[349] Koliada Viatichey refutes any non-Slavic influence in their religion, including the label "Vedic" and Vedic literature, influences from Eastern religions, influences from Roerichism and esotericism, and also the Book of Veles. [335][336], Donbas has been documented as being a stronghold of Russian Rodnover groups that are reorganising local villages and society according to traditional Indo-European trifunctionalism (according to which males are born to play one out of three roles in society, whether priests, warriors or farmers). [304] There had been schisms in the international organisation of Native Ukrainian National Faith. [344], The Roerichian movement originated from the teachings of Helena and Nicholas Roerich, it inherits elements of Theosophy, and revolves around the practice of Agni Yoga, the union with Agni, the fire enliving the universe. For instance, the end of winter is marked by burning straw images of Marzanna, the goddess of winter, while celebrating the victory of Yarilo, the god of the full swing of natural forces; the end of summer, instead, is marked by the burial of an image of Yarilo. Speransky has adopted the concept of Darna from Lithuanian Romuva, explaining it as ordered life "in accordance with the Earth and with the ancestors". [449] In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, within the Ukrainian diaspora, there are various congregations of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira).[286]. He is likely to have been the highest ranking god in the Slavic tradition, similar to Zeus in Ancient Greek mythology. [312], In Poland, the Wrocaw-based publishing house Toporze reissued Stachniuk's works and those of his disciple Antoni Wacyk. [99], Sylenko proclaimed himself a prophet, bringing to the Slavs a new understanding of God that, according to him, corresponds to their own and original understanding of God. Male brotherhoods practise the cutting of a second "life line" on the palm of the hand of converts, symbolising the new "blood bond" that is formed with other members. [138] Over the course of several centuries, Slavic populations migrated in northern, eastern and south-western directions. Short version: the Kolovrat, as a modification of the swastika does have some evidence of use going back into ancient & medieval times. Viking Weapon Design Elements For Heraldic Logo. Vedic ta, "Right"), was usurped by the Christians. [428] There are groups which focus on the traditions of the Kriviches, an early East Slavic tribe, and mix Slavic and Baltic practices. Yarilo, in the Slavic mythology, is the god of springtime, fertility, sexuality and peace. [59] Rodna or rodnaya is itself a concept which can denote the "nearest and dearest", and such impersonal community as one's native home or land. [96], The founder Aleksandr Belov (Selidor) was originally a Karate master, and in the 1970s and 1980s he began researching and reviving ancient Slavic martial techniques mixing them with elements of English catch wrestling and other styles, codifying the practice in the book Slavic-Hill Wrestling and popularising it by founding, in 1986, the group of the Descendants of Svarog (-, Svarozhychey-Tryverov), which in 1989 took part in the creation of the Moscow Slavic Pagan Community; in 1995 Belov left the group and the following year he established the Russian Federation of Slavic-Hill Wrestling, which was officially registered by the state in 2015 as the Association of Slavic-Hill Wrestling Fighters ( - ). The Slavic Font comes together with a family of 24 symbols from Slavic symbolism. In the modern day, some ancient Slavic rituals persist in Eastern and Northern Europe. Radegast is the Slavic god of strength, honor and hospitality. [244] Gaidukov documented that in the 2000s Rodnovers erected a statue of Perun in a park near Kupchino in Saint Petersburg, although they did not obtain official permission first. [273], In Poland, Jan Stachniuk (19051963) established the Zadruga magazine in 1937, which gave rise to the movement of Zadrugism. [57], Sometimes the term "Rodnovery" has also been interpreted as meaning "faith of Rod", a reference to an eponymous concept of supreme God, Rod, found in ancient Russian and Ukrainian sources. In Slavic pagan beliefs, souls are separate from the body and dwelt on earth for forty days after someone died. [160], Many other Rodnovers deny or downplay the racist and Nazi elements within their community, and claim that extreme right-wingers are not true believers in Slavic Native Faith because their interests in the movement are primarily political rather than religious. [297] In 1986, Viktor Bezverkhy (19302000) established the Saint Petersburg-based Society of the Mages (Obshchestvo Volkhvov), an explicitly white supremacist and anti-Semitic organisation; it was followed by the Union of the