-cabin without windows, where I could hear the annoying splash of waves all the time instead of a nice lock. on the steel side of the Titanic.

We did not mix Reality with everyday life, we did not meet and were not interested in each other’s lives outside of Reality - this was not prohibited by the rules, but it was not accepted ... "

3. “One hundred days before the flood.” “...Dinka went down to the very bottom of the stairs and ran along the path between the dunes, then disappearing behind them, then again appearing in sight. She herself looked like a dragonfly in her short iridescent cloak fluttering behind her...

- Hello, Simka! - Dinka kissed him from the run and sat down next to him on a log.

- Hello Dinka! Why were you gone for so long?

- I did renovations in a restaurant. That week, the visitors staged a magnificent fight: three columns were demolished and broken into pieces, well, the canopy collapsed at one end. Five clients dead, twelve wounded! This is a record, huh? Now there is no end to visitors, everyone wants to look at the scene, at the new columns and imagine what it was like. And how are you, arks?

- We are working. After all, the sailing is already in a hundred days.

- Oh, come on, Simka! Grandfather Noah has been talking about this Flood of yours for a hundred and twenty years, not a hundred days, and the Ark is still there,” she nodded towards the real Ark. - He himself became a jester and turned his family into a laughing stock. I’m ashamed to tell anyone that I myself once almost belonged to it...

- Have you forgotten about this yourself, Dinka?

Dinka shook her head.

- No, Sim, I haven’t forgotten. You are still like a brother to me. I remember how you screamed, how they held your hands so that you would not rush after me. And Noah... He stood with his head down, and he probably felt sorry for me, but he still didn’t do anything.

- Dina, be fair: your father did not know how the meeting with your mother would turn out for you! After all, it was yours birth mother- How could he not give you to her? - Sim hugged Dinka, pulled her towards him and lightly kissed her on the top of her head. - Do you really blame him for what happened to you later, Dina?

- Yes, I blame you,” Dinka whispered, burying herself in his shoulder. - You hear me, I will never be able to forgive him! - and she cried resentfully and bitterly, like a child. Sim sighed heavily and hugged his girlfriend tighter.

Minutes passed, Sim was silent, only stroked her head, and Dinka, gradually calming down, began to sob less often.

- Sim, what if these hundred days appointed by Noah pass and nothing happens, will you leave your father?

- No, Dina, I won’t leave.

- Why? - she asked, raising her head.

- Yes, because if the father said that the Flood would begin in a hundred days, then it would be so. He did not invent these terms himself, the Creator gave them to him.

- Well, what if there is no Flood after all? Could your father be wrong?

- The Father probably can, but not the Creator.

- Oh, how tired I am of this talk about the Creator, whom no one has seen for a long time! “Dinka jumped up and began to walk back and forth in front of Sim, leaving clear traces of her narrow shoes on the wet sand...”

3. “Julianna, or the game of kidnapping.” « An Angel flew across the midnight sky, he was in a hurry to the city of the Holy Apostle Peter: for all his troubles the Angel had only this one night, a very short one White Night, after all, it was already the first month of school holidays. And the matter was of extreme urgency and importance: the Guardian Angel had to find out before the morning whether one good Pskov girl should go on vacation to her father in St. Petersburg. The girl Anya was his ward, the Guardian Angel of the soul doted on her and affectionately called her Annushka. Tomorrow Annushka’s father is supposed to call her grandmother in Pskov to discuss the issue of vacation. But if it suddenly turns out that going to St. Petersburg is not useful for Annushka, the Guardian Angel must have time to do everything so that this trip does not take place.

Ahead appeared a mountain of clouds, illuminated by pale and somehow uncertain rays of the sun: it, the sun, seemed to not be able to decide whether it should set today or whether it would be better to remain hanging just above the horizon - anyway, it would soon rise again and rise into the sky. Several planes flew past the Angel, and one after another they all dived into these lush clouds. “There’s a city down there,” thought the Angel and also began to descend.

