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A place for Aryan (European) Folkish Pagans
Those who didn’t read Belinsky’s letter I quoted above should know that the author wasn’t an atheist. Belinsky was a christian himself, but was honest enough to admit that the peasants (the majority of the population in 19th century) were not.
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Religiousness has not even taken root among the clergy in it, since a few isolated and exceptional personalities distinguished for such cold ascetic contemplation prove nothing. But the majority of our clergy has always been distinguished for their fat bellies, scholastic pedantry, and savage ignorance.
V.Belinsky
There's no single tale in Slavic folklore where a priest is a positive character. Let's look at the titles of the tales featuring them:
The stingy priest, How a priest stole a bull, How a priest tortured his workers, How a priest gave birth to a calf etc.
Priest rolling
According to the ethnographic data people asked priests to roll on the ground to "make sheafs heavy", "harvest plenty" etc., if priests refused to do this they were brought down and rolled forcefully.
As A.Afanasyev described this tradition: "Priests are forced to roll on the fields to make earth fertile."
Norrbottens län, Sweden 🇸🇪
#TTN_Nature
❄️ @thetruenortherner
Berserker by Vincent Pompetti
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Traditional Slavic embroidery
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There’s a lot of channels talking about Yule and its difference to the actual Sunstede. Many folk will be celebrating Yule on the January full-moon. This falls on the 6th but those who worship or honour the Disir may find it interesting that the 7th January is called Distaff day, also called Roc(k) day. This day honours the spinners – the distaff being the spinners tool but also the staff used by the hellerune or vǫlva.
Art – Volva by Piotr Arendzikowski
I will refrain from sharing further translations of Afanasyev’s book to avoid topic fatigue.
Hopefully what’s written above is enough proof of Pagan traditions continuing for centuries after the conversion much to the dismay of christian clergy. The latter kept whining and preaching but considering how they never stopped there was little to no result. There are even modern writings of such sort trying to steer the people away from ancestral traditions they keep following no matter what.
A preacher recommends the ill ones to invite priests «let they pray the healing prayers summoning the Lord." Metropolitan Photius in his message to the people of Novgorod (1410) instructs the priests to: "also teach them (the congregation) not to listen to fables, not to invite the evil hags, not to receive the knots, the spells, the fortune-tellings and such; this angers the Lord, and when you find such hags teach them to stop and repent and if they refuse don’t bless them, tell christians to stay stay away from and shun them and fear them like the devil. Those who won’t listen are to be excommunicated."
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In the instructions for the clergy from 1499 it is told not to accept donations from volkhvs, sorcerers and skoromokhs while in the additional instruction (1552) of Sudebnik it was commanded to preach in the markets telling the people not to go to the volkhvs, sorcerers and astronomers with threats of ostracism and excommunication.
In patriarchs letter of Lviv Dormition Brotherhood 1586 we read:
"if there is a witch or a spellcaster to be found in a village or any other place, the devil’s vessel or the sorceress…let her be shunned from the church and those who have succumbed to the witches and fortune-tellers and visit them are to be excommunicated."
Did all volkhvs die?
It’s actually easy to definitively answer this question. While the majority of volkhvs were in fact tortured and killed many just hid in the villages where the population stayed de facto Pagan. As I wrote before there was a volkhv and an operational temple in 20th century Russia.
There’s also a great amount of christian writings confirming the existence and operation of volkhvs and witchers centuries after the official conversion. Some examples of the latter are found in Afanasyev’s book. I will translate and present them one by one.
In 1071 a volkhv appeared in Kiev…There were uneducated among the people who listened to the volkhv eagerly and believed his prophecies…the volkhv disappeared with no trace overnight. The volkhv who appeared in Rostov in 1091 also died quickly. It’s safe to assume that volkhvs died with help from christian zealots. There are some definitive references to that.
Jan who was sent to Beloozero for collecting the king’s fee together with a priest and twelve armed soldiers went against the volkhvs the locals were protecting. There was two of those volkhvs and they had their supporters…the ranks of the rebelling crowd were broken and they ran to the forest. Finally Jan’s insistence and threats forced Beloozers to capture and hand over the volkhvs. The interrogation began…both volkhvs were killed and hanged...
The following are excerpts from A.Afanasyev’s "Slavic sorcerers and their familiars" which deal with the christianization and the volkhvs’ many revolts as well as the latter’s assassinations.
I will post them in parts, skipping unnecessary details and off-topic.
The basis of religiousness is pietism, reverence, fear of God. Whereas the Russian man utters the name of the Lord while scratching himself somewhere.
He says of the icon: If it works, pray to it; if it doesn’t, it’s good for covering pots.
V.Belinsky
I think this quote from Belinsky’s letter to Gogol written in 1847 is a good summary of the topic:
"Do you really mean to say you do not know that our clergy is held in universal contempt by Russian society and the Russian people? About whom do the Russian people tell dirty stories? Of the priest, the priest’s wife, the priest’s daughter, and the priest’s farmhand. Does not the priest in Russia represent the embodiment of gluttony, avarice, servility, and shamelessness for all Russians?"
