Native Polish Church


Native Polish Church, Rodzimy Kościół Polski – a West Slavic pagan religious association that refers to ethnic, pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic people. The religion has its seat in Warsaw. Temples gathering local believers are spread throughout the country, The RKP was registered with the Polish Ministry of the Interior's registry of denominations and churches in March 1995.

Name of the association

The name of the Native Polish Church was inspired by the name of a church associating the descendants of the native peoples of America, the Indians: the Native American Church. Likewise as the Native American Church, the Native Polish Church refers to the old ethnic beliefs, at the same time respecting all later-come religions. The term Church that appears in the organisation's name is used solely to denote a religious organisation of believers and their clergy.

Basic religious concepts

The beliefs of the Native Polish Church are on one hand based on the concept of henotheism, and a mixture of pantheism and polytheism on the other – i.e. the belief that fate is decided by a cosmic force known as the Highest God, whose various aspects are manifested in the form of other, minor gods. While officially the Polish Native Church recognises the highest god to be Świętowit, other names from the highest circles of the Slavic pantheon are commonly used ; members of the Polish Native Church assume that the Highest God will always remain the highest deity irrespective of the name used. The god's true name will always remain beyond human perception. Members believe that the Highest God cannot be described in terms of good and evil, nor using any other human, subjective criteria. At the same time believers accept that these criteria may be applied to minor gods and goddesses who dwell somewhat nearer to human existence. Other gods and goddesses watch over specific aspects of nature and are often synonymous with nature itself.

Religious symbols

The Native Polish Church uses three major religious symbols. These are
Cyclic:
Other:
Occasional :
The observation of the main cyclic festivals is usually carried out in public and open to everybody – guests from outside the community are welcome provided they respect the native faith and culture. The festivals’ rituals are performed according to suitable liturgy and conducted by either an ofiarnik or an appointed żerca.

Ethics

The Polish Native Church recognises woman and man as part of nature and as part of society. This obliges woman and man to obey the Laws of Nature and the Laws of Social Order – in the sense of observing universal rules of social conduct, common to most cultures throughout history. These rules prohibit murder, rape, burglary and theft, they also demand respect for human relations that organise social life from family to state matters. Nature is to be defended as sacred creation. While it is assumed that nature does not need any holy scriptures, be it books or regulations such as the Decalogue, to justify the sacredness of her laws, and in order to avoid multiplication of entities beyond necessity, as well as recognising that the ability of woman or man to think for her or himself and maintain a sense of empathy is vital – the association avoids formulating some of the most obvious rules into ready and "correct" ways of life. Ethics is usually limited to giving basic directions such as "live honourably and be a just man" or "do what thou wilt and harm none".

Association structure

The Polish Native Church is an open church, without any claims of exclusivity in any sense – this regards both the individual's faith and his or her membership with churches or religious organisations. Members of the Native Polish Church insist that their Slavic ancestors were followers of the same God as the Christians and Muslims and others worship in their own special way. This means that one can be both a member of the Native Polish Church and a member of a different religious association. Therefore, membership with the Native Polish Church does not require any formal act of apostasy from the candidate's previous faith. The only formal membership requirement is the filing of an appropriate declaration of accession that serves as a statement of creed.
As Slavic Neopaganism by definition describes its own territorial scope due to its visible ethnicity, the Native Polish Church does not find a verification of its candidate's descent to be necessary. It is assumed that anyone who feels Polish has the right to be Polish and it was in this very sense that the name Polish Native Church was founded. Indeed, the concepts declared in the founding act state that one may become a member irrespective of one's ancestry, because the vital elements of a nation are common language and culture. Although one of the requirements set forth in the declaration of accession is to present one's governmental Identification Card, it is possible to grant membership to a foreigner, especially one of Slavic descent.
The church is a religious association based on the principles of democracy. It declares an attitude of generous tolerance and objection to racism, Nazism and intolerance of other creeds, backgrounds and nationalities. All clerical positions within the Church are based on cadencies and elections. Membership is free.