A strong tendency towards the active usage of modified phraseological units is currently noted in modern newspaper language. In search of higher expres­siveness and a certain stylistic effect (irony, language play, negative appraisal etc.) journalists often alter the traditional structure and semantics of phraseo­logical units, identifying and expanding their subtle deep meanings and combining lexical elements of different styles in one context. Non-usual usage of phraseological units is a means of achieving a deeper expression and an effective tool for creating a stronger impact on a reader.

     The article looks at cases of deliberate creative transformation of phraseo­logical units of New Testament origin, observed in modern Russian newspapers. Based on the analysis of the actual material (articles from Russian national newspapers from January 2003 to May 2006), a detailed classification and an analysis of various types of phraseological units modifications are drawn and two large groups are identified - structural semantic and semantic modifications. The first group includes modifications in lexico-grammatical structure of a phra­se­o­logical unit without a significant change in semantics (expansion, reduction, element substitution etc.). The second group covers modifications that do not change the structure of a phraseological unit, but do change its meaning (double actualisation, demetaphorisation, expansion of word valence etc.). Every type of modification is illustrated by examples from current publications on the Russian Internet.