Veneds, founded in 1990. [53] Rodnovers generally present their symbols in high-contrast colour combinations, usually red and black or red and yellow. [387], The Ynglist Church was prosecuted in the early 2000s for ethnic hatred according to Russian laws, and its headquarters in Omsk were dissolved. Indra), Iranian deities (such as Simargl and Khors), deities from the Book of Veles (such as Pchelich) and figures from Slavic folk tales such as the wizard Koschei. Black magic spells were also used for revenge, protection, and power. These festivals all were associated with symbols of pagan . [216] Some Russian Rodnovers have attempted themselves to improve relations with the Orthodox Church, arguing that Russian Orthodoxy had adopted many elements of historical Slavic belief and rites,[217] though for some by corrupting their original meaning. [75] Yazychnik has been adopted especially among Rodnovers speaking West Slavic languages, where it has not any connotations related to "paganism". [14] Laruelle has emphasised that Rodnovery "cannot necessarily be defined as a religion in the strict sense"; some adherents prefer to define it as a "spirituality" (dukhovnost), "wisdom" (mudrost), or a "philosophy" or "worldview" (mirovozzrenie). [299] Ivanovite teachings are incorporated by Peterburgian Vedism. Crossroads - Following the end of the war and the incorporation of Poland under the Stalinist regime, both Stachniuk and Koodziej were arrested, preventing the establishment of a Slavic Native Faith community. 024-657-834 (CC0), Pixabay. Ruling over the Slavic pantheon was Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, associated with fire and mountains and more. [166] Rodnovers of the settlement of Pravovedi in Kolomna, Moscow Oblast, reject the very idea of "nation" and yet conceive peoples as "spirits" manifesting themselves according to the law of genealogy, the law of the kin. Svarog is the creator of the other gods, associated with smithery. [166] For many others, rituals may include magical practices and are meant at the creation of shared meanings and new community ties. However, there are more closed groups that require more stringent commitment from their adherents, and emphasise esoteric teachings and practices, including complex initiation rituals, reference to systems similar to Jewish Kabbalah, prayer and magic. The scholar of religion Scott Simpson has stated that Slavic Native Faith is "fundamentally concerned with questions of community and ethnic identity",[141] while the folklorist Nemanja Radulovic has described adherents of the movement as placing "great emphasis on their national or regional identity". Modern religious movement based on pre-Christian Slavic beliefs, "Orthodoxy", "Old Belief", "Vedism" and other terms, General descriptors: Western "pagan" and Slavic, Views on Christianity and mono-ideologies, 1800s1920s: Romantic and Russian revolutionary precursors, 1960s1980s: Soviet Union and Slavic diaspora in the West, Branches, interwoven movements and influences, Authentism, Kandybaism, Levashovism, and the Way of Troyan, "". It was believed that Rod could be personified through all living beings as he presented fate and destiny. [124] Immediately related to the morality of a responsible community is the respect for the whole world of nature, or what Aitamurto defines "ecological responsibility". Slavs are the largest ethnic group in Europe that share a linguistic and cultural history. Her name translates as She who lives. Zhiva represents fertility, love and marriage. [300] The collapse of the Soviet Union and its official policy of state atheism resulted in a resurgence of open religious adherence across the region. [11] In 2003, the Russian Ministry of Justice had forty registered Rodnover organisations, while there were "probably several hundred of them in existence". [42], In Ukraine, the first practitioners of Slavic Native Faith appeared in the 1930s. [132] Many leaders of early post-Soviet Rodnovery were intellectuals who were already Rodnovers in the late Soviet times; for instance, Grigory Yakutovsky (volkhv Vseslav Svyatozar), Alexey Dobrovolsky (volkhv Dobroslav) and Viktor Bezverkhy. Koliada is sometimes called Tausen. The goddess Mara, sometimes Marzanna, in Slavic Paganism represented the death and rebirth of nature, particularly the end of winter and the beginning of spring. [43] Slavic Native Faith adherents, as far as they are concerned, believe that they can take traditional folk culture, remove the obviously Christian elements, and be left with something that authentically reflects the historical beliefs of the Slavic peoples. Rodnovers often glorify Slavic history, criticising the impact of Christianity on Slavic countries and arguing that these nations will play a central role in the world's future. [2] The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balkan