What is the faith of the Slavs: what is the religion of the Eastern Slavs, what was it before Christianity

The Slavs were not always Christians. You can understand what kind of faith the Slavs had before Christianity by studying the evidence preserved in written sources. So, for example, the Tale of Bygone Years says:

“...And Volodymer began to reign alone in Kiev. And place the idols on the hill outside the castle courtyard: Perun is wooden, and his head is silver, and his head is gold, and Khursa, Dazhb’a and Strib’a, and Smargla, and Makosh.”

The Tale of Bygone Years

Nobody now knows the exact number of gods that the ancient Slavs had, because in the process of Christianization of the Slavic world, almost all evidence about them was destroyed.

The ancient Slavs were pagans, modern ones profess Christianity

What religion the Slavs professed before they adopted Christianity can be understood by studying their history. The Slavs are the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe.

Currently, the Slavs are settled over a vast territory of Southern, Central and Eastern Europe and further east - all the way to the Russian Far East.

There is also a Slavic diaspora in the countries of Western Europe, America, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The total number of Slavs is 300 - 350 million people.

There are Western Slavs (Poles, Silesians, Slovins, Czechs, Slovaks, Kashubians, Moravians and Lusatians), Eastern Slavs (Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians) and Southern Slavs (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Macedonians, Slovenians, Montenegrins).

Territories of the Slavic population of Europe: West Slavic peoples, East Slavic peoples, South Slavic peoples. The Slavs are divided into three branches: western, southern and eastern. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

The authors of medieval Russian chronicles believed that part of the Slavs after the Great Flood lived near Illyria (the coast of the Adriatic Sea).

In ancient (Roman and Byzantine) literary monuments, the name of the Slavs looks like “Sklavins” (Greek Σκλαβηνοί, Lat. Sklavīnî), in Arabic sources as “Sakaliba”, sometimes the self-name of one of the groups of Scythians “Skoloty” and the ethnonym “Vends” are similar to the Slavs "

According to historical linguistics, written sources and archeology, the Slavs of the 6th - 7th centuries. lived in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Elbe and Oder rivers in the west, through the Vistula basin, to the headwaters of the Dniester and the headwaters of the Dnieper in the east.

300 - 350 million

there are about that many Christians in this world;undefined

The earliest mentions (Pliny the Elder, Tacitus), probably related to the ethnogenesis of the Slavs, refer to the Wends. More detailed information is available from the 5th - 6th centuries, in particular, in the works of the Byzantine diplomat and historian Priscus, and the Byzantine writer Procopius of Caesarea. The modern division of the Eastern Slavs is as follows:

Russians;
Ukrainians;
Belarusians.

Paganism, Orthodoxy, Slavs and the ABC

Hello!

Let's get acquainted.
My name is Alexandra Lyubimenko, I am 38 years old, I am a wife and mother of three beautiful children. Literally three years ago, I plunged headlong (as far as my life allows me) into the study of our history, language, writing and folklore. I had reasons for this that I don’t want to talk about now. The general meaning is this: I was looking for a certain kind of information in them, but I discovered something that was incredibly surprising and still surprises me. I had never seen such information anywhere before, and therefore I decided that it was simply necessary to share it with the public.

I started writing articles, and then shooting videos. And so they noticed me and invited me to this site. Thank you very much for the invitation. But there is one BUT. The information that I am sharing, in some details, is very contrary to the general meaning of the Slavic movement, which I noticed back in the year 2009 and which has been constantly gaining momentum all these years. In no way do I want to offend anyone with the information I give. But I actually have the feeling that with my articles I will be like “climbing into someone else’s monastery with my charter.”

Anyway, since I'm here, I'll write. And I’ll start, perhaps, with the main thing: I will consider such concepts as paganism, Slavs, Orthodoxy and the alphabet. Stock up on buns or valerian: whichever you like best, but I’ll start.

Paganism, Slavs, Orthodoxy and the alphabet are all related concepts. But first, in order to understand their meaning, we need to make some amendments.

“Paganism” is derived from the word LANGUAGE. No one will argue with this, and neither will I. But we are used to thinking, and, to be more precise, we were taught to think so by some church leaders, that the LANGUAGE in the word PAGANITY is the people. Like this. No more, no less. Have you ever called a people a language? No? Me too. But we have been taught to think this way, that our language has changed beyond recognition. That Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic are such sophisticated languages that we can’t even make out what is written in them. It is not surprising that the word LANGUAGE is now used in a completely different sense: as an organ in the mouth or speech that is pronounced by this organ. But the fact is, friends, that our language, on the contrary, has practically not changed for many, many years. And there are good reasons for this, which I will talk about at the very end. In the meantime, let's define that Paganism is a form of knowledge transfer: through LANGUAGE. This is not faith, not religion, not shamans with tambourines. This is simply a form of transfer of KNOWLEDGE. Through culture, through folklore, through traditions, through words.

Through culture, folklore, traditions - this is understandable. What does “through words” mean? Many who have come across the concepts of Slavism and Rodnoverie know that there is an opinion that our words can be deciphered using the alphabet. So this is what it is – the transfer of knowledge through words. That is, you say a word, and even if a person hears it for the first time, knowing the names of the letters that make up the word and what these letters mean, he will be able to decipher what the word means.

To decipher words, as well as to compose them correctly (meaningfully, not emptyly), the alphabet was used. ABC is the Russian alphabet, that is, the letters of the language in a certain order. The word "alphabet" is made up of the first letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha and vita. And the word “alphabet” consists of the first two letters of the Russian alphabet: az and buki. Therefore, I think it is most correct to call our Russian alphabet the alphabet, as it was before.

We all know about the Glagolitic alphabet, but we imagine it as the same alphabet as the Cyrillic alphabet, only with a different spelling of letters. In fact, the alphabet was called Glagolitic, because each letter in it has a name, meaning and meaning, and these letters explain to us the words that are made up of these letters. The Russian alphabet is called glagolic because it speaks, speaks, and explains the meaning.

Each letter can convey several sounds in writing, as well as a numerical value. Here is an approximate Glagolitic alphabet, which I have now focused on in my research (numerical value - name of the letter - sounds that it represents in writing - semantic meaning).

