Kitabı oku: «Choosing religion you choose fate», sayfa 2
If we believe the data from the time of 2 thousand BC, then the sun was represented in the form of a bird. In the monuments of India, the swastika symbolizes the sun, and in pre-Columbian America, the swastika was considered an emblem of the Sun god. In the Bronze Age, the image of a bird with a swastika on its chest, as well as a bird with a cross, was interpreted as a symbol of the solar deity. The swastika was introduced in the VII century, in China as a hieroglyph for the Sun. The swastika was considered not only as a solar sign, but also as a symbol fertility of the earth. The swastika was given importance as a symbol of the four main forces, the natural elements, the four cardinal directions centered on the axis. This is confirmed in medieval Muslim manuscripts, and has been preserved to our time by American Indians. In Western occultism, it was given great importance to zodiac rotations, the alchemical idea of the transformation of elements.
Swastika or Hitler’s star? The German swastika appeared in the early 20s of the last century. Unlike Slavic, it has the opposite meaning. According to one version, the German swastika carries the purity of Aryan blood. Hitler was firmly convinced that this symbol was dedicated to the victory of the Aryans over all other races.
Hitler himself claimed that he had put a symbol of the superiority of the Aryan race in the swastika, he himself wrote about this in a book called «My Struggle». In 1923, a congress was held, where Hitler managed to convince his colleagues that the black swastika on a white-red background was a symbol of the struggle against Jews and communists. The swastika was used paramilitary organizations long before the appearance of the Nazis in the political arena of Germany, as a symbol of nationalism. The soldiers of G. Erhardt’s detachment mainly wore this badge. The swastika became a prohibited sign; the distribution of the swastika was considered a criminal offense. This is indicated in paragraph 86a of the German Criminal Code. This happened in 1946, after the end of the Second World War.
The most significant difference between the Slavic swastika and the German one is the direction of its rotation. For the Fascists, it goes clockwise, and for the Slavs, it goes against it. In fact, these are not all the differences. The Aryan swastika differs from the Slavic one in the thickness of the lines and the background. The number of ends of the Slavic cross can be four or eight.
In Russia, Rosskomnadzor abolished the punishment for distributing swastikas on April 15, 2015.
In Slavic culture, the swastika denotes movement by the sun, and the other – against it. Movement on the sun means happiness, against it – misfortune. It is also interesting that the swastika that we used to see was a favorite symbol of Empress Catherine. She painted him wherever she lived.
The left-sided swastika is a counterclockwise rotation sign of purification, restoration. It also has the property of destruction – to build something light; you need to destroy the old and dark. Worshippers of this sign could wear their amulet with left-hand movements, this sign was called the «Heavenly Cross» and was a symbol of tribal unity and gave protection to the heavenly forces. The left—sided swastika was considered a sign of the autumn sun – collective.
The right-hand swastika rotates clockwise and denotes the beginning of all things – birth, development – it is a symbol of the power of the sun and the prosperity of the family, creative energy. This sign was also called Novorodnik or the Solar Cross. The sun sign and the swastika are equal in this case. It was believed that he gives the greatest power to the priests. Prophetic Oleg knew Ancient Wisdom, Ancient Vedas and wore this ancient sign on his shield. From these beliefs came the theories proving the ancient Slavic origin of the swastika.
Slavic amulets. The hope of protection from evil spirits was placed on the amulets – to protect them from evil, to take them away from their home, children and household. The swastika as a talisman is a sign that means the rotation of the Solar circle. At all times, the Slavs tried to protect themselves and their loved ones from evil, problems, slander, diseases and mental anxiety with the help of amulets. If we touch on history, the ancient Slavs worshiped the cult of the Sun, so Slavic amulets have always been with solar signs, the main task of which is to protect the person wearing them.