From a distance, the clouds seemed dazzlingly clear, but inside they consisted entirely of a muddy bluish fog, in which tails of stinking smoke of various shades swirled, curled and intertwined. These were the physical and moral fumes of a big city. The angel tried to quickly pass through this malignant cloud and increased his flight speed so much that his wings began to hum.

And so he, having pierced right through the clouds, found himself above northern capital. Below him he saw green roofs, black roofs, red roofs, gray roofs - a whole sea of ​​roofs, and in it - golden islands of church domes, bell towers and spiers.

But it wasn’t just planes flying in the city sky: above the very rooftops, like flocks of bats, circling, darting, diving into sleeping houses and again flying out of them were black demons on webbed wings, and they looked busy, preoccupied and very ominous. And angels circled above, shining like big stars; they flew singly, in pairs and in small flocks. There were much fewer angels than demons, and from above they seemed to the Guardian to be white swans soaring above flocks bats. Sometimes the Angels sank lower, and then the demons scattered from them. Sometimes there were clashes. But if in some corner of the city demons suddenly began to circle predatorily around a lone Angel, other Angels immediately came to his aid at top speed, leaving wide stripes of light behind them. And people probably thought that these stripes were left by planes...

“However, here big war coming, thought the Angel. - Demons, so many demons! And ours don’t yawn either..."

From the side pocket of the surplice, the Guardian Angel took out a ball of greenish-milky glass - a mirror of communication - and straightened the toroki. At first glance, the toroks seemed to be the ends of a narrow brocade ribbon supporting the Angel’s golden curls, but these were Angelic antennas.

– Guardian Angel John calls the Guardian of St. Petersburg.

A luminous figure appeared in the depths of the mirror.

– “I am the City Guard of St. Petersburg,” sounded from the wonderful ball...”

“The dangerous moment arises when the fictional mixes with the real. In fact, mysticism differs from fantasy precisely in this - the absence of a clear boundary of fiction. In mysticism, truth and untruth are always mixed.” Writer Dmitry Yemets talks about what the fantasy genre allows a writer and what works “with a Christian slant” can be read in this genre.

Each entertaining literary genre has its own secret laws. There are constructor genres. These are genres where the reader has not yet opened the book, but already has a rough idea of ​​what will be under the cover. For example, a detective. The book has barely been bought, and you already guess that someone will commit a crime, they will investigate it (variations of the detective from a cool superman to an absent-minded granny), think about the wrong people, and in the end everything will be unraveled.
Or love prose. He loves her, she loves him. Then someone third appears and everything collapses. Suffering, snot, screams. Or an action movie. Here, on every page, spines are guaranteed to crack and bullets will fly.
For a writer, this is at the same time a great relief, since the genre decides everything for you, but also torture, because it is terribly boring when you know everything in advance, as if you were playing some kind of educational exercise on the piano.
Only one entertainment genre stands apart - fantasy. Fantasy is a suitcase genre, that is, a universal form in which you can pack anything. Do you want a love story, do you want a Greek myth in a new interpretation, do you want a philosophical treatise or a serious urban novel. Actually everything.
This gives the writer complete freedom. Finally, you can break the tight embrace of the genre and express whatever you want, without being constrained by any boundaries.

Fun with a breakthrough into eternity

1. Clive Lewis: goodness with a reference to the Bible

2. John R.R. Tolkien: a weighty book

3. Yulia Voznesenskaya: good books for girls

4. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451: Secret Charge and Pain

5. Alexander Torik, “Dimon”: good church-going effect

6. Dmitry Yemets, “ShNyr”: less moralizing

I would like to start this article with a whole bunch of disclaimers.

Christian fantasy certainly exists. An example of this is “The Chronicles of Narnia” (and indeed almost all of Lewis’s work), “The Brotherhood of the Talisman” and many other works.

Orthodox fiction also, undoubtedly, exists, and there are truly brilliant authors and works there.

The Orthodox author is quite capable of writing an interesting, talented fantasy. An example of this is Vitaly Kaplan, although his “Circles in the Void” still bear the undoubted imprint of Orthodoxy - I will explain in detail what this means later - and therefore are not entirely readable. And if we understand “fantasy” extremely broadly, then, of course, one cannot help but recall Gogol, whose “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and “Viy” are an excellent description in all respects magical world, in which a Little Russian peasant lived in his time.

