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Native Polish Church or The Native Church of Poland, ''Rodzimy Kościół Polski'' (RKP) – a
West Slavic pagan religious association that refers to ethnic, pre-Christian beliefs of the
Slavic people
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
. The religion has its seat in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. Temples gathering local believers are spread throughout the country, The RKP was registered with the
Polish Ministry of the Interior's registry of denominations and churches in March 1995.
[Strona internetowa Rodzimego Kościoła Polskiego](_blank)
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Name of the association
The name of the Native Polish Church was inspired by the name of a church associating the descendants of the native peoples of America, the Indians: the Native American Church
The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...
. Likewise as the Native American Church, the Native Polish Church refers to the old (pre-Christian) ethnic beliefs, at the same time respecting all later-come religions.[Statut RKP – Nazwa. Założenia programowe. Kult. Etyka. Liturgia i obrzędy.] The term Church that appears in the organisation's name is used solely to denote a religious organisation of believers and their clergy.
Basic religious concepts
The beliefs of the Native Polish Church are on one hand based on the concept of henotheism, and a mixture of pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
(or even panentheism
Panentheism ("all in God", from the Greek language, Greek grc, πᾶν, pân, all, label=none, grc, ἐν, en, in, label=none and grc, Θεός, Theós, God, label=none) is the belief that the Divinity, divine intersects every part of Univers ...
) and polytheism
Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...
on the other – i.e. the belief that fate is decided by a cosmic force known as the ''Highest God'' (identified by many Polish Native Church rodnovers as the Multiverse
The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...
), whose various aspects (incarnations) are manifested in the form of other, minor gods. While officially the Polish Native Church recognises the highest god to be Świętowit, other names from the highest circles of the Slavic pantheon are commonly used (such as Perun or Swaróg); members of the Polish Native Church assume that the ''Highest God'' will always remain the highest deity irrespective of the name used. The god's true name (should there be such a name) will always remain beyond human perception. Members believe that the ''Highest God'' (in his pure form as eternal, infinite and unlimited absolute – in itself containing all reasons for existence) cannot be described in terms of good and evil, nor using any other human, subjective criteria. At the same time believers accept that these criteria (though to a certain degree) may be applied to minor gods and goddesses who dwell somewhat nearer to human existence. Other gods and goddesses (as simplified manifestations of the ''Highest God'') watch over specific aspects of nature and are often synonymous with nature itself.[Gniazdo – Rodzima wiara i kultura, nr 2(7)/2009 – Ratomir Wilkowski: ''Rozważania o wizerunku rodzimowierstwa na przykładzie...'']
Religious symbols
File:ZnReceBoga02.jpg, Hands of God
File:Стороны збручского идола.jpg, The Zbruch Idol
File:Swietowit wolinski.jpg, Świętowit of Wolin
The Native Polish Church uses three major religious symbols. These are
*the Hands of God (a graphic detail taken from a vessel found in Biała near Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
), an ideogram denoting the ''Highest God'' as well as the universe and the cosmic balance towards Nature ever flows;
*the Zbruch Idol, an iconographic interpretation of among other things the universe as well as the image of the main pantheon of Slavic deities;
*Świętowit of Wolin
Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the ...
.
Main festivals
Cyclic:
* ''Jare Święto'' – the Spring Festival, the Vernal Equinox – kindling the sacred fire, the ritual of drowning the Marzanna, decorating Easter eggs;
* ''Święto Ognia i Wody'' – Summer Solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
– kindling of bonfires, fire walking, ritual bathing;
* ''Święto Plonów'' – the Harvest festival
A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...
, Autumn Equinox – blessing of crops and fruit, ritual feasting;
* ''Godowe Święto'' – the Winter Festival, Winter Solstice – inviting the Tree of Life into the household, ritual feasting called ''tryzna''.
Other:
* '' Dziady''
Occasional (family celebrations):
* ''Postrzyżyny
The first haircut for a human has special significance in certain cultures and religions. It can be considered a rite of passage or a milestone.
Indian babies
Hindu babies
In Hindu tradition, the hair from birth is associated with undesi ...
''
* '' Swaćba''
The observation of the main cyclic festivals is usually carried out in public and open to everybody – guests from outside the community are welcome provided they respect the native faith and culture. The festivals’ rituals are performed according to suitable liturgy and conducted by either an ofiarnik or an appointed żerca.
Ethics
The Polish Native Church recognises woman and man as part of nature (one of the creators of cosmic force) and as part of society. This obliges woman and man to obey the ''Laws of Nature'' and the ''Laws of Social Order'' – in the sense of observing universal rules of social conduct, common to most cultures throughout history. These rules prohibit murder, rape, burglary and theft, they also demand respect for human relations that organise social life from family to state matters. Nature is to be defended as sacred creation. While it is assumed that nature does not need any holy scriptures, be it books or regulations such as the Decalogue, to justify the sacredness of her laws, and to avoid multiplication of entities beyond necessity, as well as recognising that the ability of woman or man to think for her or himself and maintain a sense of empathy is vital – the association avoids formulating some of the most obvious rules into ready and "correct" ways of life. Ethics is usually limited to giving basic directions such as "live honourably and be a just man" or "do what thou wilt and harm none".
Association structure
The Polish Native Church is an open church, without any claims of exclusivity in any sense – this regards both the individual's faith and his or her membership with churches or religious organisations. Members of the Native Polish Church insist that their Slavic ancestors were followers of the same God as the Christians and Muslims and others worship in their own special way. This means that one can be both a member of the Native Polish Church and a member of a different religious association (not necessarily pagan). Therefore, membership with the Native Polish Church does not require any formal act of apostasy from the candidate's previous faith. The only formal membership requirement is the filing of an appropriate declaration of accession that serves as a statement of creed.
As Slavic Neopaganism by definition describes its own territorial scope due to its visible ethnicity, the Native Polish Church does not find a verification of its candidate's descent to be necessary. It is assumed that anyone who feels Polish has the right to be Polish and it was in this very sense that the name Polish Native Church was founded. Indeed, the concepts declared in the founding act state that one may become a member irrespective of one's ancestry, because the vital elements of a nation are common language and culture. Although one of the requirements set forth in the declaration of accession is to present one's governmental Identification Card
An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...
, it is possible to grant membership to a foreigner, especially one of Slavic descent.
The church is a religious association based on the principles of democracy. It declares an attitude of generous tolerance and objection to racism, Nazism and intolerance of other creeds, backgrounds and nationalities. All clerical positions within the Church are based on cadencies and elections. Membership is free.
See also
* Slavic mythology
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. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...
* Władysław Kołodziej
Władysław Kołodziej (10 August 1897–1978) was a pioneer of modern Paganism in Poland.
Biography
He was born on 10 August 1897 in Włochów and went on to study at the Vilnius University. In the 1920s he was active in a network of Polish pe ...
References
* Simpson, Scott (2000). Native Faith: Polish Neo-Paganism At the Brink of the 21st Century,
* Wiench, Piotr (1997). "Neo-Paganism in Central Eastern European Countries" in New Religious Phenomena in Central and Eastern Europe,
External links
Rodzimy Kościół Polski (PL)
{{Religion in Poland
Modern pagan organisations based in Poland
Slavic neopaganism
Modern pagan organizations established in 1995
Pantheist organizations
1995 establishments in Poland