volkhv
Sign in to savethumb|Oleg of Novgorod|Oleg meets the volkhv. Painting by [[Viktor Vasnetsov.]] A volkhv or volhv (Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith.
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- Among the Rus'
- In modern Slavic priesthood
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thumb|Oleg of Novgorod|Oleg meets the volkhv. Painting by [[Viktor Vasnetsov.]] A volkhv or volhv (Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith.
==Among the Rus'== thumb|Gleb Svyatoslavich comes to a volkhv. [[Novgorod, 1071. Radziwiłł Chronicle]] Volkhvs are attested among the early Rus' people. Volkhvs were believed to possess mystical powers, particularly the ability to predict the future. The first literary reference to a volkhv occurs in the Primary Chronicle under the year 912; there, a volkhv predicts Prince Oleg's death. With the adoption of Christianity, the pagan priests came under persecution and sometimes tried to channel social discontent against the Christian church. The name of the divination book "Volkhovnik" comes from the term "volkhv".