In general, not every Orthodox person corresponds to the description to which this article is devoted. But nevertheless, Orthodoxy is structured in such a way as to bring each of its adherents, as far as possible, closer to this ideal.

And finally, everything that I will say today applies primarily to Russian Orthodoxy. I don’t know how things are in this regard in other countries - Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, etc. If you have such information, be sure to let me know in the comments.

When discussing Russian Orthodoxy, one should keep one simple fact in mind - in its essence it is the Old Believers. It broke with Catholicism, not least for the same reasons that six hundred years later the schismatics broke with the Moscow Patriarchate. Catholics, by the way, call the Orthodox not heretics, but schismatics - see the meaning of the word “schism” and its difference from the concept of “heresy”.

Orthodox identity is tied to ritual and only ritual. In order for an Orthodox to recognize himself as Orthodox, he must be a member of an Orthodox group, perform the correct rituals and worship God with others. in a certain way. And it is imperative to wait for the coming of the Antichrist and the end of the world - this is already a specifically our, domestic feature.

This leaves an imprint on all Orthodox literature - it must necessarily mention monks, icons, domes, confessions, akathists and all other surroundings. Without this, no text will be recognized by the Orthodox as their own.

When I say that Orthodoxy is fixed on surroundings and rituals, I do not mean at all that it does not have its own internal content.

On the contrary, it exists. It is an atmosphere of concentrated, reverent attention. That feeling with which a person receives a great treasure from his predecessor in order to pass it on unchanged, when the time comes, to his heir.

The problem with this atmosphere is that it is in no way compatible with critical thinking, understanding, the ability to doubt and ask questions. You can only listen, absorb the words and “lay them in your heart,” as it is said in the Gospel of Luke.

Hence the concept that is very characteristic of Russian Orthodoxy - it does not need to be followed, it does not need to be lived, it is necessary hold on. You broke away, let go of your hand - you lost the treasure entrusted to you. They will give it again only if you have time to repent and be punished for your offense before the forces of darkness reach you.

The feeling of self-sufficiency and completeness of Orthodoxy entails a negative attitude towards any revisions and research. If the fullness of the truth has already been revealed to you, then all the means of solving problems are also at your service. There is no need to look for them somewhere out there - just remember in time. Any changes in divine perfection are always a deviation from the truth, changes for the worse.

In another article I already gave an example of where this leads in the literature. A Catholic priest who needs to exorcise an ancient Babylonian demon from the human world will look for what spell the cultists of darkness used to summon this demon, and what words can be used to send him back to the depths of hell. An Orthodox priest will cast out a demon by walking, with the sign of the cross, holy water and the Jesus Prayer, and the demon will not be able to do anything to him, for he is powerless before the righteous.

Fantasy is a story about miracles in a magical world. This type of literature became popular precisely because our own world disenchanted By reading fantasy, we temporarily enchant it back, superimpose magical reality onto everyday reality and touch the miracle.

But Orthodoxy is the most magically oriented branch of Christianity. He has his own, rather gloomy, magical world, filled with spirits and invisible forces. The Orthodox dwells in it constantly, and it is this that he considers the only real one.

For him, the disenchanted reality in which everyone else lives is, on the contrary, the result of evil spells, the cunning of the devil, who managed to convince people that neither he nor God exists.

The Orthodox also have their own stories about miracles in this magical world - these are the lives of saints. But the Orthodox read them not as a way to experience a miracle, but as documentary sources. To doubt that one saint defeated a dragon, and the second flew on a demon to Jerusalem, means to doubt Orthodoxy itself.

And therefore, the concept of secondary reality introduced by Tolkien cannot fit into the head of an Orthodox Christian. To move into the magical world invented by the author, he must first leave his own. He does not do this - this would be tantamount to a renunciation of faith. Instead, he pulls any texts about miracles into his own magical world and understands them according to its laws.

