page_title: Slavic Native Faith
section_title: Practices
hierarchical_section_title: Slavic Native Faith / Practices
caption_attribution_description: Kupala 2017 celebrated by the Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской Родной Веры), in Krasotinka, Kaluga, Russia.
context_page_description: The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery, and rarely as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners harken back to the historical belief systems of the Slavic peoples of Central and Eastern Europe, though the movement is inclusive of external influences and hosts a variety of currents. "Rodnovery" is a widely accepted self-descriptor within the community, although there are Rodnover organisations which further characterise the religion as Vedism, Orthodoxy, and Old Belief.
  Many Rodnovers regard their religion as a faithful continuation of ancient beliefs that survived as folk religion or as conscious "double belief" following the Christianisation of the Slavs in the Middle Ages. Rodnovery draws upon surviving historical and archaeological sources and folk religion, often integrating them with non-Slavic sources such as Hinduism. Rodnover theology and cosmology may be described as pantheism and polytheism—worship of the supreme God of the universe and of the multiple gods, ancestors and spirits of nature identified through Slavic culture.
context_section_description: Rodnovery is essentially a religion of the community, with most adherents actively joining organisations; only a minority of believers choose solitary practice. Laruelle has observed that most Rodnover groups emphasise the exoteric aspect of the religion, organising large communal, popular celebrations, and spreading exoteric knowledge open to all. 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. For many Rodnovers, greater importance is given to the construction of "authentic" Slavic rituals rather than psychologically empowering practices. For many others, rituals may include magical practices and are meant at the creation of shared meanings and new community ties. Ceremonial accuracy is often considered essential for the efficacy of a ritual, but at the same time Rodnover rituals have been regarded as flexible frameworks, wherein there is room for elaboration and experimentation. Sources that Rodnovers rely upon include valued scholars like Vladimir Dal and Boris Rybakov.
  Most Rodnover groups strongly emphasise the worship of ancestors. An example of ancestor worship is the ritual "Veneration of Ancient Russian Knights" practised by the Russian Rodnover organisation Svarozhichi, centred in Yekaterinburg and widespread in the Ural region, on May 9, in honour of the victory of Sviatoslav I of Kiev against the Khazars. Some Sylenkoite organisations commemorate Ukrainian national heroes such as Ivan Franko, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and Hryhory Skovoroda, as well as more abstract concepts such as "Ukrainian Ancient Literature" and "New Ukrainian Literature".
caption: Russian Rodnover priest drawing a dot on the forehead of believers for the celebrations of Kupala Night festival.
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