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Revision as of 11:56, 16 October 2008
Slavic paganism refers to the religious traditions of the Slavic peoples of eastern Europe prior to Christianisation.
Slavic paganism was a polytheistic religion, revolving around a pantheon centred on the gods Perun and Veles. It is for this reason that the Christian Church labelled it to be a form of "paganism".
Our knowledge of Slavic paganism is largely drawn from Christian literary sources as well as archaeological sources. Despite this, enough knowledge has been gleamed for Slavic paganism to be resurrected in the 20th century through the Neopagan religion of Rodnovery.
Core Concepts
Theology
- Main article : List of Slavic deities
Slavic paganism was polytheistic, believing in many different deities. There was a hierarchy of gods, with Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, at the top. Most of the Slavic deities were deities of a specific aspect of nature. Another god, Veles, was a rival to Perun.
Cosmology
The Slavs believed in a world tree.
Mythology
- Main article : Slavic mythology
Slavic paganism had a large mythology. After Christianisation, this survived in the folklore of Slavic nations.
Scripture
The Book of Veles is claimed to be a scripture of the ancient Slavs, however, it is believed by many scholars to be a forgery from the 1940s. It is dedicated to the god Veles, and written on wooden planks.
Worship
History
Origins
Christianisation
Revival
Slavic paganism was revived in the 20th century through the Neopagan religion of Rodnovery. Many web sites and organizations dedicated to the study of Slavic mythology have grown up and some who openly call for "returning to the roots."
Most of those activities take place in Russia and Belarus, but they also take place in other Slavic countries like Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, Macedonia and Ukraine.
- "A web-site with information about current pagan activity in Russia" (in Russian).
- "A site with a lot of information on Slavic Paganism" (in Russian).
- "A Slavic spiritualism site calling for returning to the roots" (in Russian).