Native Ukrainian National Faith

[14] The scholar Adrian Ivakhiv defined Sylenkoism as a "reformed" Rodnovery, a "comprehensive and systematic attempt to create an intellectually coherent synthetic new religion" based on Slavic heritage with elements of Theosophy, deism and messianism.

[15] The scholar Victor Shnirelman defined Sylenkoism as a monotheism based on Slavic heritage, and as such he compared it to the later "Russian Religion" developed in Russia by Viktor M.

[16] Due to its monotheism and its early emphasis on the charismatic figure of the founder, Sylenkoism has been deemed by other Ukrainian Rodnover movements as a not authentically "native" religion.

[23] It was composed by Lev Sylenko himself as a synthesis of philosophical ideas relying upon historical and archaeological sources,[24] presenting a historiosophical account of eleven thousand years, intertwined with theological and cosmological doctrines, and a prophetic message for the future.

[26] Or is also called Orii (Орій) or Arii (Арій), Orya (Оря), and Yari or Yuri, and identified as the solar deity Yarilo, while Lel is also known as Lelii (Лелій) and Lelya (Леля).

[29] The book explains that during its evolution, the human species has divided itself into many distinct ethnocultural groups, ethne or ethnoi (singular ethnos, the Greek word for "ethnicity"), each of which undergoes its life cycle, flourishing and perishing according to its own development.

[1] Sylenko is seen by his followers as making the same operation that Axial Age thinkers made, in other parts of the world and among other peoples, by moving away from polytheism and affirming the concept of single God.

Ukraine is called by the Heavens to show Europe the new way [of spiritual development].Despite their monotheism, some Sylenkoites take part in initiatives of non-Sylenkoite Rodnovers involving polytheistic worship,[38] or listen to the music of Zhyvosyl Liutyi dedicated to multiple deities.

[41] Priests are distinguished by wearing a sviadana, that is to say a long narrow ribbon made of blue and yellow fabric, with black and red horizontal bands, draped around the neck.

[43] The Maha Vira contains descriptions of rituals and holidays, and a calendar which begins its chronology eleven thousand years ago, when the Paleolithic culture of Mezine reached its apogee.

[41] Other holidays are dedicated to important figures of Ukrainian history, including Sviatoslav I (935–972), the last traditional religious prince of Kievan Rus' and a great warrior who expanded the borders of his country, and Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861), whom Sylenko regarded as a critic of Christianity and promoter of the ancestral faith.

[1] For instance, OSID RUNVira practises a Service of Honouring God (Nabozhenstvo), elaborated by Bohdan Ostrovskyi, that only vaguely resembles the Holy Hour of Self-Reflection, not containing much reading from the Maha Vira and focusing instead on colourful ritual action and singing.

[1] OSID RUNVira also recognises the holiday of Kupala Night as part of the Sylenkoite calendar, and celebrates it through a complex ritual recreated by the same Ostrovskyi.

[46] At the 2008 Triennial RUNVira Council held in Bohoyavlensky, Mykolaiv, one of the major issues addressed by the delegates was the growing diversification and inconsistency among the rituals performed by different Sylenkoite congregations across Ukraine, as different leaders were introducing too many innovations in their congregations' liturgy; most of the delegates agreed that standardisation was important and they called for a more strict following of Sylenko's liturgy book.

[48] The basic philosophical tenets of the practice are expressed by Pylat himself in the following terms:[48] Fighting for truth and against the forces of Darkness and Evil in the name of victory for Light, Goodness and Love — positive creative powers that facilitate the development of the Universe, the creation of the most perfect forms of life and the transformation of the physical into the spiritual.Sylenkoite ceremonies are usually held inside temples and in front of altars.

[51] They are set up on a table covered with four different embroidered cloths, of which the top and bottom pieces are decorated with meandering designs associated with the culture of Mezine.

[61] Among Sylenkoite organisations, the "Associations of Sons and Daughters of Ukraine of the Native Ukrainian National Faith" (ОСІДУ РУНВіра, OSIDU RUNVira) is that which has maintained direct relationship with Sylenko, fully accepting him as prophet.

[33] Members of OSIDU RUNVira practise a weekly Holy Hour of Self-Reflection, which includes readings from the Maha Vira, sermons, commentaries, ancestor worship, prayers and hymns, and ends with the singing of Ukraine's national anthem.

[64] OSIDU Sylenkoites are open to the celebration of holidays together with non-Sylenkoite Rodnovers, with traditional folk singing, bonfire jumping, circle and spiral dancing, burning or drowning the effigies of the deities Kupalo and Marena, and meeting the Sun's first rays the next morning.

[65] The "Association of Sons and Daughters of the Native Ukrainian National Faith" (ОСІД РУНВіра, OSID RUNVira) is the largest among Sylenkoite organisations.

[67] As an alternative to the Holy Hour, Ostrovskyi has also elaborated a Service of Honouring God (Nabozhenstvo), which puts less focus on the Maha Vira and emphasises ritual action and singing instead.

[67] However, compared to OSIDU RUNVira, OSID Sylenkoism puts more emphasis on traditional Slavic seasonal holidays in honour of the gods Kupala, Perun, Lada, and Dana.

[67] The "Union of Native Ukrainian Faith" (Собор Рідної Української Віри, Sobor Ridnoyi Ukrayins'koyi Viry; SRUV) is another organisation of the Sylenkoite movement, more independent than the others from the original tradition, and more eclectic in its interpretation of the religion.

[72] Writing in 2005, the scholar Adrian Ivakhiv observed that, compared to broader Rodnovery, Sylenkoism tended to attract a more mature segment of society, namely people of around 40 years of age or older, although sometimes younger members took leadership functions.

[73] According to the scholar Alexey V. Gaidukov, in the 1990s the Sylenkoite doctrine was studied in university programs, and "the flower of the country's [Ukraine's] intelligentsia", including writers (Serhiy Plachynda, Anatoliy Kachan, Mykola Luhovyk) and artists, joined the church.

[14] Volodymyr Pylat, a leader of OSIDU RUNVira, was involved in the rebirth in western Ukraine of a martial art version of the hopak, a traditional Cossack dance.

[75] In 2003, forty-one delegates from communities across Ukraine and thirty-eight registered guests gathered in Kyiv at the First Forum of Ukrainian Rodnovers, presided by Iurii Shilov, Oleh Bezverkhyi of SRUV Sylenkoism, and Petro Ruban.

[79] Responding to both historical foreign oppression and the contemporary socio-political problems of Ukraine, some Sylenkoites have proposed projects to strengthen the identity of the Ukrainians; for instance, the Sylenkoite Bohdan Klymchak, from Lviv, a political prisoner during the Soviet Union, proposed the project of Oaza-Hora, a massive multilayered, terraced, mountain-like shrine of national awareness, dedicated to Ukrainian historical heroes and political prisoners of the Soviet regime.

[14] Regarding the Christianisation of Kievan Rus', Sylenko commented:[83] One had to disown one's own, that which was sacred; to disown the holy things of one's ancestors, and 'with fear and trembling' to kneel and worship alien idols — icons depicting alien gods, brought from Greece.Christianity is seen as an external foreign force which attempts to destroy indigenous cultures by blending them into a global cultural pattern in order to play down ethnic differences and to indoctrinate its followers with a cosmopolitan attitude.

[83] According to Sylenko, Christianity leads to the development of a false consciousness in people:[83] Ukrainian children go to school [and] open their abc textbooks where Nazareth, not Kyiv, is given more space and attention.