The article deals with the creative work by Y.V. Bondarev in the Orthodox tradition. The relation of the figurative symbolism in his prose and the Orthodox culture is emphasized. The temple image is regarded as the steadiest and the most representative in the poetic works by Bondarev. The analysis of the key episodes in the writer’s works allows revealing the sense dominant of a temple image in Bondarev’s creative work. The conclusion is made that a temple image in the artistic world of the writer is the symbol of salvation and spiritual support for the characters in search for the Truth.

Based on the prose and journalistic works by Bondarev there is expressed the author’s position regarding the key issues of the modern period. There is emphasized the urgency of the creative legacy of Bondarev. Special attention is paid to the author’s idea of the role of Russia in Russian literature in overcoming the spiritual crisis at the edge of the XX-XXI centuries.

There is analyzed the novel by Y.V. Bondarev “Without Mercy” in the aspect of the issue of moral choice typical for the writer’s prose. There is emphasized the spiritual evolution of the novel’s main character, whose moral search are typical for Bondarev’s literature characterology.

There are analyzed the love and family collisions in the novel by Y.V. Bondarev “The Shore” which has not yet been comprehended in literary critics. There is described the author’s conception of love and family, revealed the spiritual sense of confrontation of women’s characters and its role in moral self-determination of the main character of the work.