The symbolism of the Christian worldview in Russian culture of the early XX century

The Russian Orthodox Church does not have an unambiguous relationship to popular culture, as is known, but this does not exclude the fact of mutual influence of two cultural systems that form the value foundations of the Christian worldview. The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of Christian symbolism by the example of Kitezh-Grad image as a result of the positive influence of the Christian tradition on Russian folk culture. The author focuses on the religious archetype of the ideal city, which arose on the basis of the Russian spiritual tradition. Since the development of the symbolism of Christian culture took place in an interaction of Orthodoxy and folk traditions, the archetype of the invisible city can be rightfully considered as a unique tool for analyzing of the cultural consciousness of society, and as an extra-spatial and timeless element that permeates centuries-old layers of history. Kitezh becomes a new page in understanding of the mysteries of the Russian people soul, their inexhaustible faith in the church of God, who goes to her by the way of spiritual feat. The research reveals the cultural meanings of the image of the sacred space, reflected in Russian folk culture. The article describes the functioning of the archetype of the «Сity of Kitezh» as a symbol of Orthodox culture in the art of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.