CHAPTER 3
Who are the Slavs, and where did this word come from. There are several meanings of this word. One of them is from the word praise. The Slavs glorified the sun, the gods. These people who glorify the world of Truth, perhaps is why they call us Orthodox. Christians have appropriated this word for themselves, and call themselves correctly glorifying their God. Perhaps that is why Christians call themselves Slavs. The next meaning of this word is glorious, glorious people. The compatibility of the suffix -yane is consonant with the names of the landscape (glade, drevlyane, kyane, buzhane). Perhaps this version has led many linguists to one of the understandings about the origin of the Slavs. In this case, it is possible that this is the name of one Slavic tribe, which later spread to all peoples (specific tribal ethnonyms for words – Slovaks, Slovenes, Slovenes, Ilmen Slovenes). There is a theory that it comes from the Slovutich River – the poetic name of the Dnieper; Sluya, Polish. The names of the rivers SawaAwa, SɫAwica, Serbian Slavnica. These words go back to the Indo-European root *leleu- meaning «to wash», «to purify». Everything also points to the Lithuanian village of Šlavėnai on the Šlavė River as the exact parallel name of «slovene», formed at the same time from the hydronym.
One of the versions says that the Slavs, Slovene, are people who speak «in words», that is, in our language, in their own language. For comparison, we can take a foreign-speaking tribe – the «dumb» ones. Of similar origin, the self-name of the Albanians is shqiptarët («speaking clearly»). In addition, the wordзыzyk («language») was used in the meaning of «people». The very essence of the meaning of «word», i.e. Slavs are people who have the gift of words, in comparison with other foreign-speaking peoples. According to the theory, this version was common among many peoples, – friend or foe. The author B.A. Rybakov interprets that the Slavs were related to the tribes of the Veneds are «sla» + «vienna», that is, the ambassadors of the Veneds. If we believe the historical data, then the first archaeological Slavic culture is the subclavian culture of the 5th – 2nd centuries BC. The area of distribution of this culture is southern Poland, the north of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the southeast of Germany and the Carpathian region. This place is associated with the separation of the Slavic language from the Balto-Slavic language community. The Slavs bordered on the north with the Balts and Germans. On the east with the Iranian-speaking tribes of the Scythians and Sarmatians, on the south with the Illyrians and Thracians, on the west with the Celts.
According to another version, the self-name «Slavs» goes back to glory – these are «glorious», «famous people». These were the people in question, about whom the rumor speaks, about whom there is fame.
An equally popular theory tells that the «Slavs» originated from the name of the first community of the people, which gave this word spread to other territories in the process of emigration, especially during the Great Migration.
The Slavs migrated to Europe during the Great Migration of Peoples – this is an Indo-European people who were part of some ancient «Germanic-Slavic» community. The community of Slavs, having separated from the Germans, because, having found themselves on the border with wild Eastern peoples, lagged behind in their development, the flourishing Roman civilization became inaccessible to them at that time. This event served as a decline in the development of the community. Archaeology confirms the existence of strong cross-cultural ties between the Germans and the Slavs, and in general, the theory more than deserves respect if you remove the Aryan roots of the Slavs from it.
The first Slavic settlers on the territory of modern Ukraine and Russia were Drevlyans (inhabitants of forests) and Polyans (inhabitants of fields). It is known from the chronicles that at that time each family lived separately.
Little is known about the history of the origin of the Slavs, it is unanimously believed that they existed from 4—5 centuries. From unreliable information, it is known that before Europe, the Slavs lived in Egypt and Ethiopia, India and Palestine, Atlantis and the Arctic. Somewhere in the 1st millennium AD, the Slavs were divided into three groups: eastern, western and southern.
The Eastern Slavs adopted Orthodoxy. Eastern tribes are Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The Slavic Eastern branch included numerous tribes. The list of names of the tribes of Ancient Russia includes: Vyatichi, Bujan (Volynyan), Drevlian, Dregovich, Duleb, Krivichi, Polochan, Polyana, Radimichi, Slovenes, Tivertsev, Ulich, Croats, Bodrichi, Vislyan, Zlichan, Luzhichan, Lyutich, Pomoryan. After the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs did not willingly say goodbye to the gods. The adoption of Christianity was voluntary. Pagans were not burned at the stake; villages were not cut out, as the Crusader Catholics did with the Western Slavs and Lithuanians. Christianity and paganism existed peacefully and for quite a long time.
The Western Slavs are Pomorians, Obodrichs, Vagras, Polabs, Smolinians, Glinians, Lyutichs, Velets, Ratari, Drevans, Ruyans, Luzhichans, Czechs, Slovaks, Koshubians, Slovenes, Moravians, and Poles. Military actions on the part of the Germans forced them to leave their lands and retreat to the east.
