Arkhangelsk, November 16, 2015
The “Pomor” new year celebration in Arkhangelsk
Neopaganism is an artificially created project for the destruction of the foundations of the Russian state and culture, said representative of the Arkhangelsk Diocese Deacon Andrei Alekseyev during his speech at the “Information security and prevention of internet-extremism within the framework of higher education” section as part of the 44th Lomonosov’s Readings, reports the Arkhangelsk Diocese’s press service.
According to Deacon Andrei, Neopaganism radically changes our national, cultural, and religious values.
“It is a real ethnos-building activity. The people who adopt the neopagan system of values cease to associate themselves with the last thousand years of Russian history and culture.
The “Pomor” new year celebration in Arkhangelsk
Hundreds and thousands of followers begin to feel their connection with the virtual worlds of ancient Slavs, Aryans and the now non-existent smaller ethnicities.
Change in national identity leads to change in political views and principles. Very many ideologues of Neopaganism openly speak of their rejection of a state or an empire as a form of integration of the nation.
They seriously speak of a revival of the primitive communal system and the archaic popular assembly (“veche”) law. All this can be regarded only as an informational threat to our social integrity,” Deacon Andrei Alekseyev noted.
In the speaker’s view, the main method of promoting neopaganism in the Arkhangelsk region and throughout Russia is romanticizing through art (painting, stylized photographs, music, literature – particularly the “fantasy” literary genre) of an image of the pre-Christian life of the Slavic peoples.
“Because of the lack of historical basis and the illogical arguments of Neopaganism, it first offers people the aesthetic spirit of the freedom of the ancient epical heroes, herculean strength and unity with nature. A person gets inspired by this atmosphere and is then ready to believe in any nonsense,” Deacon Andrei stressed.
He also enumerated the main points of spreading of the neopagan aesthetics in the Arkhangelsk region: the “Solstice” festival, the “Zvozlandiya” artistic association, and the “Pomor (“coast-dweller” in Russian – an inhabitant of White Sea and Barents Sea coast) New Year” festival.
