Zalmoxianism ( ro, Zalmoxianism) or Zamolxianism ( ro, Zamolxianism, link=no) is a

Neopagan 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 ...

movement in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

which promotes the rebuilding of an

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a prima ...

and spirituality of the

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romania ...

through a process of reconnection to their ancient Dacian and

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

roots. The religion takes its name from

Zalmoxis Zalmoxis ( grc-gre, Ζάλμοξις) also known as Salmoxis (Σάλμοξις), Zalmoxes (Ζάλμοξες), Zamolxis (Ζάμολξις), Samolxis (Σάμολξις), Zamolxes (Ζάμολξες), or Zamolxe (Ζάμολξε) is a divinity of the ...

or Zamolxe, at the same time the name of the primordial god and the

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...

of the enlightened man in Paleo-Balkan mythology. Scholars Bakó and Hubbes (2011) have defined Zalmoxianism, like the other ethnic religious revivals of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, as a reconstructionist ethno-paganism.

Origins

The reconstruction of ancient Dacian and Thracian religion and mythology has been strictly connected with the field of

dacology Dacology ( ro, Dacologie) is a branch of Thracology which focuses on the scientific study of Dacia and Dacian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. A practitioner of the d ...

. Amongst contemporary supporters of Zalmoxianism, the emigrant dacologist Octavian Sărbătoare even proposed to make it the official religion of

Organisations

The Gebeleizis Society

The "Gebeleizis Society" (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

: ''Societatea Gebeleizis''), though far from being the only Zalmoxian group in Romania, has been the most studied formation. It has 500 members split into 15 branches. The core values of the organisation are expressed by its motto "One Family, One Nation, One Territory" (

: ''O Familie, Un Neam, Un Teritoriu''); for the ideas promoted, the Gebeleizis Society has been subject of media scandal, and accused of

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

''Zamolxe'' group

Another group is the ''Zamolxe'', based in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, whose high priest is Alexandru Mihail. They worship the old Thraco-Dacian pantheon of gods, and claim that the name "Zalmoxis" comes from ', meaning "earth".Maras Loks
Zamolxe
/ref> File:Symbol_of_Zamolxiana_NRM.JPG, Symbol of Zamolxiana New Religious Movement. File:Dacian_Sacred_Fire_ceremony_year_2013.jpg, Dacian Sacred Fire ceremony at Detunata temple during 2013 in Romania. File:Foc_sacru_Costesti.jpg, The Dacian Sacred Fire at Costesti, Romania, in 2012.

References

Bibliography

* László-Attila Hubbes. ''Romanian Ethno-Paganism: Discourses of Nationalistic Religion in Virtual Space''. In ''Native Faith and Neo-Pagan Movements in Central and Eastern Europe''. Kaarina Aitamurto, Scott Simpson. Acumen Publishing, 2013. * Rozália Klára Bakó, László-Attila Hubbes. ''Religious Minorities' Web Rhetoric: Romanian and Hungarian Ethno-Pagan Organizations''. ''Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies'', vol. 10, issue 30, Winter 2011: 127-158.

External links

Societatea Gebeleizis
("Gebeleizis Association")
Spiritualitate Daco-Românească
("Daco-Romanian Spirituality") * Octavian Sarbatoare
''The Foundations of Zamolxiana New Religious Movement''
2014. {{Romanian religions Modern paganism in Europe Religion in Romania