At the Edge of the World

Summary

Yakutia, the first half of the 19th century. Bishop Ambrose goes to the snowy steppe to the newly baptized Tungus, accompanied by the disgraced monk Cyriacus, who once refused to baptize "foreigners" en masse. On the way, they are overtaken by a blizzard. The pagan guide Harpoon saves the bishop's life, and the newly baptized Stepan throws Cyriacus to freeze. The death of the elder becomes a miracle of unity: unbaptized Tunguses themselves come to the faith of "Cyriacus", and Ambrose finally sees the truth — about the equality of all before God and love, which knows no difference between baptized and pagans.