1 – Az – A\I – god, origin, oversoul, mind, consciousness, unity
2 – Beeches – B – matter, information, letters
3 – Lead – V – knowledge, understanding, comprehension
4 – Verb – G – sound, vibration, material wave
5 – Good – D – good, good, agreement, acceptance
6 – There is – E\E – presence, existence
7 – Live – F – life, being
8 – Whole – C – purpose, completeness, meaning
9 – Earth – Z – planet Earth, the earth under your feet
10 – I – J – union, togetherness, unification
20 – Izhe – And – in the same way as and, since
30 – Worm – b – devil, spirit, emotion
40 – Kako – K – how, in accordance with
50 – People – L – person, people
60 – Think – M – mind, logic, thinking
70 – Our – N – belonging to someone or something
80 – He – O\E – someone else, different from us
90 – Peace – P – peace, harmony
100 – Rtsy – P – action, movement, accomplishment, implementation
200 – Word – C – meaningful vibration, wave, voiced thought
300 – Firmly – b – stability, constancy, steadfastness
400 – UK – U\Yu – law, rule, order
500 – Firth – F – change, violation, change (change)
600 – Dick – X – refusal, rejection, no
700 – From – T – from, departure, reverse
800 – Shta – Ш\Ш – what, what
900 – Tsy – Y – energy of life, vitality
1000 – Womb – H – living body, organism

Az-Buki-Vedi (I, who know letters,) Verb-Good-Is (I say what good is:) Live-Whole-Earth (live a full life on Earth) And-Izhe-Worm (and the devil lives the same way) Kako -People-Think (How people think) Our-He-Peace (this is the world they have.) Rtsy-Word-Firm (The perfect word is unshakable.) Uk-Fert-Her (The law cannot be changed.) From-State-Tsy- Womb (From which the energy of life is in the body.)
The language, the WORDS of which can be deciphered by the Glagolitic alphabet, is called SLOVIAN. Accordingly, a person who speaks such a language is called a Slovian. A language whose meaning cannot be deciphered using the alphabet is called empty, dumb. And a person who speaks such a language is a GERMAN.

At the moment, I am inclined to this opinion: the language that is now commonly called Russian is actually Slovenian. This is why our nationality sounds like an adjective: Russian is not a language or a nationality. Most likely, this was the name of the caste of priests and sorcerers. Russian – blond – light. Light is knowledge and darkness is ignorance. We are talking about a stupid person - a dark one. And we are talking about an evil person - a dark one. And about the wise and kind - bright, bright. That is, a Russian is someone who has knowledge about this world, who is controlled by reason and not by passions. But this is still an assumption (partially confirmed by the research of A.V. Pyzhikov).

Those who are now commonly called Slavs actually speak dialects of the Slovenian (“Russian”) language. And the more western the dialect, the more unlabeled it is. That is, the less meaning there is in the words of such a language. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian mathematician and teacher L.F. Magnitsky wrote the first textbook in Russia on mathematics. And it was called like this: “Arithmetic, that is, the science of numbers. Translated from different dialects into the Slavic language, both collected and divided into two parts.” That is, at that time our language was still called Slavic, not Russian.

There is an amazing feature: within the small territory of Germany, the number of dialects is simply off the charts. You can create separate languages. But on the territory of the vast Russia, despite all the diversity of nationalities, the “Russian” language is practically unchanged. We even have some special craving for the CORRECT pronunciation of words. (“Don’t distort the Russian language.” “Are you talking like a non-Russian?”) And this is not without reason. We used to have such a science - Orthodoxy.

My guess that Orthodoxy was originally Orthodoxy and was not a religion, but a science, was a consequence of my understanding that the Slavs are written with O, and not with A, and that those who are now commonly called Slavs adhere to the Orthodox faith. That is, the Slavs and the Orthodox are practically the same people (both in numbers and in territory of distribution).

And since I realized that Slavs do not come from the word SLAVA, but from the word WORD, I assumed that Orthodoxy was previously called Orthodoxy. And this was naturally combined with the fact that the Glagolitic alphabet deciphers words. And since she deciphers them, it means they were compiled in a certain way so that they had meaning and someone had to do this. This was precisely the responsibility of Orthodoxy, I decided, but I did not have any, even indirect, evidence of this. It’s just surprising how smoothly everything came together: THE CORRECT WORDS are ORTHODOLOGY. But I understood that this could just be a coincidence, albeit a very successful one.

And now I come across a wonderful book that dots all the i’s, “Russian Language: Encyclopedia” edited by Yu.N. Karaulova. On page 583 in the article “Textbooks of the Russian language” in the third paragraph we read:

“Traditionally, grammars consisted of four parts: spelling, refrain (prosody), orthodoxy (etymology) and composition (syntax).”

And then everything started rolling like a snowball. Orthodoxy used to be called etymology, that is, a branch of linguistics. The science? - well, obviously not a religion)) Etymology studies the origin of words, and until the 19th century this term could be used in the meaning of “grammar,” that is, grammar itself could be called etymology (orthodoxy), which is logical and understandable.

Now etymology is what tells us where this word came to us from, from what territory, from what people, from what other language. But it was not always so.

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, W. Johnson discovers a new language - Sanskrit, announces to the scientific world that the peoples inhabiting Eurasia previously had a single proto-language and comes up with a new term for it - “Indo-European”. Here it is - “discovery” - this is how our science is written, friends! Our entire science is built on precisely such notions...

At the beginning of the 19th century, R. Rask and J. Grimm came up with “Germanic linguistics”, on the basis of which A.Kh. Vostokov, a philologist of GERMAN (a language whose meaning of words is lost and therefore called MUT) origin, makes “many important discoveries for Slavic languages " That is, it lays the foundation for our future tug-of-war over whose language is the main one, the most ancient and closest to the original source. Now etymology is a game of football, where each nation tries to prove that this or that word came from it.

Initially, etymology meant the ORIGIN of a word, but not in the sense of WHERE it came FROM, but in the sense of HOW it was formed and WHY it should be pronounced and written this way and not otherwise. Etymology translated from ancient Greek: “etimon” is truth, the basic meaning of the word, and “logos” is a word, doctrine, judgment. That is, etymology is the doctrine of the true meaning of words, or orthodoxy (correct = true words).

And here's another thing. Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy are paronymous words. Official science also tells us this, friends. I'm not making this up myself. I'm not making anything up at all. I only study official science, trace history, find connections, highlight the main thing, analyze and draw conclusions - MY OWN. Let me explain what paronyms are.

Paronyms are words that sound similar, but have completely different meanings, and are often mistakenly used one instead of the other.

That is, Orthodoxy was often called Orthodoxy by simple “uneducated” (that is, not taught by the German advanced “civilized” community, how to “correctly”). Well, they are illiterate fools. What to take from them? They are not aware that Orthodoxy is a religion, not a science (although for some unknown reason, it interferes with science at all stages of its formation).

