The article presents the analysis of peculiar features of religious lexis usage in T. Shevchenko’s<br> Diary. The topicality of the article is predetermined by the fact that in T. Shevchenko’s language<br> mapping of the world the concept sphere RELIGION plays an important role, and his use of lexeme-<br> verbalizers of various religious concepts unveils him as lingual personality, makes it possible<br> to identify T. Shevchenko’s input in the broadening of the lexical level of the Ukrainian language<br> and in revealing the pragmatic potential of religious lexemes. The aim of the research is to study<br> the specificity of religious lexis functioning in T. Shevchenko’s Diaries. The analysis has proved<br> that not only Christian religious names are used in the diary but also lexemes naming notions from<br> other religions. Using these lexemes, T. Shevchenko facilitates their fixing in the lexical funds of<br> Ukrainian and Russian languages as far as elite lingual personalities’ speech greatly influences the<br> formation and reformation of language norms, in particular it allows changes in the lexis.<br> In his diary T. Shevchenko uses proper names connected with religion, especially with Ancient<br> Greek Mythology, that have the status of precedent proper names, creatively implementing<br> the nation-based principle in this way.<br> Much attention is paid to the widening of semantics of religious lexemes that happens due<br> to the actualization of peripheral senses. The author of the diary uses a range of religious names<br> metaphorically, namely those that compose various lexical semantic groups ( LSGs) of religious<br> lexis – “the names of representatives of different religions” and “the names of religious buildings”.