The Southern Slavs adopted Christianity before anyone else because they lived close to Byzantium. The South Slavs included Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Zahlumlans, and Bulgarians. These Slavic peoples settled the lands after predatory raids; they had to experience the strong influence of the Byzantine Empire. Later, some of them mixed with the Turkic-speaking Bulgarians, they gave rise to the Bulgarian kingdom, the predecessor of modern Bulgaria.
What the Slavs had in common was the similarity of the language and the cohesion of the association. The basis of the language was precisely the Gothic ethnosubtract. Linguistically, these are Lusatians, Poles, Litvins-Belarusians, Czechs, Slovaks, Macedonians, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Serbs, Bulgarians, Rusyns-Ukrainians and Russified Finno-Ugrians. Slavic languages belong to the Indo-European language family.
Slavic tribes began to develop new territories in the 6th-8th centuries. The tribes diverged in three main directions: the southern – the Balkan Peninsula, the western – between the Oder and the Elbe, to the east and northeast of Europe. Many Slavic tribes inhabited the eastern part of Russia. The Eastern Slavs remained on this land and gradually became the main inhabitants of the territory. In Russia, the ancient Slavic tribes were engaged in agriculture, beekeeping, fishing, and were also hunters and shepherds. The Slavs withstood the attacks of the Huns from Central Asia in the 3rd and 4th centuries, as well as the invasions of the Goths from Germany and Sweden. By about 600, the Slavs had become the dominant ethnic group on the Eastern European Plain. By the 7th century, they had established villages along all the major rivers of what is now eastern Russia. In the early middle Ages, the Slavs lived between the Viking kingdoms in Scandinavia, the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, the Byzantines in Turkey and the Mongol and Turkish tribes in Central Asia. The most common version is that the roots of the Slavs go to the lands adjacent to the Danube, and then scattered across Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. In general, scientists agree with the beginning of the penetration of Indo-European tribes close in lifestyle, rituals and language into the center of Europe in the 3rd millennium BC.
The Slavs, as an already established ethnic group, originally appeared in the area of the Laba River (Elbe), their language was mixed with Baltic and Gothic, which gave a peculiarity to their communication. Some Russian historians believe that the Slavs themselves are a mixture of Goths and Balts from the territory of Belarus (that is, Belarusians Gutov-Gepids) and, possibly, Poland. The formation of the Slavs took place in this campaign, in which Iranian-speaking Alans or Sarmatians took part, also possibly a composite group. It is believed that the real Slavs in origin and genetic terms are the Slavs who settled the territories of the present northern Germany (Obodrites, Rusyns, etc.), the Czech Republic and Southern Poland (Lyakhs). The rest of the group are not Slavs, they are considered «Slavs» only because they adopted the language from the Slavs who captured them. Close in location in genetics and anthropology to the Slavs are the Western Balts, Belarusians and Mazurs. Not all other Slavs are Slavs, there is nothing in common between them except the language, Russians, who, being Finno-Ugrians and Turks, are not even Indo-Europeans. Slavic princes and similar Sarmatian Bulgarians who came to us from the Volga are not the «Slavic Slavs». The only language as close as possible to Slavic is Bulgarian (the rest are synthetic). This shows that the Bulgarians have not completed the transition to the Slavic language. This is confirmed in the Novgorod expedition of academician Valentin Yanin in the Novgorod letters: in the analytical Slavic language, the local Sami, whom did the Rurik’s Obodrites colonize. Only after 250 years, the Sami Obodrites began to be called «Slovenes» and the language of the birch bark letters of the Sami was recognized as synthetic Slavic, this is written in the «Tale of Bygone Years». The Slavs have always been a warlike nation, it was the main ethnic force of the Varangians, mainly Polabians, Czechs and Lyakhs. The Slavs of Polabia invented the institute of chivalry. Thanks to their military and knightly art, they managed to subdue vast territories of Central and Eastern Europe, thanks to this, the locals mastered the Slavic language.
The Slavs were the most sought-after commodity in the slave trade as they were the most numerous people in Europe. There was a time when Slavs – slaves supplied to Constantinople were numerous. The most correct version lies in the correct and balanced analysis of the name of our people, resorting to which it can be understood that the Slavs are a community united by one common religion: paganism, who glorified their gods with words that could not only pronounce, but also write! The Slavs brought glory to their gods, and glorifying them, glorifying their deeds, they united into a single Slavic civilization, a cultural link of pan-European culture.
