The image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the chronicle novel by S. N. Durylin “Bells”

The article, for the first time in studying the work of Sergei Nikolaevich Durylin (1886- 1954) - a writer, a Russian religious philosopher, a historian of literature and theater, offers an interpretation of one of the many religious images displayed on the pages of the chronicle novel “Bells”. On the basis of a comprehensive literary analysis in the holistic context of biographical materials and philosophical views of the writer, the author concludes that incognito one of the actors of the chronicle novel is St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, especially vividly, through symbols, acting as the main character of Chapter 2 of the first part of the work. Through the interpretation of religious symbols, images and motives, which are saturated with the narrative of the chronicle novel, it can be concluded that S. N. Durylin may rightfully be called one of the first Christian symbolists, who created a full-fledged iconic mytho-ornamental space in an artistic text.