Beliefs, Values, Symbols, and Artifacts
The early Ukranians had a warrior-culture through which they saw and understood their world.
The first religion of Ukraine was a loose coalition of Slavic, Finnic, and Norse pagan customs.
Some physical traces of the early faith-ways of the Ukrainians are found in burial sites, and some scholars argue that the Russian Primary Chronicle contains coded references to ship burial, cremation in a burning house, funerary human sacrifices, and funeral feasting (Koptev, 2010). Sculptures of the gods Perun and Dubno have been unearthed, but not much is known of how they were worshiped. There are only a few hints in surviving rituals, like the famous decorated pysanky eggs of Ukraine.Christian practices gradually syncretized with the old pagan rites, as the Orthodox Church labored to exert its control over the thinking and belief patterns of the newly “converted” nation. Kyivan Rus’ became a key “Christian” player in the medieval “game of thrones.”
The Kyivan Rus’ culture idolized the effective fighter—the one who endured hardship and risked life in pursuit of conquest. The Russian Primary Chronicle breathes an admiration of the warrior’s way. So, the Christianity of Kyivan Rus’ was always inclined to praise and justify violence, without much appreciation of the irony of trying to match a crucified Jesus to the sword-wielding Varangian.
More on the topic Beliefs, Values, Symbols, and Artifacts:
- Beliefs, Values, Symbols, and Artifacts
- Vaughn Marc M.. The History of Ukraine and Russia: The Tangled History That Led to Crisis. History Demystified,2022. — 164 p., 2022
- THEORETICAL CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHANGE PROCESS