Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the special connotations of the word "dog", which have been formed in the history of culture and are inextricably linked both with the Christian, biblical context and with the collective memory of pre-Christian folk traditions. The article traces the ambivalence of the dog's image in theological, cultural and vernacular aspects. The ambiguous interpretation of biblical stories related to the dog is considered, giving rise to the inconsistency of its image in Christianity, which has deep roots, going back to pre-Christian beliefs, namely, Judaism and Slavic paganism. The ambivalent appeal to the image of a dog can also be traced in Christian art, which was expressed in Orthodoxy in the zooanthropomorphic depiction of one of the most mysterious saints, St. Christopher, unusual for the Christian tradition. On the basis of biblical stories, as well as everyday speech, the author analyzes the special connotations of the word "dog", which influenced the formation of a special ambiguous image of this animal. In general, it can be argued that the ambiguity, and often the inconsistency of the image of a dog in Christianity has deep roots, which can be seen in pre-Christian beliefs: Judaism and Slavic paganism, where a dog was usually perceived as an unclean animal or a creature with demonic qualities. At the same time, the dog's devotion and being near a human contributed to the fact that it eventually appears next to Christian saints, is accepted by them, and becomes one of the favorite pets. Nevertheless, the tradition of not accepting a dog as an unclean animal still persists to some extent in everyday life, taking root more among the clergy than among the laity.