There are many definitions of paganism. Some researchers believe that paganism is a religion, others suggest that it is more than a religion, but rather a way of life, the thoughts of an entire nation, while others simply assume that this is a folk component of ancient people. Nevertheless, it is worth considering in more detail what paganism was in the life of people of distant times, using the example of life and culture of the ancient Slavs.
In the current interpretation, paganism is the religion of countries that did not profess
monotheistic religions at that time
, were not adherents of Judaism. Paganism was widespread, but the most powerful cults were on the territory of ancient Scandinavia and Russia. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and many other peoples belonged to the pagans, but when pronouncing this term, the
runic formulas of the Scandinavians and Slavic traditions arise in memory. Even if we accept the definition that it is a religion, the paganism of the
ancient Slavs, however, like other peoples, was not a religious canon.
Ancient man lived these foundations. For him there was no peace outside of paganism. The Slavs could understand and accept the universe only through a complex and set of rules and laws of the pagan system. For them, paganism is the gods, and the gods controlled every minute of their life, gave joy and punishment. People lived in accordance with the cult of each deity. Each god owned and controlled a certain part of the world, and man took it for granted and never murmured to higher powers.
The ancient Slavic world existed by will and under the control of the gods. These were not separate deities, the gods of paganism represented a clearly structured pantheon. In the hierarchical ladder, each god had his own weight and a certain set of responsibilities. The paradox of paganism was that to some extent, despite the extraordinary power that the gods and spirits of the ancient Slavs were endowed with, they were strong only in that element, which was controlled, while man included the Universe, and enlightened man could control all the forces of nature by the power of spirit.
The man was like the
god Rod, who was the supreme deity, but due to the fact that his capabilities included a full cycle, he could be feminine and masculine, he could be fire and water at the same time, he was everything - the essence of the universe. Despite this, and perhaps because this phenomenon was too complicated for the understanding of ancient man, the supremacy in the pantheon of the times of Prince Vladimir was given to Perun, who controlled lightning and thunder - quite understandable powerful natural phenomena, whose strength unusually frightened the ancient man and served as a regulatory component. It was clear that Perun could punish, and his punishment would be a terrible blow of thunder and lightning. Like any polytheistic world, paganism is the worship of many gods, more precisely, for each tribe certain deities and spirits were important, and the supreme ruler was terrible, but far away.
This way of thinking and living so deeply embedded in the culture and life of the Slavs that after the baptism of Russia, he transferred part of the holidays, rites and deities to Christianity. Deities only changed names, without changing their functions. A striking example of this is the transformation of Perun into Elijah the prophet, who is still popularly called the Thunderer. And there are thousands of such examples. Rites, beliefs, holidays exist today. Paganism is a powerful cultural complex, it is the history of the people, its essence. It is impossible to imagine Russia without paganism. Even the concept of Orthodoxy, introduced by the Christian church in the XII century, was borrowed from the pagan canon to glorify the right, the truth - to live right.