It’s obvious that the common man despised christian priesthood. Just examine the folklore. What is a stereotypical portrayal of a monk? A drunkard and a leacher, trying to trick and rob an honest peasant. Europeans were very critical of the clergy because they knew that the church lived off their hard work and gave nothing but a bunch lies and empty promises in return. The heavy drinking and sexual perversion of the church was also self evident for those who actually dealt with priests and saw their wineries. And finally the corruption. Many (if not all) chose the path of a priest not because of great faith, but because of the privileged and easy life the clergy enjoyed.
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Before Christianity, European religions dealt with practical needs: a bountiful harvest, healthy babies, victory in battle, justice before the law, stability of the social order, increased wisdom. These concerns are as relevant to us today as they were a thousand years ago. But "salvation"? It’s just not something we need.
S.McNallen
Portrait of a Gaul; 2nd century AD Roman copy of a (probably much older) Greek original. On display at The British Museum in London.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/rjOekyqBmgxiZjcx
Starting the year with the good one.
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Loki and Sigyn by Arthur Rackham, painted 1901
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Will refrain from sharing further translations from Afanasyev’s book to avoid topic fatigue.
Hopefully what’s posted above is enough proof of Pagan traditions continuing for centuries after the conversion much to the dismay of christian clergy. The latter kept whining and preaching but considering how they never stopped there was little to no result. Even today we see writings of such sort trying to steer the people away from ancestral traditions they keep on following no matter what.
Same demands are found in the church letter of 1649, different didactic articles and Domostroi. The latter makes it clear that witches were visiting boyar houses, curing disease, telling fortune, sharing news and were especially welcome among women.
Domostoi advises to rely on the Lord when an illness comes, to stay away from volkhvs and potion-brewers and not to invite them.
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in it’s 1555 letter forbids having skoromokhs, volkhvs and witches in their parishes...
People turned to volkhvs and witches mostly to receive healing. The clergy was against this tradition, they tried to convinced people that sorcerers serve Satan and heal with his powers which is why even when they effectively cure the body they corrupt the soul. In Kirik’s questions and Niphont’s answers we learn that all who came to volkhvs for healing or took children to them to tie the knots are to receive penance. In The Word about Evil Spirits attributed to saint Kirill there is a strong criticism of those who turn to witches when sick: "woe upon us, those lured by the demons and evil hags…we go to the depth of hell with cursed hags!"
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The higher ups of the church admitted the harm and illegitimacy of this situation [people staying Pagan]. In their writings they always went against fables and customs inherited from pagan past, as well as against the trust the people had in volkhvs, seers and sorcerers. Kirill of Turov criticized skomorokhs, public games, fortune-telling, witchcraft and prohibits seeking and visiting volkhvs. In metropolitan Ioann’s Rules (XII c.) it is told that: whoever is engaged in witchcraft and magic is not to be given communion.
In the Kórmchaia Book there’s a list from 1282 which commands: if one follows pagan customs and visits volkhvs or witchers or invites them to his home to listen to their teachings he is to be excommunicated for 6 years.
Similar prohibitions are found in the letters of igumen Pamfil (1505), letters of metropolitans Photius and Daniil, in Domostroy, Stoglav and other writings against the superstitions of the folk.
A.Afanasyev, an ethnographer who published one of the largest collections of folklore in the world, concluded the results of christianization as follows:
"Even though the people accepted christianity ancestral traditions did not immediately loose their attractiveness. Secretly the old belief lived on and people kept observing the old rites. The so-called uneducated (which must have been a great deal of people) have for a long time continued praying and sacrificing to pagan gods and consulting with witchers.
Ancient religion and cult were preserved in families, inherited by sons from their fathers thus easily hidden from outside interference."
Saint Vladimir’s christianization was violent. Ioachim Chronicle mentions a revolt in Novgorod where people took arms because they didn’t want to change their faith and refused baptism. According to the Chronicle: "Bogomil, the highest of Slavic priests, told the people to resist».
Theodor and Illarion, first bishops of Rostov were forced to flee from the local bitter pagans, while saint Leontius was killed by them;…Historians date this event to approx 1070.
Same martyrdom befell reverend Kuksha, who was preaching to the Vyatichi in the second half of XII…
According to the data from the Tale of Bygone years in XI century volkhvs were actively denouncing christianity trying to use their authority to raise the masses to open resistance.
Gathered some good texts recently, just have to get to translating them. The topic will be the prosecution of the volkhvs and many revolts the latter started right after the forced christianization. The Orthodox church doesn't like people mentioning those, e.g. I've never read about them in the history books we had back at school.
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In 1848, Lord Bute inherited the Cardiff Castle in Wales. He hired the famous architect William Burges to remodel the castle, allowing him unlimited funds. In the Winter Smoking Room, which is located in the tower, images of Germanic Gods adorn stained glass windows. Here we have, in order, photos of the depictions of Mani, Tyr, Woden, Thor, Frigga, and Seater.
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