The Semantic and Artistic Evolution of Images of Nicholas the Wonderworker. Russia and the West

In the article, devoted to the research of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the author focuses on new trends in the study of ancient Russian art and, above all, in the study of architectural monuments, "minor forms" of liturgical purpose and plastics. The author especially emphasises that at the present stage, the issue of content, the connection of form formation with the structure of symbolic thinking within the cultural space of the era is actively brought to the fore. In this regard, the work of Pavel Florensky, The Church Ritual as a Synthesis of the Arts, is perceived as a program work, proving that church space and each object, regardless of its size and sacred significance, originally formed a single whole. From these positions, it is necessary to study the monuments of ancient Russian plastic art, approaches to the interpretation of which need to be clarified. The material is truly huge and varied: from small plastics in the form of miniature carved icons, folds and panagias to monumental kiot statues, gravestone sculptural images, white stone and wooden crosses. It is in this context that the author explores the evolution of the images of Nicholas the Wonderworker, who is especially revered by the Orthodox Church and particularly in Russia. Analysing the scientific facts in the article, the author argues that the shrine resting in the crypt (the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker) more than once became a living source of many legends, iconographic versions, customs in the veneration of the saint and, most importantly, structural icon models for Russia during the 14th-18th centuries. Apparently, it is no coincidence that in most churches with revered wooden statues of the saint, the main celebrations of St. Nicholas fell precisely on May 9 - in memory of the Translation of the Relics to Bari. Keywords: Nicholas the Wonderworker, relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker, wooden sculpture, medieval painting, sacred image, Bari.