Peninsula during the 6th-7th centuries AD, bordering with the Byzantine Empire to the south, came under the sphere of influence of Eastern . [271] The adherents believe that the class of the warriors should have the superior and leading role in society (espousing the idea of a military state and rejecting communism and democracy), and should be always ready to sacrifice themselves for the community. [240], Rituals and religious meetings are often performed in rural settings, forests and clearings. Animals always played a important role among Slavic people. He was associated with thunder, lightning, storms, fire, mountains, fertility, law, war and weapons. The symbol grants the wearer good fortune and a plentiful harvest. Some strains of Rodnovery have become close supporters and components of Eurasianism, the dominant ideology of the Russian central state under Vladimir Putin, whose most prominent contemporary theorist is the philosopher Alexander Dugin. The Svarozhich, then, is the heavenly fire from which the gods were forged. Truth is sometimes personified as a god, Prov, who is the guardian of the law, lawfulness and righteousness. [23], In developing Slavic Native Faith, practitioners draw upon the primary sources about the historical religion of Slavic peoples, as well as elements drawn from later Slavic folklore, official and popular Christian belief and from non-Slavic societies. [21] Simpson has noted, speaking of the specific context of Poland, that unlike historical Slavic beliefs, which were integral to the everyday fabric of their society, modern Slavic Native Faith believers have to develop new forms of social organisation which set them apart from established society. [345] Marlne Laruelle found that there are Rodnover movements which draw inspiration from Indo-Iranian sources, historical Vedism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism; Rodnover movements inspired to the Theosophy of Helena Blavatsky, the Fourth Way of George Gurdjieff and Peter Uspensky, and Roerichism (Nicholas Roerich); Rodnover movements inspired to East Asian religions with their practices of energetic healing and martial arts; Rodnover movements (often the most political ones) inspired to German Ariosophy and the Traditionalist School (studying thinkers such as Ren Gunon and Julius Evola);[346] Rodnover movements centred on the Russian folk cult of the Mother Earth;[221] and Rodnover movements drawing examples from Siberian shamanism. [448], In Australia there is Southern Cross Rodnovery, a Rodnover organisation that caters to Australians of Slavic ethnicity. He wrote that the Yarilo-Sun would soon burn the most sensitive to increased ultraviolet radiation, to which he attributed primarily the Jews. Reportedly, one of the greatest symbols of Slavic nationality was the symbol of the deity Rod who was considered a patron of all the Slavic people. [270][271] One of the most influential Ukrainian Rodnover ideologues was Volodymyr Shaian (19081974), a linguist and philologist who worked at Lviv University. The Slavs believed in three planes of existence: the heavens, governed by Perun, Dazhbog, Mokosh and Lada, symbolized by the sun and the moon; the earthly plane, occupied by humanity; and the underworld, symbolized by snakes and darkness, ruled over by Veles. Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. Throughout the 1970s, the nationalist dissident movement split into two branches, an Orthodox Christian one and another one that developed National Bolshevism, which eventually continued to harbour Pagan traditionalists. [269] The Ukrainian literary magazine Dazhboh, published in 19311935, was imbued with Neopagan ideas (Bohdan Ihor Antonych and others). [73], In Slavic languages the closest equivalent of "paganism" is poganstvo (taking for instance Russian; it itself deriving from Latin paganus), although Rodnovers widely reject this term due to its derogatory connotations. One of the founders of the Russian Rodnoverie, Aleksey Dobrovolsky (Dobroslav), denounced the "Judeo-Christian obscurantism" that allegedly led the world to an ecological catastrophe. sunwise, rightwise) in those rituals dedicated to the gods of Prav (overworld), or counterclockwise (protivosolon, i.e. [239] Some Rodnover networks have established entire villages all over Russia; this is the case, among other examples, of those Rodnovers who are part of Anastasianism. [146] In this vein, they often oppose what they regard as culturally destructive phenomena such as cosmopolitanism, liberalism and globalisation,[115] as well as Americanisation and consumerism. [405] This was partly because there were several Rodnover groups active on the social network VK which had over 10,000 members. [307] Many people became unemployed, and many turned to the past, nourishing the