Religious-mythological text from the position of precedence

The article covers the problem of precedency of religious-mythological text and its main characteristics. Religious-mythological text is characterized by permanent axiological value both for universal and national cultures and this fact conditions its belonging to the core of “strong” texts. Religious-mythological texts are cognitively and linguoculturally significant units. Being a source of precedency represented in the literary text on the basis of mechanism of intertextuality with the help of allusion, religious-mythological text activates in a reader’s mind knowledge structures of mythological and religious character. The results of investigation showed that religious and mythological texts possess all characteristics of precedent text: a) notability and universal character; b) frequent use; c) reinterpretation; d) axiological significance; e) symbolical and imagery character; f) national-cultural specifics; g) cognitive significance.