I will explain the importance of this information to those who do not understand: if Orthodoxy is written somewhere and we are talking about Christian concepts (although the meaning of these concepts may have a completely different meaning - scientific, which I will talk about in my next articles), then official science is always can say: a mistake, the author made a mistake, because these are paronymous words.

From the same article in the encyclopedia, it is very interesting to trace how the name of our language and people changed:

1596 “Slovenian Grammar” by Lavrentiy Zizaniya
1619 “Slovenian Grammar Correct Syntagma” by Miletiy Smotrytsky
1679 “Primer of the Slovenian language...” by Simeon of Polotsk
1694 “A Primer of Slavic Russian Letters” by Karion Istomin
1723 “Slavic grammar in brief...” F. Maksimova
1755 “Russian Grammar” M.V. Lomonosov

This is how the Slavs evolved into the Slavs, and then into the Russians in general. Of course, these primers and grammars were written by Western people (or studying with Westerners), who spoke Russian poorly, with an accent (Western dialect), because their written language was divorced from the language that people spoke. It is important to understand that there was no Old Russian or Old Slavic - they just changed our writing, distorted the words in a Western manner, so they either had Bulgarian words or Polish ones. Lomonosov was one of the first to try to bring this (written “scientific”) language closer to the true Russian (that is, the original Slavic, which ordinary people spoke and still speak) language.

Initially, before Western “civilization” came to our lands, temples were scientific buildings, where they practiced science and gathered, as in Ancient Greece, to receive education. But that’s probably all for today.

All the best!

The Slavs were pagans, adopted Christianity and, partially, Islam

What religion the Eastern Slavs had is known quite accurately. The fact is that historians and archaeologists have discovered a sufficient number of traces of Slavic paganism. At the same time, heterogeneous Slavic tribes were connected by a single mythology and religion.

Slavic mythology is a set of mythological views, beliefs and cults of the Slavic peoples.

Slavic mythology was formed over a long period in the process of separating the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community of peoples in the 2nd–1st millennium BC. e. and in interaction with the mythology and religion of neighboring peoples

Prince Vladimir gives orders at the idol of Perun (miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle, late 15th century). Perun, the main god of the ancient Slavs, was borrowed by them from the Indo-European pantheon. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

Due to the significant Indo-European influence, there is a significant Indo-European layer in Slavic mythology.

It is assumed that it includes images of the god of thunderstorms and fighting squads (Perun), the god of cattle and the other world (Veles), elements of the images of a twin deity (Yarilo and Yarilikha, Ivan da Marya) and the deity of Heaven the Father (Stribog).

Also Indo-European in essence are such images as Mother Cheese-Earth, the goddess of weaving and spinning associated with her (Mokosh), the solar deity (Dazhbog), and some others

Some Slavs were forcibly Islamized by the Ottoman Turks.

The spiritual culture of the Slavic tribes began to change between the 6th and 10th centuries, when most of the Slavs adopted Christianity: Eastern and Southeastern according to the Byzantine rite, and Western and Southwestern according to the Roman rite. This is evidenced by the many Slavic antiquities that survived from those times.

At the same time, the faith of the Slavs became not only Christian. So some of the Slavs converted to Islam as a result of the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans. Muslim Slavs are Pomaks, Torbeshis, Goranis and Bosniaks

Bulgarian Pomaks. Rhodopes. 1932 Some of the Slavs, for example the Bulgarian Pomaks, converted to Islam under pressure from Ottoman Turkey. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

The paganism of the Western Slavs, their southern and eastern brothers has survived to this day in a strongly “Christianized” form: holidays (Maslenitsa, Kupalo, Kolyada, Krasnaya Gorka, Radonitsa, Parents or Grandfathers, etc.), rituals (spells, fortune telling) and the so-called "superstition".

The belief in spirits (brownies, etc.) and ghosts remained almost unchanged; significant features of paganism were also preserved in the Slavic funeral rite.

Since the end of this century, attempts have been made in the Slavic world to revive Slavic paganism

Since the end of the 20th century, in the Slavic world there have been attempts to revive Slavic paganism, as well as the formation of neo-paganism (which has little in common with the pagan past of the Slavs).

Slavs or Christians?

The American population is a rather diverse group. However, why should we be surprised? Emigrants from almost all countries of the world gathered here. Each with their own culture, thoughts, desires, religion and traditions. Nevertheless, somehow until now everyone got along under one Constitution. I sincerely hope that this will continue.

But, nevertheless, I want to talk about my relatives, so to speak, Slavic brothers, about compatriots, immigrants from the former USSR. We are united by one language, Russian, so for Americans we are, for the most part, Russians (Russkies), although not all “former Soviets” agree with this. Many argue until they are hoarse, proving to everyone: “I’m not Russian, I’m... (here everyone puts at their own discretion: Ukrainian, Moldavian, Belarusian, etc.)” But in general, we are all Russian-speaking.

In addition to the fact that we are united by language, we are also united by thinking (Mentality), our native Soviet consumer thinking. This is expressed in the fact that we are accustomed to taking everything for free and receiving everything for free. The American government promised us, refugees, help, so we will get this help to the last cent, and even more. We live in houses designed for low-income families (Low-income Housing), and we are not in a hurry to get to work, otherwise we will have to pay full price for rent. Why work if you can do nothing? If we do work, we do it unofficially, so as not to pay taxes. In official documents we indicate a smaller amount earned than it actually is, or we even note in the tax return (Tax Form) that we have no sources of income (simply, we are deceiving).

We drive not just good, but expensive cars, we live in luxurious houses, bought with ill-gotten (read, stolen) money. At the same time, we laugh at the Americans, saying: “Well, how stupid they are, (straight according to Zadornov), they take our word for it!” We are angry that they do not speak Russian, do not know our traditions, do not understand our jokes and division rules (we are talking about simple mathematics), sing songs that are not ours and read fairy tales that are not ours. “Their policemen are too polite, the school teachers are too soft, the pants of the youth are too sagging, the tomatoes in the stores are too sour, and the doctors don’t know anything at all and are no good,” we scold the Americans while sitting at lunch or when meeting each other in a social institution, ready to deceive once again.

I recently read the following thought in an interview: “We didn’t bring our children to America so they could clean toilets or become janitors.” Of course, let these Americans - so stupid that they believe in decency and allow us to deceive them - wash the toilets after us, let them clean and clean after us, let them work for us, paying for our social programs! And we will study at their expense and give our children a higher education, instilling in them the sprouts of dubious national pride. And everything would be fine if most of these emigrants did not call themselves... Christians.