study of ethnic roots. [9], The earliest known usage of this term was by the Ukrainian emigree Lev Sylenko, who in 1964 established a mimeographed publication in Canada that was titled Ridna Vira ("Native Faith"). Polytheism is accepted for its ability to "account for the complexity of the world with its multiple good and evil forces", and particularly emphasised is the popular Russian belief in the great goddess of the Earth (Mokosh or Mat Syra Zemlya). [274] In 1954, a student group known as Klan Ausran was established at the University of d; officially dedicated to a study of Indo-European society, its members provided hymns and prayers. History . [370] These books teach what the scholar Rasa Pranskeviit has defined as a "cosmological pantheism",[371] in which nature is the manifested "thought of God" and human intelligence has the power to commune with him and to actively participate to the creation of the world. [38] Slavic Christianity was influenced by indigenous beliefs and practices as it was established in the Middle Ages and these folk practices changed greatly over the intervening centuries;[39] according to this, Rodnovers claim that they are just continuing living tradition. Slavic pagan symbols The term 'Ancient Slavs' refers to the peoples and tribes of the Slavs before adopting Christianity, or at the beginning of Christianization. [286] There is overlap between Slavic Native Faith followers and other sectors of Ukrainian society, such as the folk and traditional music revival groups, Cossack associations, traditional martial arts groups, and nationalist and ultra-nationalist organisations. [149] According to them, the Slavs are the directest descendants of an ancient Aryan race, whom they equate with the Proto-Indo-Europeans. [53] Also appropriate chants and gestures are believed to allow the participants to enter in communion with the upper world. [181], Rodnover organisations have inherited ideas of commonality and social governance from Slavic and Russian history. [253] The movement also involved a significant number of people who had a background in the Soviet or Russian Army,[409] or in policing and security. [225], A number of Rodnovers have expressed their religion through visual arts, with Svyatoslav I of Kiev being one of the most popular historical subjects among Rodnover artists. Other festivals include the Days of Veles (multiple, in January and February) and the Day of Perun (August 2), the latter considered to be the most important holiday of the year by some Rodnover organisations. The Belobog symbol represents light, goodness, well-being and happiness (the white god). [80] Others embrace the term as a means of emphasising what they regard as the reformed nature of the religion; the Polish Rodnover Maciej Czarnowski for instance encouraged the term because it distinguished his practices from those of the pre-Christian societies, which he regarded as being hindered by superstition and unnecessary practices like animal sacrifice. [412] Rodnovery has also contributed to the diffusion of "historical themes"particularly regarding an ancient Aryan raceto the general population, including many who were Orthodox or non-religious.[413]. Local Rodnover groups usually call themselves obshchina (the term for traditional peasant communities), while skhod, sobor and mir are used for informal meetings or to refer to traditional Russian ideas of commonality. Koliada is the God of the new year and of the rising of the new sun each day. [339], There are many denominations of Rodnovery as it is in general a democratic, free, or "open-source religion", that emphasises the "equality of men in their access to the divine" from different perspectives. [188], Some Rodnovers believe that the Slavs are a race distinct from other ethnic groups. [323] A Serbian Native Faith group known as the Slavic Circle (Slovenski Krug) existed during the 1990s and 2000s, merging historical Slavic religion with a ritual structure adopted from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rodnovery has developed distinctive strains of political and identitary philosophy. [410] A high proportion were also involved in specialist professions such as engineering, academia, or information technology, and the majority lived in cities. [130] Some regard ethnic minorities living in Slavic countries as a cause of social injustice,[130] and some Russian Rodnovers encourage the expulsion from Russia of those they regard as aliens, namely those who are Jewish or have ethnic origins in the Caucasus,[155] an approach which could require ethnic cleansing. [164], Laruelle has observed that even in groups which reject extreme nationalism or are apolitical, ethnic identity is still important, and a good Rodnover is considered one who is conscious of ethnic identity, national traditions, and knows the