Jonas Trinkunas Speaks about Reconstructed Religion

The Parliament this year was rife with the undercurrent of the terms "Reconstructed" "Indigenous" and "Pagan." The questions were valid enough.  What does "indigenous" mean when referring to a person or religion, and are these two things synonymous?   Is my religion reconstructed from actual ancient pagan practices of the past or are we really inventing something new, and how close do we have to come one to the other before the differences become moot?

One of the people most qualified to speak to these issues is Dr. Jonas Trinkunas.  I was fortunate enough to catch Dr. Trinkunas just at the end of the Parliament after much effort on both of our parts to create this interview.  Dr. Trinkunas is a Dr. of Philology:

From Wikipedia:
Philology considers both form and meaning in linguistic expression, combining linguistics and literary studies.

Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages. Classical philology is historically primary, originating in European Renaissance Humanism, but was soon joined by philologies of other languages both European (Germanic, Celtic, Slavistics, etc.) and non-European (Sanskrit, Oriental languages such as Persian or Arabic, Chinese etc.). Indo-European studies involves the philology of all Indo-European languages as comparative studies.

One can see how such a background would be particularly useful in the recovery of the theology and practices of a folk tradition/religion. He has spent the better part of his adult life working toward the reclamation of his tradition in the face of waves of Christian Occupation starting in the 1100's.

His achievements are truly amazing.  Though the Catholic Church is still very strong in Lithuania, it is primarily  practiced by the older generation as Romuva becomes better known by Lithuania's youth.  His children and their spouses follow in his footsteps. 

You can find more about Romuva at "Romuva.lt."  Please enjoy this interview and think about your own answers to the above questions.
Respectfully submitted,
Rachael