The threat of the preservation of the Yezidis - Missionary work and Christianization as a challenge to modernity
The Yezidis of Armenia and Georgia managed to preserve their faith, their unique culture and will remain as a community during the Soviet years, and this is already a miracle. After all, they were cut off from their brothers in Iraq by the "Iron Curtain" for decades and simply could not even communicate with them, let alone maintain spiritual ties and make pilgrimages to their shrines.
The Soviet atheist state denied any religion, and Yezidism is no exception. But the Yezidis kept their faith in their families and communities precisely because it was based on oral tradition and on the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation. In addition, the Yezidi priesthood (otherwise also called castes of sheikhs and feasts) were closed from external influence. This was also facilitated by the fact that marriages between priestly castes (sheikhs and pirs) and mrids were banned — this played a role in preserving the faith.
Today the Yezidis are again faced with the urgent task of preserving their faith. A paradox: during the years of persecution and during the years of state atheism, the Yezidis managed to firmly maintain their faith, but the challenges of the new time with the development of the information society, the "opening of borders", increased migration (including labor), the destruction of the traditional way of life lead to the fact that more and more Yezidis, especially among young people, become Christians.
Tags: #yazidisinfo #newsyazidis #aboutyazidis #culturalyazidis
The threat of the preservation of the Yezidis - Missionary work and Christianization as a challenge to modernity
The Yezidis of Armenia and Georgia managed to preserve their faith, their unique culture and will remain as a community during the Soviet years, and this is already a miracle. After all, they were cut off from their brothers in Iraq by the "Iron Curtain" for decades and simply could not even communicate with them, let alone maintain spiritual ties and make pilgrimages to their shrines.
The Soviet atheist state denied any religion, and Yezidism is no exception. But the Yezidis kept their faith in their families and communities precisely because it was based on oral tradition and on the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation. In addition, the Yezidi priesthood (otherwise also called castes of sheikhs and feasts) were closed from external influence. This was also facilitated by the fact that marriages between priestly castes (sheikhs and pirs) and mrids were banned — this played a role in preserving the faith.
Today the Yezidis are again faced with the urgent task of preserving their faith. A paradox: during the years of persecution and during the years of state atheism, the Yezidis managed to firmly maintain their faith, but the challenges of the new time with the development of the information society, the "opening of borders", increased migration (including labor), the destruction of the traditional way of life lead to the fact that more and more Yezidis, especially among young people, become Christians.
Tags: #yazidisinfo #newsyazidis #aboutyazidis #culturalyazidis
