PHILADELPHIA – On Monday, Robert Schreiwer, founder of the Heathen tradition of Urglaawe, livestreamed a ritual, “Observance of the Desecrated Shrines.”
Schreiwer explained that he selected June 5 as the date for his ritual due to it being the feast day of St. Boniface. Boniface is noted in historical records as concentrating his work on the destruction of Pagan temples and sacred sites. Schreiwer included historical information in his outline of the ritual and its purpose.
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TWH asked Schreiwer why he chose now to create and livestream the ritual.
He said, “We are coming into Pagan Pride Day season, and, being the founder of Philadelphia Pagan Pride, I have had to deal with extremist Christian groups that feel that they have the right to disrupt events held by adherents of other religions.” Schreiwer continued, “They have a sense of privilege and exude the same arrogance that is palpable in the Catholic Church’s own lore about St. Boniface’s felling of the sacred Thor’s Oak. Their description omits any mention of a small army protecting Boniface and his monks, and the entire narrative of Boniface’s mission is one of religious terrorism. The mindset that compelled Boniface to disturb the peace among people with different beliefs, to destroy property that was not his, to take ownership of property that was not his, and to set up a system that punishes anyone who does not accept the new religion is still very much alive century upon century later.”
Schreiwer, like many others within the Pagan and Pagan-adjacent communities, noted the need for unity in countering the extremism being exhibited by some segments of the Christian community. TWH asked him what advice he might have for anyone wishing to conduct a similar ritual.
“As Pagans, Heathens, Druids, etc., our religions are disparate; we may not have strong unity of beliefs, but we all share the same challenges when it comes to zealots and extremists. There is value in recognizing the continuity of religious oppression and terrorism since the time of the establishment of the Church as a power in Europe and in working together to protect our freedom to our own religions and religious expressions,” Schreiwer said. “The Observance of the Desecrated Shrines provides an opportunity for shared remembrance. While it falls on the date of June 5 (Boniface’s feast day) because the observance was developed in an Urglaawe context, we invite others who face similar challenges to pay respects to the deities or philosophers of their own religions and traditions on that same day. Doing so provides a multitude of voices remembering the past with shared intentions on protecting and preserving our rights into the future.”
While the ritual Schreiwer conducted was focused on primarily, Dunner (Thor), Stuffo (“SHTOOF-oh), Jecha (“YEKH-ah”), Lohra (“LOH-ra”), Reto (“RET-oh”), Biel (“BEEL”), he also included “all deities whose shrines were desecrated or destroyed through
zealotry.” He notes that while deities like Thor are well known, other deities like Stuffo, Jecha, Lohra, and Biel are far less so. And Reto remains a mystery due to the loss of the lore and the destruction of any sites that may have held any clues.
Stuffo was associated with knowledge and wisdom, and according to church records, consulted as an oracle. The goddess Jecha or Yechaa in Deitsch is believed to have a connection to hunting as her name seems to indicate.
As for Lohra, there are a couple of competing theories as to her attributes. One that associates her with farming and livestock breeding and another that connects her with learning and knowledge. While Biel in historical records appears to have a connection to the sun and/or forest. The reality is that much about these and many other deities has been lost due to the direct actions of Christian clergy in the past.
Schreiwer said that virtually anyone can use the framework he created for the ritual and custom-tailor it to whatever deities their honor in their particular practice.
He said, “Honestly, it could be as simple as speaking the names of those deities whose sacred sites were desecrated, plus also some respects given to the deities whose names are lost to us. Many of our religions are new. Many are modern expressions of old religions. Some of our religions or traditions might not have hard or soft polytheistic deity concepts. The important thing is to see the thread from the time of the earliest missionary work of the saints through the horrors and crimes against humanity wrought by colonialism to the present-day privilege and arrogance that the dominant religions have toward the minority religions in different regions throughout the world.”
Schreiwer went on to explain the ritual, “the observance opens us to reconnect to the deities upon whom we call in order to try to mitigate the destruction done in the past. While the Catholic Church has apologized for some of the crimes conducted against the First Nations in the Americas, it has not, to the best of my knowledge, paid any heed to the crimes committed in Europe and elsewhere. Also, this is not just about the Catholic Church; other religious groups have acted violently upon others as well. The Catholic Church just happens to be the one bragging about how their saints committed crimes in the areas where the deities of my religion had their temples and shrines. It is ironic that we were able to draw names only from the Church’s lore, so Pagans who are seeking more information about the worship of lesser-known deities might want to look into the writings of the dominant religions in the areas where those deities once were worshiped.”
When asked why he felt this type of ritual work is important, Schreiwer said, “The climate is becoming more hostile toward any variation from an idyllic American traditional family that probably never really existed in large numbers outside of the black-and-white TV consoles of the 1950s. Most Christians, I would wager, are not looking for a fight or to oppress others, but the fringes of the political right are fomenting resentment toward all sorts of identities, and religious minorities are among them.”
He concluded with, “Unfortunately, some of our own religions have alt-right elements to them, too, which is making it more difficult for people to feel safe in some of our own communities. We must all work together better for the sake of our security. Our common ground is our challenges.”
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