If you think that Christians do not behave this way, then you are deeply mistaken. They shouldn’t, but that’s exactly what a considerable part of Christians think and act, considering themselves holier than American believers. “In “their” churches they teach wrong, dress wrong, sing wrong, and live wrong.” Here I ask you to note that I do not mean all Americans or all Russian-speaking emigrants. Of course, both of them live righteously, just as they sin.

I am surprised that such openly disdainful attitude towards American brothers and sisters is also manifested at the level of church leadership. However, as you know, the fish spoils from the head... Since there is no explanation of situations, no teaching, then the flock will behave accordingly. “It was like this with us... And it’s the only correct way” - this is the main argument in defense of traditions and rules. Showy conferences are held, noisy advertisements and alliances are created (on the principle of “we are friends against”), solely in order to show their superiority over those who accepted us and keep us on their support for several years, providing free education, housing, medical care ( Medicare) and food (Food Stamps).

It would be appropriate to give an example here. Imagine that people came to visit you and immediately began to use your things: the refrigerator, the bedroom, while cursing your own family rules and traditions: they supposedly do not correspond to a normal way of life. Your guests teach you their worldview and concept: the furniture needs to be moved, it is in the wrong place, children should sit in the far corner and talk to you only from 11 to 12 noon, you should buy groceries not in the next store, but two streets away and etc. and so on. This is exactly what our highly moral attempts to teach our American brothers to live a “decent” life look like.

But I still present the reader with this question for reflection: how should we still live: like Slavs or like Christians? Because, forgive me, but these two words are in no way synonymous. Why on earth should we influence Americans like the Slavs? Why are we better? The First Epistle of Peter says: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; once not a people, but now the people of God; who once did not receive mercy, but now have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

The Bible teaches us that all people are sinners. Everyone, not just Americans or Japanese. The righteous were not only those who lived in the Soviet Union, only because there were choirs in churches, women wore headscarves, and bread was broken once a month. There is not one righteous person; every inhabitant of the earth has lost the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) Quarreling among ourselves, figuring out who was right and who was wrong, fighting for power and superiority over our own kind, we were all heading towards the abyss of hell. We had no chance of salvation; mercy was unknown to us. But, nevertheless, the grace of Christ is above all. From every people and tribe, from every race, from the smart and not so smart, from the rich and slaves, the Lord chose His people, i.e. you and me. He redeemed us, who believed in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, from sin, freed us from the wrath and curse of the Almighty, and bestowed His holiness. He pardoned us, His children, chosen from whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, mestizos, Russians, Chukchis, Moldovans, and Soviet Russians and granted the royal priesthood.

Please note that it is not Russian-speaking emigrants who are God’s chosen people, but all the rest who perished. In every nation there are those people whom He loved and chose, i.e. pardoned. We have nothing to boast or be proud of. We are no better, no smarter, no more honest, no more righteous than others. We are the same as everyone else. And like everyone else, we need Christ. It doesn’t matter where a person lives, what language he speaks, what level of education or health he has, he is a Christian, chosen by God to “declare the praises of Him who called” him. The children of God should live in such a way as to display all the excellent qualities of their Heavenly Father, His love, holiness, wisdom, greatness, power. It is not our traditions and customs, desires and preferences that should become paramount, but the glorification of God in any place and in any situation in which we find ourselves.

God settled us, so different and at the same time sinfully identical, on the American continent. No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, the 500-year history of the American church continues. Is there something we don't like? And thank God! Will the Creator of everyone and everything really be delighted if all His children speak the same language and follow the traditions of some provincial Zachuisk? The triumph and might, strength and power, sovereignty and holiness of God are manifested precisely in this, that He is glorified by all the enormous diversity created by Him. And it is not for us to establish one rule (read mine) for praise and worship.

We can and should influence the people around us, including Americans, but not as Slavs, but as Christians. Christians are called Christians because they have a different Worldview, lifestyle and ultimate goal. The purpose and style of life differs not from Americans, but from non-believers in general, no matter in what part of the world they live. Unbelievers, in general, live in pride, for themselves, their glory, to satisfy their lust, but the people of God live for the glory of God, humbly proclaiming the Kingdom that He has given us.

We must teach our children not the superiority of our nationality, traditions and faith over others, but that a person of any nationality, with any skin color, any amount of knowledge and number of diplomas is worth nothing in the eyes of a righteous God if he is not in His midst chosen people. If you have the opportunity to get a higher education in America, or work hard and can buy a good house and car, thank God and do not be proud of the fact that you are Russian (Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, etc.). This is not your advantage. And if you are Russian (Kazakh, Ukrainian, Moldovan, etc.) and due to various problems you work as a cleaner at McDonald’s, drive an old car and live in a small apartment, do not be embarrassed about this and thank God. He gave each of you His mercy and grace, called you to be His son or daughter, and placed you in the place where you are now so that you would proclaim His, and only His, perfections.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people taken as an inheritance, emigrants from the former Soviet Union now living in America, so that together with the residents of the United States, in love and unity with each other, you will proclaim the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light; once not a people, but now the people of God; who once did not receive mercy, but now have received mercy.” [italics added and emphasis by author]

Published with permission of the author.

Photo: Paperocks (Evalinda) | flickr.com

When using materials, please indicate the link: Natalya Gurmeza, “Slavs or Christians?” Christian metropolis (5) 2012. https://xmegapolis.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2946&action=edit&message=1

Natalia Gurmeza

Author of Christian prose.
Lives in Tacoma (USA). You can get acquainted with her work on the website: natalyagurmeza.com More Posts — Website

Post Tagged: Gurmeza, Natalya, Russians, Slavs, USA, Christians, church, emigrants

Relatively little is known about Slavic paganism

Slavic paganism is a system of pre-Christian ideas about the world and man, reconstructed according to the language, folklore, rituals, customs and beliefs of the ancient Slavs, based on mythology and magic.

We know approximately what religion the Eastern Slavs professed; the fact is that the first fragmentary information about Slavic culture in written sources appears only after they reached the borders of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century.

The only convincingly reconstructed common Slavic deity is Perun (*Perunъ), the god of thunder and lightning.

Rus under the walls of Constantinople (860). Information about the religion of the ancient Slavs appeared only after they reached the borders of Byzantium. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

Proto-Slavic concepts include spirit, soul, nav (“dead man”), paradise (“otherworld”), werewolf (“werewolf”), ghoul (“vampire”), treba (“sacrifice”).

At the same time, the pagan understanding of the soul should not be confused with the Christian one. Scientists lack information about the mythology of the ancient Slavs, especially during the times of pan-Slavic unity.