history of the ancestors. Such idea that Russians may derive, at least in part, from Scythians is popular in many Rodnover circles. . The ideas of these Rodnover political groups span from extreme right-wing nationalism and racism, to Stalinism, seen by some of them as the most successful political expression of Paganism. From one witch to another. [19] In this way, Slavic Native Faith has been understoodat least in partas an invented tradition,[20] or a form of Folklorismus. ), represent the thunder god Perun or the supreme God (Rod), expressing itself as power of birth and reproduction, in its various forms (whether Triglav, Svetovid, Perun and other gods) and were still carved in folk traditions of the Russian North up to the nineteenth century. [395] The theology of Slavic-Hill Rodnovery is pantheistic and polytheistic, and the movement's military orientation is reflected in its pantheon, which gives prominence to military deities headed by Perun, identified as the ruler of the universe. In doing so, pre-Christian belief systems underwent a rehabilitation. [197] In turn, Rodnovers have accused academics of being part of a conspiracy to conceal the truth about history. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. There is some debate as to whether his name translates to Lord of Rugia/Rgen or Roaring/Howling Lord. Symbolically, Ruevit is associated with autumn and the east. [253] Similarly, Schnirelmann noted that the founders of Russian Rodnovery were "well-educated urbanised intellectuals" who had become frustrated with "cosmopolitan urban culture". [102] The Russian volkhv Velimir (Nikolay Speransky), emphasises a dualistic eternal struggle between white gods and black gods, elder forces of creation and younger forces of destruction; the former collectively represented by Belobog and the latter by Chernobog, also symbolising the spiritual and the material. [414] Rodnovery is also spread through a variety of newspapers and journals. Ancient Slavs lived in tribal societies, presided over by tribal chieftains, and practiced a multi-theistic form of Paganism. [129] Schnirelmann observed that Rodnovers' calls for social justice tend to apply only to their own ethnic community. They are those responsible for holding rites for worshipping the gods and leading communities and religious festivals. Blacksmith Viking Epic Legendary Impression. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, "rda Rodzimej Wiary wtki aryjskie i zadrune w doktrynie zwizku wyznaniowego Rodzima Wiara", "Shaman, Schismatic, Necromancer: Religious Libertarians in Russia", " . . ", " ", " ' ' ", "Qualification of Slavic Rodnovery in scientific literatureneopaganism or ethnic religion", Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Castro culture/Proto Gallaecian-Lusitanian, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slavic_Native_Faith&oldid=1141331410, Articles containing Belarusian-language text, Articles containing Bulgarian-language text, Articles containing Bosnian-language text, Articles containing Macedonian-language text, Articles containing Croatian-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles containing Slovene-language text, Articles containing Serbian-language text, Articles containing Ukrainian-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 14:39. In Slavic mythology, Perun is the god of the sky and of thunder and lightning. [347], There are branches of Rodnovery striving to reconstruct not a pan-Slavic religion, but the specific religions of the early Balto-Slavic or Slavic tribes. [93] Mathieu-Colas defines Rod as the "primordial God", but the term also literally means the generative power of family and "kin", "birth", "origin" and "fate" as well. [265] In Czechia, in 1839, the doctor and teacher Karel Slavoj Amerling (18071884) founded the Brotherhood of the Faithful of the New Slavic Religion (Bratrstvo Vrnk Novho Nboenstv Slvskho), identified as pantheism and as a means for the Czech National Revival; the group was, however, banned by the Austrian rulers just one year later, in 1840. [289] Boris Rybakov (19082001), former head of the Institute of Archaeology, provided the first academic studies about ancient Slavic religion. [55] The term is adapted from Slavic forms, and variations of it are used in different Slavic languages: for instance, in Ukrainian it is Ridnovirstvo or Ridnovirya, in Russian Rodnoverie, in Polish Rodzimowierstwo, and in Czech Rodnov. [106] Some Rodnover groups espouse the idea that specific Slavic populations are the offspring of different gods; for instance, groups relying upon the tenth-century manuscript The Lay of Igor's Host may affirm the idea that Russians are the grandchildren of Dazhbog (the "Giving God", "Day God"). Some Rodnover organisations require that participants wear traditional Slavic clothes for such