The religious principle in A. P. Chekhov’s oeuvre (The Bishop)

The example of the story The Bishop, written already at a mature age, is used to examine the influence of A. P. Chekhov’s religious education on his oeuvre. What he saw and heard in his childhood and youth transformed over the years and found expression in the words and actions of Chekhov’s characters. Being a church singer in Taganrog, Chekhov saw not only the liturgical life of the clergy, but also their everyday life, which is usually hidden from parishioners and strangers. In The Bishop, the everyday life of Bishop Peter, his relationships with close relatives, assistants and cell attendant, and details of the bishop’s service are truthfully reproduced. The story The Bishop is based on parallels with the Gospel text, which tells about the last days of the life and death of Jesus Christ. The bishop in the Orthodox service symbolizes Christ. Bishop Peter, overcoming his illness and performing the services of Holy Week, dies on the eve of Easter. The presence of a narrow circle of relatives and friends and their grief for the departed bishop is akin to the Gospel story about the small number of witnesses to the crucifixion and the small number of those who truly grieved after the execution on Golgotha. Chekhov said that he always wrote from memories. So he copied the image of his bishop from a real one – Bishop Mikhail (Gribanovsky) of Taurida and Simferopol. According to Maria Pavlovna Chekhova, a photograph of the bishop with his elderly mother was in the writer’s office. The plot of the story includes the line of Bishop Peter and his elderly mother. The value of the story lies in the fact that it reflects the understanding that each person goes their own way, so it resonates in the hearts of all people, both believers and those far from church life.