This is explained by many factors, and above all - the lack of their own written language and the distance from the main centers of urban Latin or Greek-speaking written culture.

The religion of the ancient Slavs was formed in the 2nd - 1st millennium BC. e.

The Slavic religion was formed over a long period in the process of separating the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community of peoples in the 2nd - 1st millennium BC. e. and in interaction with the mythology and religion of neighboring peoples.

So in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. The mythology and religion of the Slavs were significantly influenced by the Celts and the Iranian-speaking steppe population (Scythians, Sarmatians and Alans).

In addition, the Eastern Slavs had in their pantheon deities of presumably Iranian origin - Khors, Semargl and others.

Vasnetsov V.M. Battle of the Scythians with the Slavs. 1881 The features of the religion of the ancient Slavs were formed under the influence of the backgammon people around them, for example, the Scythians. Photo: virtualrm.spb.ru

The main features of paganism of the Eastern Slavs:

belief in the animation of nature (animatism and animism):
ancestor cult;
belief in supernatural forces that are constantly present and involved throughout the life of every person;
developed lower mythology;
conviction in the possibility of influencing the state of things in the world by means of primitive magic;
anthropocentrism.

Mixed traditions

Slavic gods and their worship did not pass completely without a trace. Despite the 1000th anniversary of the history of Christianity on the territory of Rus', pagan traditions are strong and continue to live in society.

Spread of Christianity in Rus'

An example is the holiday of Christmas. According to official data, Jesus Christ was born in the summer or early autumn (data based on seasonal phenomena described in Scripture), but Christmas is celebrated throughout the winter.

The fact is that during the Roman Empire, the cult of the sun was very popular, part of which was the holiday of the winter solstice - the longest day of the year. Paganism became a serious obstacle to the spread of Christianity, especially since it affected all levels of society and especially the poor, while the supporters of Christ came from a higher class of the population due to circumstances.

Emperor Constantine, having adopted a decree on the equality of Christianity among other religions, and having himself been baptized, began to look for ways to spread this religion. And the winter solstice holiday was replaced by Christmas. Thus, the pagan holiday acquired a completely new meaning and became the reason for the active growth in the number of those professing the true Lord.

This process is called sublimation - the purification of old rituals and the introduction of new meaning into them. You can find many examples in the modern church when the Synod decides to leave tradition, so as not to give rise to quarrels and division, but introduces a new Christian meaning into it.

Another such example can be the Maslenitsa holiday.

This is an ancient pagan rite of farewell to winter and invitation to spring, which was celebrated and during which tribute was brought to spring for a successful agricultural season. It is clear that this cannot have anything in common with Christian traditions and beliefs. Since this was already a native tradition for people, the Orthodox Church decided to modify or sublimate it.

Burning an effigy on Maslenitsa

Since its celebration coincides with the beginning of Lent before Easter, the priesthood decided to leave the celebration with pies and pancakes as the last one before the start of Lent, during which one cannot allow oneself anything extra from food or festivities. The doll that is burned on this day has become a symbol of sinful flesh, which man crucifies and destroys through prayer and fasting.

So, pagan traditions have a place in modern Orthodoxy, but with a radically different meaning, on which it is necessary to focus.

Slavic pagan idols were placed on the temple

Archeological data and written sources indicate that the Slavs had sculptural images of deities (idols). Thus, the gods of the Slavs had a personified anthropomorphic form.

Slavic idols could be either wooden or stone. One of the gods of the Eastern Slavs, unlike the Western ones, usually corresponded to one idol.

The idols of the Eastern Slavs are distinguished by simplicity and roughness of execution, while the idols of the Western Slavs were more skillful and complex

Zbruch idol, 10th century. The ancient Slavs worshiped idols personifying pagan gods. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

The appearance of Slavic idols can be judged by the so-called “Zbruch idol”. In addition, a description of the idols placed by Prince Vladimir in Kyiv is also known.

So, for example, from descriptions in written sources it is known that the idol of Perun, placed in it by Prince Vladimir, was wooden, with a silver head and a golden mustache

The ancient Slavs performed pagan religious rituals at temples.

The Slavs worshiped idols in open sanctuaries (temples). The presence of temple premises among the Slavs (with the exception of the Western ones) has not been recorded, but they could well have taken place without leaving traces behind, being wooden.

Temples could be fenced; their usual attribute was a fire, temporary or permanent. The Byzantines and other peoples said that the Slavs sacrificed not only animals, but also people at the temples.

Priest Svyatovit, depicted on the sacred stone from Arkona. The ancient Slavs had few priests; they were replaced by fortune-tellers, healers, and soothsayers. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

In addition to idols, the Slavs also worshiped sacred boulder stones. The leader (prince) of the ancient Slavs combined administrative, military and religious functions. The priesthood as a class among the Eastern Slavs was only in the process of formation, which was interrupted by the introduction of Christianity.

However, the Eastern Slavs most likely had priests of pagan deities in pre-Christian times. However, there were many more fortunetellers, sorcerers and healers. In addition, Slavic paganism was characterized by the cult of ancestors and a special funeral rite with a funeral feast.

Orthodoxy and paganism: comparison

What do paganism and Orthodoxy have in common? Any religion is about worship, this is, of course, a common feature between them, but in Orthodoxy people worship the True and Living God, and in paganism - the forces of nature, which are clothed in mythical characters.

In Orthodoxy, the Lord is a Person possessing divine traits, but in paganism the gods are in conflict, there are constantly skirmishes or wars between them, they are no different from people. The god Perun had a middle name - Prorva, so people emphasized that no matter how many sacrifices were made to him, it would still be of no use, unlike the dumb and stupid gods of the ancient Slavs, the Lord Jesus always hears people and answers their prayers.

In Orthodoxy, people worship the True and Living God

There are many differences between these two branches, but the main thing is that paganism involves sacrifices (sometimes human ones) in order to appease the god. The Heavenly Father does not require any sacrifices; he sent his Son as a sacrifice for people. And only He is worthy of worship . And paganism is an outdated ancient belief in something that could not be explained to uneducated people.

The paganism of the Eastern Slavs ended with the baptism of Rus'

The Baptism of Rus' is a term that in modern historical science means the introduction of Christianity as a state religion in Kievan Rus, carried out at the end of the 10th century by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. With the baptism of Ancient Rus', paganism ended among the Eastern Slavs.

Traditionally, following the chronicle chronology, this event is usually attributed to 988 and is considered the beginning of the official history of the Russian Church. The expression “Baptism of Rus'” (more precisely, “baptism of the Russian land”) is present in the Tale of Bygone Years.