If you want to understand why Orthodox Christians don't like JK Rowling, keep in mind - for them there is literally no difference between Harry Potter and Peter of Murom.
When an Orthodox Christian reads “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia,” he believes that its hero really fought with a were-serpent and retrieved a wonderful sword from under the church wall.

When he reads the GP, he believes that wizards can really fly on brooms, brew witchcraft potions and cast spells. But at the same time, the book tells him that they are not doing this with demonic power and are not afraid of prayer. In the world of life, this simply cannot happen, which means this book is a lie, composed by sorcerers in order to distort and spoil his world and his faith.

Let's take those writers who were mentioned at the beginning of the article.

Gogol places the action in the world of slightly Christianized paganism, in which the common people lived - and for the most part still live. His heroes are also far from saints. Therefore, the circle outlined in chalk turns out to be better protection for Khoma Brut than church walls, a cross and prayers, and the rest of the heroes (except perhaps the blacksmith Vakula, who humbles the devil with the sign of the cross), when faced with magic, communicate with it according to magical laws .

Vitaly Kaplan is simply a talented fantasy author. His works can be called Christian, but there is nothing specifically Orthodox in them. The same “Circles in the Void” take place in a world that is structured in a completely non-biblical way. There is astral space, subtle energies, a person has three souls, one of which binds him to home world and does not allow one to move into another - in a word, occultism into all fields. And all these are not just the beliefs of sorcerers from the exotic and cruel Ollar, but hard fact- one might say, local magical physics.

Christianity here is not that miracles are performed through prayer (although this also happens), but that people who live in truth prevail over those who care about themselves. Well, one more thing is that by human forces evil cannot be defeated completely - it will always sooner or later raise its head again, even in another world.

Perhaps, “Circles in the Void” could be called an Orthodox answer to Harry Potter, but this book is not at all for children.

And any attempts to write fantasy according to Orthodox rules degenerate either into something like “Julianna” or into something like the notorious “Children against Wizards”.

Our conversation with the chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Federation about the relevance of reading - spiritual and secular Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement.

Vladyka, is the celebration of Orthodox Book Day becoming a tradition?

Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk: The purpose of this holiday is not only to remember the event of the publication of the first book, but also to draw attention to the meaning of the book for each of us, to remember our first favorite book, which once opened before us new world knowledge, revealed the secrets of spiritual life, introduced us to the great Russian culture, and introduced us to the world of beauty.

What is a book? For each of us, she is a teacher of life, through her the way we perceive the world is instilled in us, our thinking is formed.

Orthodox Book Day is celebrated everywhere. All dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church together with educational and cultural institutions, various public organizations hold a wide variety of events: exhibitions, excursions, open lessons, Mind games. Of course, their main theme is books, the popularization of reading and book culture.

New this year are two competitions aimed at popularizing book culture among young people. One - All-Russian children's literary competition named after Ivan Shmelev "Summer of the Lord" for the best literary work, dedicated to creativity Orthodox authors. It starts this spring. Other - International children's competition research work "St. Sergius in the history, literature, art of Russia. Seven centuries of history." It is held jointly with the RSL. Its goal is to study the heritage of Russian civilization and culture.

Traditionally, the main event of Orthodox Book Day in Moscow is the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Moscow Mayor S.S. Sobyanin with children from orphanages and students cadet corps, children from large families and the most ordinary schoolchildren from Moscow and other regions in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Today's Russia is often spoken of as a country of declining reading. This is a controversial opinion. What happens to reading? Orthodox literature? Is your readership shrinking or growing?

Metropolitan Clement: Indeed, over the past two decades, Russia has ceased to be the most reading country, and there are reasons for this. Social change in society, development of electronic means mass media, television, the Internet increased the intensity modern life people and increased information overload. There is not enough time to read a book in its traditional sense. Unfortunately, young people were consumed by passion by electronic means audiovisual culture, and they treat printed books with less attention than their parents. But reading is making a comeback thanks to the development of modern information technologies: e-books and others mobile devices contribute to this.

