Russian Language as the Spiritual Space of Russian People

This article analyzes Russian language, which shapes the spiritual space of the people and is itself a product of the Spirit – a gift from God to humanity. The relevance of this study lies in modern linguistics’ interest in the spiritual essence of language as a specific human spiritual activity that contributes to the one’s religious worldview formation. The need to address traditional spiritual meanings is also driven by their displacement from everyday linguistic use in the era of secularization and globalization. The aim is to demonstrate that Russian language possesses a strong spiritual impact; through its units, we decode theological knowledge contained in the Bible and prayers. We employ integrative methods, which are indispensable for studying such complex phenomena as culture, language, religion, and society. These methods include both general scientific methods (observation, description, generalization) and modern techniques of discourse and cognitive analysis. These methods allow us to uncover holistic knowledge about God, language, humanity, and the world. The research material includes religious texts, words, and utterances, as well as units of the modern Russian language that convey spiritual meaning. As a result, it was established that Russian language not only shapes but also preserves the spirit of Russian people. Therefore, it is impossible to understand Russians without taking into account the religious knowledge that permeates all Russian culture. Moreover, without the concept of God, it is impossible to understand the scientific world picture, including the picture of the world depicted by language. A number of unresolved issues remain in contemporary Russian studies; for example, the problem of the deep sacred meanings that are evident in modern language words has been barely explored. The significance of this work lies in the attempt to transcend rational knowledge into intuitive and theological understanding, which will be facilitated by the combined efforts of religious and scientific knowledge. The main conclusion of the study is that one of the most important functions of language is transcendental, aimed at the formation and representation of the deep spiritual meanings of linguistic culture.

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