And tell me, when you hear "Hell", "bad", "pagan", how does it make you feel?π§
I am sure that 99% of you expect that now we will talk about something bad, about something that brings harm and in general about something very negative. π£ Really? π€
(I leave 1% for those who are interested in history, especially Ancient Rome π )
What am I leading to? Today, you and I will begin to immerse ourselves in the world of "pagan" faith. βΊοΈπ
And the first thing I wanted to share with you is the adventures of this very word.
The word "bad" (Latin "paganus") originally meant only a resident of a pagus ("pagus"), a village, a peasant. However, with the advent of Christianity and the active planting of this religion, the word began to gradually change its neutral meaning, largely due to the efforts of the Church.
The world accepted Christ's faith very slowly and not everywhere with joy and delight. For example, in Kyivan Rus, Christianization took place quite harshly and violently.
The new faith was most easily accepted by the highest circles of the people and the most prominent intelligentsia in the cities. The inhabitants of the villages stubbornly and for a long time held on to their own pre-Christian faith. Therefore, very soon the word "paganus", "pagan" - simultaneously came to mean an unbaptized person, that is, a non-Christian. With the further strengthening of the influence of the Church on social life, the narrative spread more and more - "he who is not with us is bad, unkind, bad (in the sense we are already familiar with you)".
And so, from the adventures of this little word, you and I are starting to get acquainted with the "pagan" beliefs of our people. Because, as the Professor of the Theological Faculty of St. Andrew's College in Winnipeg (Winnipeg, Canada) Ivan Ohienko wrote: "Knowing the pre-Christian beliefs of the Ukrainian people is very important, because only by knowing them can we properly understand the current spiritual culture of this people..." because they are now they strongly influence the faith of Christ, more correctly - they live next to it both in the Ukrainian and in the entire Slavic people."
Let me add, running a little ahead - we live in a society whose customs and behavioral algorithms were formed under the influence of many centuries of cultural and religious layers. And even if you are a nihilist, you will be surprised how in everyday life, without knowing it, you do things that your ancestors - "pagans" encoded in you.
I love everyone! π See you soon in the next trivia! π₯°
P.S. If you have read this far and were interested, give us a like π and leave a comment π so that we understand that we are writing for a reason.
P.P.S. βοΈThe photo shows a bust of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine I (Flavius Valerius Constantinus), who first used the word "bad" in a negative sense.
