Romuva

The title of this article is ambiguous. Romuva is also the Lithuanian name of the city of Pravdinsk in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast.

Romuva symbol

Religious ceremony

Romuva is a neo-ethnic religious organization that sees itself in the tradition of the pre-Christian Lithuanian religion . The name is derived from the old Prussian sanctuary Romowe in Nadrauen , one of the last significant sanctuaries of pre-Christian Europe, which was first described by Peter von Dusburg . Romuva is a religious community recognized by the Lithuanian state.

The Romuva movement was started by the East Prussian-Lithuanian teacher Vydūnas (1868-1953). The church is based primarily on the rich folkloric material of Lithuanian culture and, like the comparable Dievturi community in Latvia, is to be seen in the context of the national awakening of the Baltic peoples in the 19th century.

The symbol of the Romuva movement, an oak with an eternal flame, reminds of the Romowe sanctuary and symbolizes the three levels of being - the world of the deceased (the past), the world of the living (the present) and the divine sphere ( the future), which are connected in harmonious unity.

literature

• Jonas Trinkūnas: Baltic Religion Today . Vilnius 2011

Web links

• Romuva originates from the Baltic religious tradition. In: Romuva.lt. November 2016(English). 
• Berthold Forssman, Martin Sander: Postmodern Nature Worshipers - Pagan Customs of the Romuva Religion in Lithuania. In: Deutschlandfunk-Kultur broadcast “Religions”. August 18, 2019 ( mp3 audio , 7.3 MB, 7:56 minutes).