Worship or deification of fire (also as pyrolatry or pyrolatria, and occasionally as pyrodulia as a nuanced academic comparison to pyrolatria when considering latria and dulia as respectively direct and symbolic types of veneration of divinity, so as pyrodulia when the fire is deemed to symbolically represent a divinity rather than be the object of direct worship), or fire rituals, religious rituals centred on a fire, are known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of human culture since the Lower Paleolithic. Religious or animist notions connected to fire are assumed to reach back to such early prehuman times.

In Indo-European languages, there were two concepts regarding fire: that of an animate type called *h₁n̥gʷnis (cf. Sanskrit agni, Croatian oganj, Albanian: enji, English ignite from Latin ignis, Polish ogień and Russian ogon), and an inanimate type *péh₂wr̥ (cf. English fire, Greek pyr, Sanskrit pu). A similar distinction existed for water.

Fire rituals that are commonly found among Indo-European peoples have been firstly attested by the Vedas, with hymns dedicated to the fire god Agni.

In Albanian tradition the fire cult and ritual practices have played a prominent role. Enji (Albanian: [ɛɲi]) is the name of the fire god, evidently contained in the week day name that was dedicated to him – e enjte – the Albanian word for Thursday. The Fire – Zjarri – is deified in Albanian tradition as releaser of light and heat with the power to ward off darkness and evil, affect cosmic phenomena and give strength to the Sun (Dielli, who is worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye), sustain the continuity between life and afterlife and between the generations. The divine power of Fire is used for the hearth and the rituals, including calendar fires, sacrificial offerings, divination, purification, and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events. Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun (Dielli), the cult of the hearth (vatër) and the ancestor, and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. The practices associated with ritual fires among Albanians have been historically fought by the Christian clergy, without success. The fire god Enji was presumably worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity and he may have been the most prominent god of the Albanian pantheon in Roman times by interpreting Jupiter, when week-day names were formed in the Albanian language. The belief in a prominent fire and wind god, who was referred to as I Verbti ("the blind one"), and who was often regarded more powerful than the Christian God, survived in northern Albania until recent times. Under Christianisation the god of fire was demonised and considered a false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire. The purifying power of fire underlies the Albanian folk belief according to which the fire god is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.

In Albanian tradition, Fire is deeply respected. To spit into it is taboo. Albanian solemn oaths are taken "by fire", and the worst curse formulas are cast for the extinguishing of the individual's, family's and clan's fire. The lineage is identified with an original fire, and the members of a same tribe/clan are "from the same fire". Zjarri i Vatrës ("the Fire of the Hearth") is regarded as the offspring of the Sun and the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead and between the generations, ensuring the survival of the lineage (fis or farë). The absence of fire in a house is traditionally considered a great curse. Protectors of the hearth are Gjarpri i Vatrës ("the Serpent of the Hearth"), a household benign serpent, and Nëna e Vatrës ("the Mother of the Hearth"). Zjarret e Vitit ("Ritual Calendar Fires") are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life. The ritual collective fires (based on the house, kinship, or neighborhood) or bonfires in yards (especially on high places) lit before sunrise to celebrate the main traditional Albanian festivities such as Dita e Verës (spring equinox), Shëngjergji, the winter festivals (winter solstice), or mountain pilgrimages, often accompanied by animal sacrifices, are related to the cult of the Sun, and in particular they are practiced with the function to give strength to the Sun and to ward off evil according to the old beliefs. Zjarri i Gjallë, Zjarri i Egër, or Zjarri i Keq – traditionally kindled with rudimentary fire making tools and techniques – is the ritual purifying Fire used for the cleansing, protection, healing, and energising of livestock and humans. Albanian folk beliefs regard the lightning as Zjarri i Qiellit ("the Fire of the Sky") and consider it as the "weapon of the deity". During big storms with torrential rains, lightning and hail, which often cause great damage to agriculture, livestock, and to the rural economy in general, Albanians traditionally bring outdoors Fire as a continuous chain or in a container, as well as ember and fire-related metallic objects, seeking assistance from the supernatural power of the Fire, in order to turn the storm away and to avert the harms it can cause to the community.

Armenia carries an ancient tradition of fire worship called Trndez (Armenian: տրնդեզ), a feast of purification in the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian Catholic Churches, celebrated 40 days after Jesus' birth. The celebration of Trndez is pagan in origin, and is originally connected with sun/fire worship in ancient pre-Christian Armenia, symbolizing the coming of spring and fertility. It was originally referred to as Derendez, meaning “a bundle of straw in front of your house.” In ancient Armenia, the event was associated with the worship of Vahagn, the Armenian god of fire, sun, war, and courage. People believed that the strength of the fire would eradicate the winter’s cold and allow for fertile land and a prosperous harvest. Couples, especially newlyweds, would jump over the Trndez flames for luck, prosperity, and fertility. The fire’s ashes were believed to have healing properties as people would use it as an ointment for pain and rub it into their eyelids to improve their eyesight.

Armenia also fell within the Zoroastrian sphere of influence under various Persian imperial regimes.

The Holy Fire is referred to as Ugnis szwenta in Lithuanian, and the 'Mother of Fire' is referred to as Uguns māte in Latvian.