Christian praxis as the fundamental principle of the composition of “On true Christianity” by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

The article is devoted to the search for the principle underlying the structure of the composition of “On True Christianity” by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. This work does not follow the usual pattern of presentation of the Christian creed - a consistent commentary on the members of the Creed. The Voronezh Archbishop strongly departs from the usual composition of the text. On the basis of comparative theological and philosophical analysis, a structural approach, an attempt is made to find the cause. The opinions of researchers on this issue are studied. It was revealed that St. Tikhon creatively combined elements of the works of several of his contemporaries. Some elements find their correspondence in the texts of the Christian tradition of the first Millennium. In order to clarify the question of what served as the fundamental principle that allowed the Saint to combine such different texts into a single structure, § 287 of the work “On True Christianity” is analyzed. At this point, the attitude of St. Tikhon to the key themes of the New Time emerges in relief. The basic principle is the primacy of “logic of action”. This is the main difference between the works of the Voronezh Archpastor and the works of the fathers of the Church of antiquity, who created, focusing on the “logic of essence”.