"Baptism of Rus'". Fresco by V. M. Vasnetsov in the Kiev Vladimir Cathedral. 1895-1896. Paganism among the Eastern Slavs was eliminated with the baptism of Rus'. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

Conversion to Christianity was standard Byzantine practice in dealing with warlike pagan peoples. In the 9th century, attempts at Christianization were made in relation to Great Moravia (862) and Bulgaria (864 - 920).

The first ruler of Kievan Rus to officially accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite was Princess Olga in 957. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 6496 from the creation of the world (that is, approximately 988 AD), the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich decided to be baptized by the Church of Constantinople.

988

this year Grand Duke Vladimir baptized Rus'

After the baptism of Prince Vladimir, the paganism of Ancient Rus' began to sharply lose its influence. In addition, from this moment the process of formation of the Russian people began.

In part of the territories of Rus', Christianity was implanted by force; At the same time, religious buildings of the pagans were destroyed, and those who resisted were subjected to repression.

Thus, according to the Jokimov Chronicle, Novgorod showed active resistance to the introduction of Christianity: it was baptized in 990 by Bishop Joachim of the Inovgorod mayor Voroby Stoyanovich with the military assistance of the Kyiv governor Dobrynya (brother of Prince Vladimir’s mother, Malusha) and the thousand Putyata.

“Prince Gleb Svyatoslavovich kills the sorcerer at the Novgorod Veche (Princely Court)”, 1898. A. P. Ryabushkin. Followers of pagan cults resisted the baptism of Rus'. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

The adoption of Christianity as the state religion inevitably entailed the liquidation of pagan cults, which had previously enjoyed the patronage of the grand duke.

The Orthodox clergy condemned pagan rituals and celebrations (some of them were preserved for a long time due to what some researchers classify as religious syncretism or dual faith.

Religious buildings—idols, temples—were destroyed, and wise men were killed.

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As for ancient Russian polytheism, the attitude towards it after the adoption of Christianity was militant. This is stated by many historical facts. The new religion was contrasted with the old one as true - untrue, as useful - harmful. This attitude excluded tolerance and assumed the eradication of pre-Christian traditions, customs, and rituals. Christians did not want their descendants to remain signs of the “delusion” to which they had hitherto indulged. Everything that was in one way or another connected with Russian beliefs was persecuted: “demonic games”, “evil spirits”, sorcery.

Even the image of an ascetic “non-fighter” arose, who dedicated his life not to feats of arms on the battlefield, but to the persecution and destruction of “dark forces.” New Christians in all countries were distinguished by such zeal. But if in Greece or Italy time saved at least a small number of ancient marble sculptures, then Ancient Rus' stood among forests. And the Tsar Fire, raging, did not spare anything: neither human dwellings, nor temples, nor wooden images of gods, nor information about them written in Slavic carvings on wooden tablets.

And only quiet echoes have reached our days from the depths of the pagan world. And it is beautiful, this world! Among the amazing deities that our ancestors worshiped, there are no repulsive, ugly, disgusting ones. There are evil, scary, incomprehensible ones, but there are much more beautiful, mysterious, kind ones. The Slavic gods were formidable, but fair and kind. Perun struck villains with lightning. Lada patronized lovers. Chur protected the boundaries of his possessions. Veles was the personification of the master's wisdom, and was also the patron of hunting prey.

The religion of the ancient Slavs was the deification of the forces of nature. The pantheon of gods was associated with the performance of certain economic functions: agriculture, cattle breeding, beekeeping, crafts, trade, hunting, etc. And one should not assume that paganism is just the worship of idols.
After all, even Muslims continue to bow to the black stone of the Kaaba - the shrine of Islam. For Christians, this is represented by countless crosses, icons and relics of saints. And who counted how much blood was shed and lives given for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher in the Crusades? Here is a real Christian idol, along with bloody sacrifices. And burning incense and lighting a candle is the same sacrifice, only taking on a beautiful appearance. The popular idea of the extremely low level of cultural development of “barbarians” is not confirmed by historical facts. The products of ancient Russian stone and wood carvers, tools, jewelry, epics and songs could only appear on the basis of a highly developed cultural tradition. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs were not a “delusion” of our ancestors, reflecting the “primitivism” of their thinking. Polytheism is the religious belief of not only the Slavs, but also of most peoples. It was typical of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, whose culture could not be called barbaric. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs were not much different from the beliefs of other peoples, and these differences were determined by the specifics of their way of life and economic activity.

At the end of the 80s of the last century, the Soviet government, living its last days, decided to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'. How many shouts of welcome were heard: “1000th anniversary of Russian writing!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian culture!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian statehood!” But the Russian state existed even before the adoption of Christianity! It is not for nothing that the Scandinavian name of Rus' sounds like Gardarika - the country of cities. Arab historians also write about the same thing, numbering Russian cities in the hundreds. At the same time, claiming that in Byzantium itself there are only five cities, the rest are “fortified fortresses.” And the Arab chronicles called the Russian princes Khakans, “Khakan-Rus”. Hakan is an imperial title! “Ar-Rus is the name of a state, not a people or a city,” writes the Arabic author. Western chroniclers called the Russian princes “kings of the people of Ros.” Only the arrogant Byzantium did not recognize the royal dignity of the rulers of Rus', but it did not recognize it either for the Orthodox kings of Bulgaria, or for the Christian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, Otto, or for the emir of Muslim Egypt.

The inhabitants of Eastern Rome knew only one king - their emperor. But even the Russian squads nailed a shield to the gates of Constantinople. And, by the way, Persian and Arab chronicles testify that the Rus make “excellent swords” and import them into the lands of the caliphs. That is, the Rus sold not only furs, honey, wax, but also the products of their artisans. And they found demand even in the land of damask blades. Another export item was chain mail. They were called “wonderful” and “excellent.” Technology, therefore, in pagan Rus' was no lower than the world level. Some blades from that era have survived to this day. They bear the names of Russian blacksmiths - “Lyudota” and “Slavimir”. And this is worth paying attention to. This means that the pagan blacksmiths were literate! This is the level of culture.

Next point. The calculation of the formula for the world's rotation (Kolo) allowed the pagans to build ring-shaped metal sanctuaries, where they created the most ancient astronomical calendars. The Slavs determined the length of the year at 365, 242, 197 days. The accuracy is unique! And in the commentary to the Vedas, the location of the constellations is mentioned, attributed by modern astronomy to 10,000 years BC. According to biblical chronology, even Adam was not created at this time. The cosmic knowledge of the pagans has advanced quite far. Evidence of this is the myth of the cosmic vortex Stribog. And this is consistent with the theory of the origin of life on Earth - the panspermia hypothesis. Its essence boils down to the fact that life did not arise on Earth on its own, but was brought in by a purposeful stream with spores, from which the diversity of the living world later developed.