IN last years We are seeing an increase in interest in Orthodox literature. People of all kinds social groups and varying degrees of church affiliation, they are increasingly visiting specialized stores of Orthodox literature and are happy to purchase spiritual and Orthodox fiction and children’s literature not only for themselves, but also for gifts for loved ones. This is largely due to the fact that the revival of interest in books and reading coincided with a growing interest in the spiritual culture of Russia, in understanding the spiritual origins of our people. People are looking for an answer to eternal questions life and death, faith, love, they want to find the truth and in this search they first of all turn to the book.

Writer Alexey Varlamov, laureate Patriarchal Prize in literature, said that today even secular writers have hope for a believing audience; they are the only ones who do not lose interest in reading. This appears to be the case. How would you explain this phenomenon?

Metropolitan Clement: I agree with him. To be a believer means to constantly develop, to have a constant desire for knowledge, to improve in the knowledge of faith, and first of all through reading the Gospel, the writings of the Holy Fathers, as well as literature that helps to understand Orthodoxy. For Orthodox man reading is as important as fasting and prayer. Thanks to reading exercises, the Orthodox community becomes to a large extent morally oriented, educated, cultural, capable of not only preserving the continuity of tradition, but also, in a calm discussion, defending the right to its originality in a civilized manner. Russian classic literature, for which truth and holiness were the ideals, is organically connected with Christianity; only people with a distorted consciousness can not see this.
And now more and more new writers are appearing who can safely be called “secular.” Last year, A.N. became laureates of the Patriarchal Literary Prize named after Saints Cyril and Methodius. Varlamov, S.Yu. Kunyaev and Yu.M. Loschits - all these writers are recognized luminaries, their names are known to anyone interested in modern Russian literature. At the same time, they pay great attention to the spiritual tradition of Orthodoxy, which lies at the basis of Russian literature. In this vein, dividing writers into “secular” and “Orthodox” loses its meaning. The Publishing Council works closely with everyone who is aware of their responsibility for preserving the continuity of the cultural and spiritual tradition of Russian literature for new generations of both writers and readers.

What are Orthodox believers reading today? Modern church book publishing is more than 20 years old - how have the tastes of the reading public changed? What is in the lead today is “The Ancient Patericon” and other works of the holy fathers or the fantasy of Yulia Voznesenskaya (also necessary in its own way).

Metropolitan Clement: Currently, books on Church history are of great interest. Soviet period, notes, diaries, memoirs of believers who lived through times when the topic of religion was taboo and many did not even know about the existence of the Church. It is this circumstance that determines the success that the books of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Olesya Nikolaeva, and Archpriest Andrei Tkachev have.
There is a constant demand for spiritual and ascetic literature. Residents of monasteries and lay people striving for spiritual life are eagerly awaiting the publication of the spiritual instructions of the Athonite elders. Teachers and students of theological schools are more interested in theological literature, in particular, new translations of the holy fathers and Western theologians. Secular youth prefer the fantasy you mentioned, young priests like “Divine Instructions”, the youngest readers like fairy tales about the Hedgehog...

Since we live in a market era where the principle “demand creates supply” prevails, we can say that if such a wide range of publications were not in demand, it would not exist. And despite the fact that the circulation of most Orthodox publications is small, their range continues to steadily expand.

Up to 3,000 titles of Orthodox books are processed annually through the Review Board of the Publishing Council. These are wonderful new editions of the works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church, wonderful books on church scientific disciplines, patrolology, church history; Many publications were published devoted to the works of Russian religious philosophers XIX - early XX centuries, there are high-quality publications covering the history of church art - architecture, icon painting, church singing. Particular mention should be made of the diverse Orthodox children's literature. Its distinctive feature is attentive and careful attitude to the soul of a child. In these books you will never find aggressive or terrible characters, ugly pictures or dubious language, which, unfortunately, is often present in ordinary modern children's literature.

Big interest literature evokes readers, dedicated to issues family and strengthening moral values in society. Entire departments in Orthodox bookstores are dedicated to this.

How attentive His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the literary process - both to the Orthodox book and to secular literature? Is it possible to understand what he is reading or discussing from what he read?

