“WE FOLLOW THE PATH OF ANCESTORS” – REFERENCES TO THE PAST IN THE NATIVE POLISH CHURCH

Abstract

The article examines relation between neopagan native faith and reenactment movement at an example of the Native Polish Church members. Instead of presenting reenactment events in which they participate, it focuses on certain attitude towards the past which characterizes both the faithful and reenactors. They all feel a certain bond to the early medieval Slavic legacy and continue it, some of them combining participation in the Church with reenactment. The author interprets ethnographic data showing how the bond to the past is understood and in which aspects of life it plays a crucial role. The feeling of connection to the early medieval Slavs is, however, examined critically and the author defends thesis that sources of contemporary renewal of native religions should be seen rather in the idea of New Age movement and not in the notion of historical continuity