The concept of enemy in spiritual verses

A person as a unique personality has recently become an important topic of research in modern linguistics based on the position of anthropocentrism. This philosophical belief contributes to the development of linguoculturology, which considers linguistic phenomena in their inseparable connection with the culture and history of an ethnic group development. In this case, the concept is defined as a kind of a mental unit that has value-based, figurative and conceptual components. The ethnohistorical perception of the Russian people is reflected in traditional oral folk art. The study addressed folklore epic, lyric-epic and lyrical spiritual poems published between the XIX and the XXI centuries. The relevance of the work is determined by the insufficient knowledge of the genre of spiritual poems, especially in terms of concept functioning. The novelty of the research is in that it describes a part of the linguistic and cultural space of the Russian people by taking a look at how the concept of enemy functions in spiritual verses. The paper also identifies the structure of the studied concept. The methodology of this conceptual research included the analysis of dictionary definitions, the method of etymological analysis, and contextual analysis. The conclusion is that the concept of enemy in spiritual verses is used in such meanings that do not relate to modern interpretations. This is due to the genre affiliation of folklore works - they reflect the medieval Christian worldview.