Metropolitan Clement: You should, of course, address this question personally to His Holiness the Patriarch. For my part, I can say that during our meetings, when it comes to published literature and contemporary writers - ecclesiastical or secular, he shows good knowledge, shows keen interest and deep understanding of modern literary process. As Chairman of the House of Trustees of the Prize, His Holiness the Patriarch takes a direct part in the discussion of nominees.

As for the reader's interests of His Holiness, I will say that he is interested in various literature, but regularly reads the Gospel and other books Holy Scripture, which is the source of his sermons and pastoral conversations.

Why was the Patriarchal Literary Prize established? What does it support? modern literature?

Metropolitan Clement: The Patriarchal Literary Prize is not only about identifying and awarding laureates, but also about close interaction between the Church and the literary community within the framework of the House of Trustees and the Council of Experts. These are meetings, consultations, discussions current problems modernity, contemporary creativity and its development prospects.

The Patriarchal Literary Prize is a kind of platform for dialogue between the Church and the writing community, which began to take place on a regular basis in recent years. It is well known that not all writers support the Church in its desire to return its true spiritual values ​​to our people. But “a poet in Russia is more than a poet,” and starting from the 19th century, it was writers and poets who became the spokesmen of people’s aspirations and aspirations. Their work reflected both the heights of the people's spirit and the depths of its decline. We are open to dialogue with this creative part of society. It is also important for us to support those writers who, quite consciously, sometimes despite protests from their anti-church colleagues, choose to jointly testify with the Church to the enduring significance of Gospel values.

What interesting publications are being prepared in the Church? What publishing policy does the Publishing Council currently follow?

Metropolitan Clement: Nowadays, many publishing houses are constantly publishing something new. For example, the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House published for the first time a complete set of the works of St. Innocent. Behind Lately a number of new books have been prepared about St. Sergius Radonezh in connection with the 700th anniversary of his birth. The Publishing Council has a working group that is preparing for release full meeting works of Saint Theophan the Recluse. This publication will be published to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Theophan.

In short, the policy of the Publishing Council is to promote the emergence and dissemination of quality literature. It is also necessary to resolve the issue of providing Orthodox literature to remote dioceses, including foreign ones, and to develop a network of church libraries.

Since it is not possible to talk in detail about all the new products that deserve attention, I recommend turning to the catalog of the Publishing Council "Orthodox Book". It contains the most full information about new products in Orthodox book publishing.

At the same time, I would like to note that, despite the fact that a lot of literature is being published now, it is difficult to find an interesting and helpful book modern writer pretty hard. The problem is that creative skill comes with age, and at 35-40 years old a writer is considered young. Not every graduate of the literary department is a writer. Therefore, it is necessary to awaken interest in this work among young people, to focus their attention on issues of morality. If previously the Church only trained theologians, now it must help train writers. This year we plan to announce a writing competition for young people with the goal of awakening interest in spiritual and moral themes in literature.

Today there is an urgent need for modern catechetical literature for children, youth and family reading. One of the important tasks is the publication of literature dedicated to the feat of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church, the publication of Orthodox literature in the languages ​​of the peoples cared for by our Church, and the release of special publications for labor migrants.

Most of these tasks are facing our Church for the first time, each requires the maximum concentration of efforts of many specialists.

Is there a system for countering religious extremism today? How relevant is this topic to you?

Metropolitan Clement: With pain in my heart I am following the developments in fraternal Ukraine, which show what catastrophic consequences flirting with the ideas of national or religious exclusivity can lead to.

Extremism is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, since it destroys the most important thing in a person’s heart - love, and without love there is no Christianity, and as the apostle says. Paul, if “I do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2-3).

It is safe to say that surges of religious extremism are fueled by relevant literature. Undoubtedly, there are ideologists of extremism who are trying to convey their ideas to the broad masses of believers with the help of various kinds of publications. Therefore, the review board of the Publishing Council carefully monitors the content of each publication in order to prevent literature from entering church shops that could sow discord among different groups believers, including representatives of other faiths. Christ calls not to hatred, but to love and prayer for everyone (Matthew 5:43-45).