Prompted by the reactions of many faithful after the recent television announcement for the beginning of one of the carnivals in our country, during which a cross was used as a prop and then thrown into the fire, thereby offending the religious feelings of Orthodox Christians, we would like to once again emphasize the nature of these secular events. These events commemorate St. Basil the Great and the beginning of the New Year according to the Julian calendar in a way that is completely foreign to our mentality. Since we have already commented on this unchristian way of celebration, we believe that now, as we approach the New Year, this announcement provides a good occasion to recall our previous commentary, published on January 31, 2012:
Is there anything in common between carnival and Christianity?
Throughout its entire history, the Orthodox Church has firmly and unwaveringly fought against the soul-destroying remnants of pre-Christian pagan rites and manifestations. As a result, over time, such senseless pagan rituals were almost completely eradicated on a global scale, except in a few isolated regions, where they barely survived and lost nearly all meaning. Even these rare pagan remnants gradually faded away, confined to their local environments. However, tragically, modern society, with its different norms and life philosophies, has tragically distanced man from God, gradually leading humanity to the abyss of immorality and decadence. In the process, society has also revived some of these once-abandoned pagan rites, which in recent decades seem to be awakening again under the guise of quasi-piety and quasi-celebrations. Of course, the media, as well as certain organizations and institutions, play a significant role in promoting these manifestations—alien to our Christian culture and tradition—as “significant cultural achievements and heritage,” although, from a spiritual perspective, they represent more of a regression than an achievement.
A typical example of such a “cultural achievement” is the carnival. Though it has absolutely no connection with sacred Orthodox tradition, carnival in our country is portrayed as if it were, in a way, part of Church practice. The absurdity goes so far that in some places, carnival is even equated with significant Church days, such as the beginning of the Holy Paschal Fast—trimir (the word “trimir” means “three days,” during which the faithful abstain completely from all food and drink). Recently, some media outlets have even announced that on Clean Monday—the first day of trimir—the authors of the “best” erotic graffiti in Strumica will be awarded prizes!
It is an understatement to say that such a manifestation has absolutely nothing to do with Orthodoxy. It not only lacks any connection with the symbolism of the day, but on the contrary, it blatantly desecrates the deep Christian significance of that holy day. On this day, the Holy Orthodox Church calls upon the faithful to cleanse their souls and bodies through fasting and prayer, so that they may, with all purity and piety, prepare to celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Christ. At the Vevčani Carnival, paradoxically, St. Basil the Great, one of the greatest Christian saints, is depicted as the patron of this pagan manifestation, and even a flag bearing his image is flown! How can this great Father of the Church, whose divinely inspired mouth most strongly denounced such immoral and dissolute celebrations, be placed alongside that which he fought most zealously against!? Furthermore, to mock the religious feelings of adherents of any religion is completely contrary to the spirit of Christ’s exalted teaching on love, peace, non-judgment, and forgiveness. Our Lord, who gave us the two greatest commandments of love, teaches us to treat everyone as our brothers and neighbors and not to grieve anyone with our actions. Not only that, He says, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” This is our thorny path, the narrow road to salvation. Therefore, it is entirely wrong and unjust for anyone to associate our Holy Orthodox Church with such manifestations, subjecting her to extreme cruelty and suffering through the vandalistic desecration and destruction of her holy sanctuaries.
Historically speaking, the pagan origins of carnival unequivocally testify to its unchristian spirit, which is completely contrary to Orthodox tradition. Carnivals were once part of the celebrations associated with the Hellenic god Dionysus, known as the Dionysian festivals. In ancient Rome, similar rituals were performed during the celebrations known as Saturnalia and Bacchanalia, which were, and still are, synonymous with debauchery and moral impurity. The Christianization of the Roman Empire put an end to such festivals through fervent preaching and the exposure of these immoral vices. Although some traces remained in a few remote and neglected areas, they had little influence. However, the Western Church’s departure from Holy Apostolic Tradition led to the resurgence of these pagan remnants, which gained momentum. By the 10th century, the first organized carnivals appeared in the cities of Western Europe, especially in Italy. Unable to completely oppose this phenomenon, the Roman Catholic Church at least ensured that carnivals were integrated into the annual Church calendar without disrupting the fasts. Thus, carnivals were held before the beginning of Great Lent, specifically during Meatfare Week. Hence, the term carnival originates from the Italian word carnevale, which derives from the Old Italian carnelevare, a compound of the Latin noun carō, carnis (meaning ‘meat’) and the verb levō, levāre (meaning ‘to leave, remove, or take away’). Consequently, the word carnival literally means ‘to leave meat’.
Among the Orthodox peoples of the East, carnivals were unknown. They were introduced from the West as a result of the increasing influence of Western Europe in the Balkans during the Ottoman Empire. There are accounts that diplomatic representatives (consuls) from European countries were the first to introduce organized carnivals in major cities (e.g., Thessaloniki and Bitola). Additionally, our migrant workers in Western countries adopted certain elements of their cultures and brought them back to their homelands. Consequently, such carnival games, though in a modified form, began to appear in certain parts of our country. In the absence of proper masks and costumes, like those in the West, our people improvised by combining what they had seen abroad with inherited pagan elements—dressing in animal skins and various rags, as seen in the example of the Babari. From the very inception of such rituals, the Holy Orthodox Church, through preaching and teaching, has peacefully pointed out the spiritual harm of such non-Christian practices and quasi-celebrations.