Being the largest nation in all of Europe, scientists still cannot determine the exact origin of the Slavic people. Some suggest that their origin began from the Aryans and Germans. Some put forward a version about the ancient Celtic origin of the Slavs. Today, the culture of the Slavs unites many countries and peoples, the Slavic people occupy a huge territory in terms of their number. Now, the Slavs are an Indo-European people who, despite the difference in mentality, nationality and versatility, actively participates in the development of history.
The Holy Book of the Slavs is the book of Veles. The Book of Veles is an ancient Slavic monument that has survived to the present day. It is a symbol of the Old Slavic script of the 9th century AD. This book tablet is one of the official proofs that paganism existed in Russia. Slavic magi carved this book on wooden tablets. The old dilapidated tablets describe the history of Ancient Russia from 650 BC to a quarter of the 9th century. The book of Veles itself was simply called a book, because in the chronicle it there is its name – a book. Perhaps the god Veles was mentioned or simply revered at that time. And the book was called the book of Veles.
The book of Veles has the second name of Ploshchechkin’s hut. Pagans especially revere this book as the main material proof of the existence of their religion. The first publication of the text took place in 1950 in the city of San Francisco. The text was published thanks to two Russian emigrants Yu. P. Mirolyubov and Al. Kurom (A. A. Kurenkov). The falsification of this book appeared in the 19th century, in order to primitively imitate the Proto-Slavic language. Yu. P. Mirolyubov himself is considered a forger of the book, and the whole story of the appearance of Veles’ book belongs to him. According to him, the text was copied from wooden tablets lost during the war. These tablets may contain information about the ancient Slavic history from about the 7th century BC to the 9th century AD, as well as legends and prayers. Following his story, the location of the wooden planks occurred in 1919 during the retreat from Moscow. They were found by a Colonel of the Volunteer Army, by the artist Fyodor Arturovich Izenbek, in one «plundered princely estate of the Zadonskys, or Donskys». The location occurred on the floor in the looted library. All the plates were approximately the same size – 38 × 22 cm, half a centimeter thick and had a hole for fastening with a belt. The tablets were scratched with incomprehensible writing; the text was scratched with an awl or burned, and then covered with varnish or oil.
Mirolyubov learns about the tablets when Izenbeck settled in Brussels in 1925, and studies them. The tablets disappear without a trace after Isenbeck’s death in August 1941. The tablets were stolen from Izenbeck’s apartment in Brussels. A.I. Asov states the version that M. Yu stole the tablets. Sheftel for the purpose of their research. M. Yu. Sheftel was an employee of Prof. Ekka. During the German occupation in Ahnenerbe, a department was headed at the University of Brussels. According to relatives, the only thing known about the fate of Sheftel is that during the war he was captured in a French camp while escaping from German persecution. After the war, the tablets were sold to the Mormons. Unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence that anyone other than Mirolyubov saw the «Izenbek tablets».
Russian Russian Writings, a report on pre-Cyrillic writing, was read in the city of San Francisco at the Russian Center. This event took place on August 10, 1952, with a report made by Al. Kur, in which it was claimed that the Russians had their own writing even before the arrival of Cyril and Methodius. In the same year, Kur addressed readers with a request to clarify the fate of the ancient tablets from the Isenbeck library. Kur addressed readers with the help of the pages of the magazine «Firebird», the printing organ of the Russian Center in San Francisco. Yu. P. Mirolyubov responded to this request in September 1953. The correspondence of Kur and Yu. P. Mirolyubov is partially published by A. Asov.
The first publication about the «Veles Book» not the full version appeared in the USSR in 1960. The full version appeared in Russia in 1990 by O. V. Tvorogov and is guided by the typewritten text of Mirolyubov. Yu. P. Mirolyubov is an author on Slavic folklore, artistic works and amateur compositions.
CHAPTER 4
The Baptism of Russia
The period of Russia’s history before the adoption of Christianity did not fit into any «standard» pattern – it was not similar to the primitive communal system, nor to the slave owning, nor to the feudal. Rather it looked like a socialist. In the period before the baptism of Rus, the Russ undoubtedly had their own state and at the same time, there was no class society, in particular feudal. And the disadvantage was that the «classical» Soviet ideology claimed that the feudal class created the state as an instrument of its political domination and suppression of the peasants.
