ABSTRACT
Russian ethnic and cultural traditions were formed within the mainstream of Eastern Christianity. The christological tradition in Soviet literature appeared again only in the mid-1960s with the emergence of village prose, at first in an indirect fashion and later in broader scope. As a contemporary Soviet admits, “From decade to decade, from the Olympus of scientific atheism, lightning bolts struck everyone who dared to express any opinion about atheism, which to one degree or another, exceeded a few iron-clad formulas which were considered sacrosanct by the Olympians.” The novella The Apostle’s Mission is a brave and unusual attempt, for Soviet literature, to openly discuss religious problems. The christological notion in Soviet literature can be focused upon several basic themes tightly connected with the ideological crisis and attempts to overcome it. These themes may be formulated as liberation from God, the search for God and God’s presence in life.