It is these facts that are the indicators by which the level of culture and education of the pagan Slavs should be judged. And no matter what adherents of Orthodoxy claim, Christianity is an alien, foreign religion that paved its way in Rus' with fire and sword. Much has been written about the violent nature of the baptism of Rus', not by militant atheists, but by church historians.

(1169. Militant Christians under the leadership of Bishop Absalon destroy the statue of the god Svetovit in Arkon.) And one should not assume that the population of the Russian lands resignedly accepted the command of the apostate Vladimir.
People refused to come to the river bank, left the cities, and started uprisings. And the pagans were by no means hiding in distant forests - a century after the baptism, the Magi appeared in large cities. But the population did not experience any hostility towards them, and either listened to them with interest (Kyiv), or completely willingly followed them (Novgorod and the Upper Volga region).

(Slavic sorcerer) Christianity was never able to completely eradicate paganism.
People did not accept alien faith and performed pagan rituals. They made sacrifices to the waterman - they drowned a horse, or a beehive, or a black rooster; to the devil - they left a horse or at least a buttered pancake or egg in the forest; to the brownie - they put a bowl of milk and swept the corners with a broom soaked in rooster's blood. And they believed that if the sign of the cross or prayer did not help against annoying evil spirits, then swearing, which originated from pagan spells, would help. By the way, two birch bark letters were found in Novgorod. They contain, at least, a single swear verb and an “affectionate” definition addressed to a certain Novgorod woman who owed money to the writer of the letter, and was designated for this by feminine nature.

(Pagan Russia. Reconstruction of the temple of Svetovit (Sventovid) in Arkona.) A huge layer of ancient culture, which from time immemorial merges with our modern life. And this in itself suggests that paganism cannot be “new or reconstructed.” Sometimes we, without noticing it ourselves, prove that we are under the influence of centuries-old pagan beliefs: we believe in omens, tell fairy tales to children, bake pancakes for Maslenitsa, tell fortunes for Christmastide, although at the same time we consider ourselves atheists or believing Christians and go to church, we read prayers.

Archbishop Macarius (Bulgakov), the author of the multi-volume “History of the Russian Church,” speaks about this; he admits that “many of the Christians practically remained pagans: they performed the external rites of the Holy Church, but preserved the customs and superstitions of their fathers.” Also, Academician Viktor Nikolaevich Lazarev said that: “The Byzantine contribution lay on a powerful layer of pagan culture.” Did our ancestors agree with the baptism of Rus'? More likely no than yes. After all, we ourselves know a bunch of funny and interesting things about paganism in our modern life: we break plates at weddings for good luck, we believe that you can’t say hello or pass something over the threshold, we often let a cat into a new house first, we tie a red thread on our wrist , we spit left and right and, at every opportunity, we sprinkle proverbs.

The ritual side of many twelve Christian holidays, a reverent attitude towards nature, belief in talismans, amulets, omens - all this and much more testifies to the amazing vitality of our pagan cultural traditions even today, in the third millennium.
In fact, today we are two-believers: both Christians and pagans at the same time, and pagans to a greater extent, because paganism has become integrated into our everyday life and our way of life. The history of the vast majority of these holidays has deep historical traditions dating back to pre-literate times. Particularly indicative is the combination of both holidays that came to us from ancient pagan eras, and those that came after the adoption of Christianity, but which acquired truly folk roots. At the same time, many pagan holidays often adopted a Christian interpretation, and many Christian celebrations, for their part, in their depths go back to times very distant from the Christian era

(calendar of the ancient Slavs) In fact, all the twelve Christian holidays celebrated in Holy Russia are Christian in essence, but on the ritual side, many of them are tightly connected with pagan traditions: Christmas (Christmas of whom? - God Kolyada, of course; according to this is why the name is carols, and not “Christovka” or “Isusovka”), Candlemas, Maslenitsa, Annunciation, Krasnaya Gorka, Trinity, Intercession, etc. It is significant that all these holidays have long been associated among the people with one time or another of the year, natural phenomenon.
(The table below clearly illustrates the identity of many Christian and pagan dates (the table shows the dates of the Gregorian calendar), which constitutes the unique nature of the Russian holiday.)

Where does this reverent attitude towards nature come from, if not from paganism, from its worship of natural phenomena? Isn’t it from paganism that there are multi-domed churches in Kievan Rus (Kievan Sophia - about 13 chapters, the Church of the Tithes - about 25), animal style in architecture, plant relief in the design of religious buildings, the tent style of Russian architecture of a later time ? And if all this is really so, if the influence of paganism turned out to be so long-lasting and noticeable, then we must definitely admit the following: the powerful pagan roots of Russian culture are not its weakness, but an indicator of strength, originality, originality. Without these roots, there would probably not have been such a wonderful Russian culture, the significance of which has long been recognized by the entire world community.

It must be said that the religion preached by the Russian Orthodox Church abroad is called Russian Christianity, thereby emphasizing its unusualness and originality, its belonging to the Russian spiritual force. Would there be this strength and spirituality without paganism? Of course not. Because, as we said above, paganism is the basis of Russian culture. To understand how deeply paganism has penetrated into our lives, we must certainly turn to the history of medieval Novgorod. Firstly, because Novgorod, although it was not a typical Russian city and stood a little apart, was nevertheless an example of a highly developed center. And, secondly, because in connection with successful excavations on its territory, we received from ancient times quite reliable information about the life of the Slavs, this is one of the largest historical sources of ancient Rus'.

For example, it was found that at the very beginning of the construction of the city, where the Volkhov flows from Lake Ilmen, there was a pagan sanctuary of the ancient Slavic Gods - Perun and Veles, who were worshiped by pagan Russian warriors. In the Perynya tract there was a special sanctuary located in the open air, round in plan, with a sacrificial place and an idol in the center. Eight fires burned around him in separate recesses. Adam Olearius, who visited Novgorod in 1635, describes legends about the eternal fire from oak wood around the idol of Perun. Thus, back in 1635 (at the time when the church fathers tell us about the thousand-year baptism of Rus' as a completed accomplished fact) there were still pagan sanctuaries in which the sacred fire burned. Small wooden figurines of bearded people were associated with the domestic cult. In them you can see images of brownies, ancestors or forefathers. Brownie figures were more often found in the layers of the 10th-11th centuries, however, they are also present in the layers of the 12th-13th centuries.