The Old Russian Slavs, they did not accumulate wealth, they did not leave an inheritance, they did not have the meaning of life to make capital, and this was contemptuously censured. And what was valuable? Russians have never sworn by their family, children. And what did they swear by? For example, in the treaty with the Greeks of 907, it is clear that the Russ swore by «their weapons, and Perun, their God, and Hair, cattle god.» Prince Svyatoslav swore by Perun and Volos in the treaty of 971 with Byzantium. The Slavs considered their connection with God, with the Pantheon of Gods, their honor, conscience and freedom to be the most valuable. The Rus despised gold, and one of the treaties with Byzantium and Prince Svyatoslav proves this. If the oath is broken, «let us be golden, like this gold.»
The baptism of Rus was of great importance in Russian history. Pagan beliefs were replaced by a nationwide unified religion. The adoption of Christianity from Byzantium predetermined the future path of Russia’s development as the largest stronghold of Orthodoxy.
The princely power grew, and with it, the need to strengthen the state grew. Disagreement in polytheism did not give unity and weakened the state of Ancient Russia. Despite the assertion of the common Slavic pantheon of gods, the union of tribes was steadily disintegrating. Vladimir Svyatoslavovich understood that a stronger religion was needed, capable of uniting people.
Before the adoption of baptism, paganism flourished in Russia, it was a completely religious system. Christianity cannot be called a completely new form of spiritual life. Prince Vladimir understood that it would be extremely difficult to introduce a completely new and unusual religion into Russia. After all, even before the advent of Christianity in Russia, there was a cult of the god of the Genus, who was a heavenly god, ruled the clouds, breathed life into all living things. In fact, the baptism of Russia gave a sharp impetus to the people from the transition of one religion to another, from polytheism of polytheism, to monotheism, that is, monotheism.
Historian S. F. Platonov believes that the main reasons for the baptism of Russia were economic. It was difficult for the state to subjugate many Slavic communities, Russia was baptized in order to strengthen the role of the state and subjugate a completely cohesive people. One of the reasons is trade, Christian peoples did not want to communicate and trade with pagans, Russia risked remaining isolated. With acceptance Russia became on a par with other European states, Europeans began to conduct a dialogue with them and no longer looked at them as Russian barbarians. Because Christianity in Russia was Orthodox and came from Byzantium, Russia, felt isolated, because Catholicism prevailed in Western Europe at that time. The prince did not know that after the baptism, Kievan Rus would remain the only Orthodox state, and Greek Byzantium would soon fall.
With the adoption of Christianity, the prince stopped supporting pagan cultures, and they began to be destroyed everywhere. Religious buildings, idols and temples, which were especially revered by pagans, were destroyed. Pagan holidays and rituals were strongly condemned by the clergy.
The Prince himself, being a pagan, was inclined to the Byzantine faith. In 980, Grand Duke Vladimir I Svyatoslavich tried to unite paganism and make polytheism in Russia. Throughout Russia, from the eastern slopes of the Carpathians to the Oka and Volga, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, which included East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes. The chronicle testifies that Prince Vladimir was devoted to pagan gods. He had serious intentions by creating the Slavic pantheon of gods is in Kiev, he sends his uncle Dobrynya to Novgorod, and he «put an idol over the Volkhov River, and I’ll give him the people of the city like God.» The chronicle reports: «And the beginning of the principality of Volodimer in Kiev is one, and put the idols on the hill outside the courtyard of the terem»: Perun (Finno-Ugric Perkun), Horsa (god of the Turkic tribes), Dazhbog, Stribog (Slavic gods), Simargla, Mokosh (goddess of the Mokosh tribe). The idol that Dobrynya set up in Novgorod was the idol of the Finnish Perkun, the inhabitants of Novgorod gave more reverence to the Slavic god Veles.
Christianity in Russia was spread long before the official baptism of Russia under Vladimir I Svyatoslavich in 988. This is evidenced by numerous data. Let us start with Byzantium. Russia besieged Constantinople three times – in 866, 907 and 941. Pre-planned robber raids were repeatedly carried out on Russia, and a peace treaty was subsequently concluded. Russia and Byzantium had well-established trade and state relations. Initially, only pagans participated in the signing of the treaty in 912 from the Russian side, Christians already occupy the first place in the signing of the treaty in 945. The number of Christians has increased markedly in a short period. The first baptism took place in Constantinople in 955; Princess Olga received it. It was a magnificent and solemn event, both Russian and Byzantine sources tell about it. People from the closest princely entourage became Christians.
