Władysław Kołodziej (10 August 1897–1978) was a pioneer of

modern Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Biography

He was born on 10 August 1897 in Włochów and went on to study at the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

. In the 1920s he was active in a network of Polish people who corresponded and discussed

Slavic neopaganism The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

and pagan practices. He collaborated with Karol Chobot with whom he edited the literary magazine ''Siew wolności'' and the periodical ''Wiosna Lechicka'', which focused on Slavic religion and spirituality. Kołodziej also edited ''Wiadomości Astrologiczno-Literackich'', which presented the views of the neopagan community. Kołodziej later claimed to have founded an active religious group in 1921, the Holy Circle of Worshippers of Światowid (''Święte Koło Czcicieli Światowida''), although there is no documentation of this group's activities. After the interruption of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he tried to reestablish and develop his network, but

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

became a major obstacle. Many of his pre-war collaborators had either died during the war, become expatriates, or did not want to be public about their religious views. Kołodziej himself was arrested by the communist authorities in 1950. The " thaw" in the mid-1950s made it somewhat easier for the Polish neopagans, although at this point there was a very limited interest in the idea of pagan revival. In the 1960s and 1970s, a small group of mostly young people gathered around Kołodziej and met actively 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 ...

. In 1970 they even attracted some positive attention from the press. The group made a first, unsuccessful attempt to officially register as an organization in 1965, under the name Lechickie Stowarzyszenie Czcicieli Światowida (''The Lechite Association of Worshippers of Światowid''). Kołodziej and his followers made several more attempts to be officially recognized, but were consistently rejected by the Office for Faith Affairs.

Legacy

After Kołodziej's death in 1978, the leadership of the group was passed on to Jerzy "Brother Masław" Gawrych, but after only two years all activity had ceased. Although it always had been small, Kołodziej's "circle" existed for half a century, and over this time had developed a Slavic calendar and various ritual practices. These have had a lasting impact on later practice of Slavic Native Faith in Poland.

References

Bibliography

: *

Biography

Legacy

References

Bibliography

Further reading