I went to the catholic church to listen to music and singing":to the question about the nature of a.s. shishkov's religiosity

The article is devoted to A.S. Shishkov, leader of the literary society "The Conversation of the Lovers of the Russian word". The author sets the task to clarify well-known thesis about dispute among «archaists» and «karamzinists» whether the Admiral had traditional views. In the recent years the philological interpretation of the discussion of «archaists» and «karamzinists » established in the scientific community is being reviewed: it came to realize that the debate should be considered in a wide historical and cultural context and represented as struggle for the national originality. But there is a problem: the leader of the «archa-ists», Shishkov, who contemporaries called «the Old believer», «schismatic» and etc., demonstrated in his private life behaiviour that is not corresponded with traditional religious values. The historical conditions at the turn of XIX century are analyzed in the article. There was the crisis of the religious consciousness of the traditional society. That is why there are numerous examples of the spiritual search at this time. Some representatives of the Russian nobility converted to Catholicism, Protestantism, took a great interest in ideas of mysticism, Freemasonry. The French Enlightment played a special role in the process of destruction of the traditional Russian culture. The Shishkov's ideas of preservation of the national identity are explored. The most important points of them are the Orthodoxy and the Church Slavonic language. However, the Shishkov's private life didn't rely on the Orthodox values him to advocated. He was married to a non-Orthodox foreigners, attended a Catholic Church and listening to organ music with pleasure, used French expressions common in the society in his speech. In general, Shishkov had normal life like an ordinary nobleman of that time. The conclusion about the problem of describing Shishkov's religiosity is made. Although he advocated traditional values he apprehended new rules and norms of the enlightened society.

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