The problem of the influence of ancient Iranian, including Zoroastrian, mythologies and images on the religious beliefs of the Eastern Slavs continues to occupy both philologists and historians [Toporov, 1989; 1995; Edelman, 2002; Stavisky, 1999]. However, as far as we know, the" Slavic " material was not actually used to reconstruct the very local forms of Zoroastrianism. This article is an attempt to use some data from ancient Russian literature, which may shed light on the formation of the figure of the prophet-founder of Zoroastrianism-Zoroaster (Avest. Zarathustra). The Slavonic Bestiary by O. V. Belova contains the following article: "ZORO-ASTER (var-t zoroast, Q. V. 3: 32ob) - a bird that fades on Good Friday and comes to life on the day of the Resurrection of Christ. Zoroast there is a certain so called bird it is found in Arabia JMaT such are the most prudent j blagoomobrazovatelny passions hr with tovyh image and that eliko lives and toliko on every year aki in the days of ty ... si is in the most passionate so with trazhdet image m such egda bo will come de n great heel of remembrance saving x passion and Christ x j o t that days it is not yast nii pie T, nor the same poe t but prostratishi krile their likeness m yak kr s t and on the tree clung hanged t and byvaye t taya aki byzdykha na i doto l tako remains unshakeable until the Day of the Resurrection of Christ. Then at the very moment of the day when the pack comes to life, it will begin to have fun j petit veleglassno j taco for every year jmat in the days of you to create before you live jmat. Q. V. 3: 32ob " [Belova, 2000, p. 126]. This story may be interesting, at least because it is the only reference to Zoroaster, the legendary teacher of the Iranian religion (Avest. Zaraustra), as about a bird. In addition, no less interesting is the connection of Zoroaster with Christ, more precisely - with the liturgical cycle of Holy Week. Where could such a plot come from? The source of this mysterious inte ... Read more