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A volkhv or volhv ( Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e.
In contemporary Slavic Native Faith, the volkhvs are those responsible for holding rites for worshipping the gods and leading communities and religious festivals. Volkhvs are the higher rank of the sacerdotal hierarchy, the lesser order being that of the '' zhrets''. The latter are not necessarily shamans, and their function is merely to hold sacrifices (the word ''zhrets'' literally means "sacrificer", from Proto-Slavic *''žьrti'', and is cognate of Slavic words for "offering"). Though the majority of priests are males, most groups do not exclude women from the priesthood, so that a parallel female priesthood is constituted by the two ranks of ''zhritsa'' and ''vedunya'' ("seeresses"). Prestige is not limited to male priests; a priestess, Halyna Lozko from Ukraine, is an acknowledged authority within the religious movement.
In 2012, three Russian Rodnover organisations, the Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities, the Circle of the Pagan Tradition and the Circle of Veles, signed an "Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Priests", instituting a common priesthood and the criteria for the ordination of those wishing to become Slavic priests.
File:Приход Глеба Святославича Новгородского к волхву.jpg, Gleb Svyatoslavich kills the volkhv.
A volkhv or volhv ( Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery).
In modern Slavic priesthood
In contemporary Slavic Native Faith, the volkhvs are those responsible for holding rites for worshipping the gods and leading communities and religious festivals. Volkhvs are the higher rank of the sacerdotal hierarchy, the lesser order being that of the '' zhrets''. The latter are not necessarily shamans, and their function is merely to hold sacrifices (the word ''zhrets'' literally means "sacrificer", from Proto-Slavic *''žьrti'', and is cognate of Slavic words for "offering"). Though the majority of priests are males, most groups do not exclude women from the priesthood, so that a parallel female priesthood is constituted by the two ranks of ''zhritsa'' and ''vedunya'' ("seeresses"). Prestige is not limited to male priests; a priestess, Halyna Lozko from Ukraine, is an acknowledged authority within the religious movement.
In 2012, three Russian Rodnover organisations, the Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities, the Circle of the Pagan Tradition and the Circle of Veles, signed an "Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Priests", instituting a common priesthood and the criteria for the ordination of those wishing to become Slavic priests.
Among the olden Rus'
Volkhvs are attested among the early Rus' people. Volkhvs were believed to possess mystical powers, particularly the ability to predict the future. The first literary reference to a volkhv occurs in the Primary Chronicle under the year 912; there, the priest-soothsayer predictsPrince Oleg
Oleg ( orv, Ѡлегъ, Ольгъ; non, Helgi; died 912), also known as Oleg the Wise (russian: Олег Вещий, lit=Oleg the Prophet; uk, Олег Віщий), was a Varangian prince of the Rus' who was ruler of Novgorod. He later con ...
's death. With the adoption of Christianity, the pagan priests came under persecution and sometimes tried to channel social discontent against the Christian church. The name of the divination book " Volkhovnik" comes from the term "''volkhv''".
Artwork
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...
, 1071. '' Radziwiłł Chronicle''.
File:Vedun by Dušan Božić.jpg, Modern artistic vision of volkhv by Serbian artist Dušan Božić.
File:Wołchw by Aleksander Karcz.jpg, Modern artistic vision of volkhv by Polish artist Aleksander Karcz.
File:Volkhv by Andrey Shishkin.jpg, Modern artistic vision of volkhv by Russian artist Andrey Shishkin.
See also
* Gothi, the Germanic priests * Slavic Native Faith * VolkhovnikReferences
Citations
Sources
* * * {{Slavic mythology Priests Religious occupations Russian folklore Slavic titles Slavic paganism Eurasian shamanism