occasions, although there is much freedom in interpreting what constitutes "traditional clothes", this definition generally referring to folkloric needlecraft open to a wide range of artistic patterns. Equally important to the Slavic mythology was the worship of ancestors, though the tribes did not keep ancestral records. [243] In 2015, the Temple of Svarozich's Fire, in the form of a simple wooden architecture, was opened by the Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities in Krasotynka, Kaluga. [110] Sylenko characterised Dazhbog as "light, endlessness, gravitation, eternity, movement, action, the energy of unconscious and conscious being". [194], Although their understanding of the past is typically rooted in spiritual conviction rather than in arguments that would be acceptable within the academia, in which their historiosophy is often regarded as pseudohistorical, many Rodnovers seek to promote their beliefs about the past among academics. Vladimir Avdeyev (later the creator of the doctrine of "racology" which espoused the superiority of the "Nordic race" over others; a member of Alexander Belov's "Moscow Slavic Pagan Community") wrote in the book "Overcoming Christianity" (1994) about the inferiority of the era of Pisces, associated with the domination of monotheistic religions, and future blessed cosmic age of Aquarius, designed to return humanity to the original primordial prosperity. Nevertheless, Laruelle says that the most politicised right-wing groups are the most popularly known, since they are more vocal in spreading their ideas through the media, organise anti-Christian campaigns, and even engage in violent actions. Semargl represents good fortune, drinking, and abundance. This is a concept that was especially popular among nineteenth-century ethnographers who were influenced by Romanticism and retains widespread popularity across Eastern Europe, but has come under criticism in more recent times. [113] Lesiv reported about a Sylenkoite follower who said that "we cannot believe in various forest, field and water spirits today. Koliada Viatichey is theologically dualistic, giving prominence to the complementary principles of Belobog and Chernobog, respectively governing spirit and matter, a polar duality which reflects itself in humanity as the soul and the body. In the mid 2000s Rodn Vra was legally registered by the Czech government, but internal disagreements culminated with its unregistration in 2010 and transformation into an informal association. [334], The early 2010s saw a strengthening of relations between Rodnover groups. A. E. Musin, an academic and deacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, published an article about the "problem of double belief" as recently as 1991. [408] Physicists were particularly well represented; in this Aitamurto drew comparisons to the high number of computer professionals who were present in the Pagan communities of Western countries. Zhiva (or iva) is the goddess of life in the Slavic mythology. [303] It is within this broader milieu of cultural nationalism and interest in alternative spiritualities that Rodnovery re-emerged in Ukraine. [130], Within Rodnovery, gender roles are conservative. [208] The vast majority of Russian Rodnovers were young and there were a greater proportion of men than women. [385] The Church is known for its intensive proselytism,[386] carried out through a "massive selling" of books, journals and other media. [262] In 1818, the Polish ethnographer Zorian Doga-Chodakowski (Adam Czarnocki; 17841825) in the work O Sawiaszczynie przed chrzecijastwem ("About the Slavs before Christianity") declared himself a "pagan" and stated that the Christianisation of the Slavic peoples had been a mistake. [275] Continuing on from Doga-Chodakowski, Stachniuk's own work criticised Catholicism in Poland, arguing that it had had a negative effect on the country's national character. [212] He reported that there were under 900 regularly active members of the main four registered Polish Native Faith organisations,[433] and around as many adherents belonging to smaller, unregistered groups. He is associated with the oak tree, and is a god of war; in some respects, he's a lot like the Norse and Germanic Thor and Odin combined. In their view, beings are the progeny of gods; even phenomena such as the thunder are conceived in this way as embodiments of these gods (in this case, Perun). Today, the swastika is officially used by Baltic neo-pagan organizations such as Romuva and Dievturiba. [26] Other leaders who emerged in this period were Aleksandr Asov, author of numerous books on Rodnover philosophy which have sold millions of copies, Aleksandr Belov, founder of the Slavic-Hill military type of Rodnovery integrating Rodnover philosophy and martial arts, and Viktor Kandyba, founder of Kandybaism.