An important indicator of a mixture of traditions can be called wands. The most ancient rods, an attribute of Perun, of the pagan era ended with a human head. With the introduction of Christianity, the heads of eagles, ducks, dogs, and moose appeared in their place. At the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. a final change in shape occurs: the wands end only with a large ball with geometric cutting. And in the 16th century. Bearded human heads reappear. In addition, at the same time there were manifestations of anti-clerical views and even a return to pagan ideas. This is the 16th century.

After Russia adopted Christianity, the image of the Thunderer, due to the similarity of functions, organically replaced the prophet Elijah. Since ancient times, most Orthodox churches commemorate the memory of the Prophet Elijah on July 20 according to the Julian calendar. In the Russian Orthodox Church, which also maintains the Julian calendar, this date corresponds to August 2 of the Gregorian calendar. It was believed that Elijah rode across the sky in a chariot, thundering and shooting lightning. On Elijah’s day, any work was strictly prohibited - it would not bring any results and could anger Elijah the prophet, who severely punished for disrespectful attitude towards his holiday. Currently, Ilyin's Day (August 2) coincides with the celebration of the founding of the Russian Airborne Forces)))

Moreover, the Russian village was pagan for a long, long time after that. There are very few items related to Christianity in the materials of rural mounds of this time. But there are numerous decorations based on pagan symbols. Pendant amulets are of particular interest. They are associated with spell magic. Pendants in the form of stylized birds and animals. The image of teeth and claws of predators served to protect against evil. Comb amulets were amulets against illness and were often worn on the chest along with a blessed cross.

The ritual folklore of the Slavs was closely connected with calendar and non-calendar holidays. We celebrated the welcoming of winter - Kolyada and farewell - Maslenitsa. The holiday of Krasnaya Gorka and Radunitsa meant the welcome of spring, which was seen off during the seventh week. There were summer holidays - Rusalia and Kupala. Among the spring and summer holidays, three were especially revered by the people - Semik, Trinity and Ivan Kupala. Trinity is still celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, and Semik was celebrated the day before - on Thursday.

Since it was the seventh post-Easter week, the holiday was called “semik”. He was associated with the cult of nature. Houses, courtyards, and temples these days were decorated with flowers and tree branches, mainly birch. Trinity week in Rus' was called “green”. These days, girls, dressed in their best clothes, went to a birch grove, found a young beautiful birch tree, curled its branches, decorated them with ribbons and flowers, danced in circles, sang songs praising the birch.

The holiday of Ivan Kupala falls on the summer solstice. Kupala is a pagan holiday of human worship of the water elements. Two of them, fire and water, took part in the festive ritual. It was believed that fire cleanses a person, and water washes people, so they always lit fires and had bathing. Among my favorite games was jumping over a fire. It was believed that if a guy and a girl did not open their hands, they would soon get married.

They also believed in another superstition: the higher you jump, the better the bread will be produced. The church reform of Patriarch Nikon, according to sources, was not aimed at liberation from pagan rituals in Christianity. The goals were different, but the changes brought about by this reform could not but affect this side of the life of the Slavs. The decrees of Peter I on the transition to a new (Julian) chronology and “On shaving the beards and mustaches of all ranks of people” also did not contribute to the preservation of people’s traditions.

For a long time, villages lived by three calendars. The first is natural, agricultural. The second, pagan, also correlated with natural phenomena. And the third, latest calendar is the Christian, Orthodox calendar, in which there are only twelve great holidays, not counting Easter, and there are no others to count. Some Slavic holidays have changed their dates more than once over the years. There are many reasons. Peter I, for example, in 1700 issued his decree on the transition to a new (Julian) chronology and at the same time he moved the beginning of the calendar (New Year) from the day of the autumnal equinox (among the Old Believers Slavs) and September 1 (among Christians) to January 1 (January ).

However, in ancient times, the main holiday was considered to be Christmas, not the New Year. Therefore, probably, Peter's New Year, close to Christmas, was not rejected by the Slavs. With the construction of cities, industrialization and separation from their mother land, the Slavs began to pay less attention to agricultural holidays, and more to the holidays of the late calendar, which are less tied to sowing and harvesting. And the New Year began to be celebrated with greater preference than, for example, the autumn holiday of the Family and Women in Childbirth. But who knows whether paganism is not that burning fire that has always warmed the loving hearts of the Slavs.

There is no doubt - over ten centuries, Orthodoxy has had a huge influence on the history, culture, art of Russia, and on the very existence of the Russian state. But Vladimir the Baptist would have accepted the Catholic faith or Islam, and the current apostles of the “Russian primordial faith” would have shouted about the “revival of Russian Catholicism...”, or “... Russia is the stronghold of world Islam!..”. The controversy continues to this day. It’s good that they didn’t send ambassadors to the Voodoo priests. And yet the old faith of the ancient Russians will still remain the Russian faith. Is it difficult to be Russian today?

In our time, attempts are being made to revive Slavic paganism

Nowadays, attempts are being made to revive Slavic paganism by cultivating neo-paganism.

Slavic neo-paganism is a neo-pagan new religious movement among modern Slavic peoples, based on the revival of pre-Christian beliefs and rituals with the veneration of patron gods (Perun, Rod, Mokosha, Veles and others).

It does not have a continuous connection with the bearers of the ancient Slavic religion, while history does not exclude the possibility of preserving a certain pagan tradition to this day in the person of sorcerers and buffoons.

Feast of the goddess Mokosh of the Union of Slavic communities of the Slavic native faith. In our time, attempts are being made to revive Slavic paganism through new paganism. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

The Slavic neo-pagan movement is not united; there are different currents in it, which often do not recognize and reject each other, these include Rodnover reenactors, who set the goal of reviving ancient beliefs in as accurate a form as possible, as well as syncretic movements, like the “Ringing Cedars of Russia” , constructing a new mythology.

Some associations are radical nationalist and have been recognized as extremist by the courts. Currently in Russia there are 3 movements of Slavic neo-pagans. Currently, Slavic neo-paganism in Russia is divided into the following movements:

Why is religion needed?

Rodnoverie:

union of Slavic communities of Slavic native faith;
Commonwealth of Slavic Rodnoverie communities “Velesov Krug”;
circle of pagan tradition.

Ingliism.
Syncretic:

Bazhovites;
ash house;
spiritual union "Thesaurus";
ringing cedars of Russia (Anastasians).

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