Стаття присвячена аналізу роману «Останній пророк» Леоніда Мосендза. Досліджуються джерела, жанрова природа і структура твору, звертається увага на генезу образу Єгоханана, підкреслюється зв’язок роману Мосендза з літературною біографією цього культового в європейській
літературі образу, своєрідність і неповторність його потрактування.
Стверджується, що Мосендзів «Останній пророк» — складне за жанром
і структурою, сюжетно багатопланове епічне полотно, створене на основі історичних джерел і релігійних текстів на високих ідейному й художньому рівнях.
The paper analyzes the novel “The Last Prophet” by Leonid Mosendz focusing on its sources,
the genre nature and structure, and the genesis of John the Baptist’s image.
There were objective and individual reasons for Mosendz’s appeal to the biblical myth
of John the Baptist, which have been explained. Attention is drawn to problematic areas in
the interpretation of the novel by Mosendz’s critics.
Among the sources that the writer turned to while working on the novel were “Jewish
Antiquties” by Josephus Flavius, “The Life of Jesus” by Ernest Renan, and “Christ Unknown”
by Dmitry Merezhkovsky. The traces of these books are recognizable in the text of
Mosendz’s novel.
“The Last Prophet” combines the elements of several genres, the most important of
which are three: apocryphal, historical, and didactic.
Mosendz’s work has a complex multifaceted structure. The novel’s three parts have their
parallels with the biblical text: the Old Testament poetic model corresponds to the first part,
the biographical model of the Gospels to the second, and the historical model of the Acts of
the Apostles to the third.
Special attention is paid to the connection of the novel to the literary biography of Joan
the Baptist, an iconic figure in the European tradition. The interpretation of this image by
the author is peculiar and unique to European literature.
Thus, Mosendz’s “The Last Prophet” is a lengthy multifaceted epic story about John the
Baptist, based on historical sources and religious texts and reproduced at high ideological
and literary levels.
