Romuva (church)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details. Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject |
Romuva is a modern revival of the indigenous Baltic religion practised by the Lithuanian peoples prior to Christianization.
The terms Romuva, Romovė and Ruomuva are derived from the Old Prussian word for "temple" or "sanctuary".
Romuva was the recognized state religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1387. Romuva and the closely related Latvian indigenous religion Dievturi were the longest enduring pagan religions in Europe. Latvia and Lithuania were amongst the last nations to be christianized in Europe.
There are adherents of Romuva all over the world, but the religion primarily exists in Lithuania and the former Eastern Bloc nations. Romuva has close ties with sentiments of Lithuanian and Baltic nationalism. Lithuanian ancestry is not a prerequisite to acceptance by the Romuva religious community. Practising the Romuva faith is seen by many adherents as a form of cultural pride, along with celebrating traditional forms of art, retelling Baltic folklore, practising traditional holidays, playing traditional Baltic music, singing traditional dainas or hymns and songs as well as ecological activism and stewarding sacred places.
Contents |
[edit] Beliefs
Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sacrality of nature as well as the practice of ancestor veneration. Adherents of Romuva believe that the souls of those who die continue to exist in the afterlife and stay with the living family and descendants. Compare with Celtic and Vedic beliefs.
[edit] Rituals
The Baltic aukuras or "fire altar" is a stone altar in which a fire is ritually lit. Participants wash their hands and face prior to approaching the aukura, and then they sing dainas or ritual hymns as the fire is lit. Food, drink, grasses and flowers are offered to the flame as the group sings the dainas. After the primary offering, participants offer their own verbal or silent contributions which are carried to the Gods and ancestors with the smoke and sparks of the flame. See also Rig Veda hymns to the fire altar.
[edit] Romuva deities
[edit] Soviet suppression of Romuva
The Soviet Union forcefully annexed Lithuania in 1940 and renamed it the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Due to the nationalist nature of Romuva, the faith was suppressed during the Soviet Occupation and many practitioners were executed or deported to slave labor camps in Siberia. A clandestine Romuva group is known to have existed within a labor camp in Inta, Russia. After the members were released and returned to Lithuania around 1960, Jonas Trinkūnas (born 1939) formed the Vilnius Ethnological Ramuva and began organizing public celebrations of traditional Lithuanian religious holidays in 1967. In 1971 the Soviets expelled the members from the university they attended and exiled the leaders.
During the Cold War most organized Romuva activity was largely based in North America. However, by 1988 when the power of the Soviet Union was waning and Lithuanian independence was on the horizon, Romuva groups began reorganizing in the Baltic nations and practising their religion in the open. Under the auspices of the Law on Religious Communities and Associations which was passed in Lithuania in 1995, Romuva gained recognition as a "non-traditional" religion. Lithuanian law requires a minimum of 25 years of existence before such a religion can receive the state support reserved for "traditional" religions.
[edit] Romuva centres
[edit] Žemaičių Alka
This was originally planned to be rebuilt on Birutė hill in Palanga but was not agreed by the mayor of Palanga. Instead, it was built on a hill near Šventoji which also has 11 sculptures of Pagan Gods. There are four big events in a year:
- March 23 - Vernal equinox
- June 22 - Summer solstice
- September 21 - Autumnal equinox
- December 20 - Winter solstice
