Missionary, investigator, philosopher, poet: the image of the author-traveller in “Notes of a journey” by archbishop Nilus (Isakovich)

Archbishop Nilus (Isakovich) is known in literary studies as a prototype of the hero in N.S. Leskov's story “At the World's End”. The present article is an attempt to present Archbishop Nilus out of the Leskov’s context as an original spiritual writer of the middle of the XIXth century. The focus of attention is the autobiographic “Notes of a journey” devoted to Siberia. This work is one of the best descriptions of Eastern Siberia of that time, comparable to masterpieces of the genre of notes of a journey. The author’s target audience is not only clergy, but also a secular reader. In the analysis of the work the main emphasis is put on the author-traveller’s character, whose versatility and breadth of views reflects not only his talent, but speaks for a high educational and cultural level of the Orthodox clergy in general.