Every religion, including the chaotic paganism of Russia, has, in addition to all kinds of cults and idols moral foundations. These moral foundations, whatever they may be, organize people’s life. Old Russian paganism permeated all layers of the society of Ancient Russia that had begun to feudalize. From the records of the chronicles, it is clear that Russia already possessed the ideal of military behavior. This ideal is clearly seen in the stories of the Initial Chronicle about Prince Svyatoslav.
How was Christianity accepted in Russia? Many European countries have adopted Christianity by force. The baptism of Russia was not without an onslaught, the majority were baptized quite peacefully. Baptism – personal and national – was a prerequisite for the contract of Prince Vladimir with Basil II, which was concluded in 987.
The contract read as follows:
Vasily II was ready to resume relations with the Russian-Byzantine side. But the military-political side had to accept the following conditions. To settle relations with neighboring lands, to eliminate conflicts in everything and, above all, in matters of faith. The new agreement was to seal forever-friendly ties between two Christian sovereigns and two Christian peoples. Having agreed to these conditions, Vladimir had to personally be baptized according to the Greek rite. It was also necessary to convert to Christianity as soon as possible his entourage of «boyars», «nobles», and «all the people of the Russian land».
Prince Vladimir was baptized himself, baptized his children, and then the whole house received holy baptism. In the future, near and distant relatives adopted Christianity. At the same time, the princely squad was baptized. With the adoption of baptism, the prince dissolved involuntary souls, male and female. The main part of the contract concluded with Basileus Basil II was successfully fulfilled. The last condition was the baptism of the Kievans, and then Vladimir became the sovereign of the Christian people.
Vladimir wanted to convince the townspeople of the insignificance of his old faith, and that they voluntarily accepted the upcoming religion. To do this, he gave the order to destroy the very sanctuary of Perun, which was being built a few years earlier «on a hill outside the courtyard of the teremny.» This was done to convince the Slavs of the Christian faith. The prince also gave an order to the servants, and the statue of Perun was thrown to the ground, tied to the tail of a horse, it was dragged from the «mountain» to the bank of the Dnieper. The statue was beaten with iron sticks; this was done in order to exorcise the demon. Perun was thrown into the water, the servants escorted him to the Dnieper rapids, and the idol sailed further downstream. Thus, Russia said goodbye to pagan idols.
At that time, the abuse of the defeated gods was accepted. In the city of Arkona there was the most revered sanctuary of Svyatovit, in 1168 when the Danes took the city. The Danish king Valdemar I ordered «to pull out this ancient idol of Svyatovit, especially revered by the Slavic people, a rope was thrown around the neck of the idol and it was dragged in front of the Slavs, then broken into pieces and thrown into the fire» (the message of the German chronicler Helmold).
Residents of the city of Kiev had to be prepared for the sacrament of baptism. In order for people to know the faith of Christ, Christian priests walked around the city and brought the word of God to people. Not many people agreed to the position of preachers, several local clergy and «priests of Korsun» who came with Vladimir. The prince faced a difficult task, to prepare local citizens in a short period. It had to be done before the summer. With the consent of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Vladimir brought several priests from Bulgaria to Kiev to help with baptism, as indicated in the Joachim Chronicle, he had a difficult task. Such a mass of people could be baptized only in the summer in the waters of the Dnieper. At that time, the temples were not adapted for the rite of the sacrament of baptism.
The baptism took place in the Dnieper River; the river replaced the church font. There were many people who wanted to convert to Christianity, men and women of different ages. The priests divided the people into several groups, they went into the water in turn, the first group went into the water up to the neck, the second up to the chest, and all the others were in shallow water. After the prayers were said, the priests gave each baptized group Christian names; the name was common, one for all, male for men and female for women. After being baptized, people continue to live with the name given at birth. Those who did not want to accept the sacrament of baptism were expelled from the city by the decree adopted above to the «deserts and forests». For the society of that time, which existed in conditions of constant military danger, disagreements and oppositions were unacceptable.
