The flag of Nova Roma, based on the colours and symbols of the Roman Empire

Nova Roma is an international^[1][2] Roman revivalist and reconstructionist organization^[3] created in 1998 by Joseph Bloch and William Bradford, (Marcus Cassius Iulianus and Flavius Vedius Germanicus the "Patres Patriae")^[4] later incorporated in Maine as a non-profit organization with an educational and religious mission.^[5] Nova Roma claims to promote "the restoration of classical Roman religion, culture, and virtues" and "shared Roman ideals".^[6][7]

Reported to provide online resources about Roman culture, Latin, ancient Roman costuming and reenactment guidelines,^[7][8][9] Nova Roma aims to be more than a community of reenactors or history study group. Strimska,^[3] Davy,^[10] Adler,^[11] Gallagher-Ashcraft,^[12] and recently Chryssides^[13] refer to it as a polytheistic reconstructionist community. Because it has a structure based on the ancient Roman Republic,^[14] with a senate, magistrates and laws enacted by vote of the comitia,^[15] and with its own coinage,^[16][17] and because the Nova Roma Wiki states that the group self-identifies as a "sovereign nation", some outside observers^{[6][17][18][19]} classify it as a micronation.

Roman religion[edit]

Nova Roma has adopted^[11][20] the ancient Roman religion as its state cult, but also maintains the freedom of religion of its citizens. As a polytheistic reconstructionist practice, the religio Romana or cultus deorum Romanorum (Latin designations used by Nova Roma adherents when referring to their religion) reportedly attracts people especially of military background.^[3][21]

Both the domestic religious traditions and the so-called state religion (sacra publica) are represented in the practices of Nova Roma,^[10] including the restoration^[22] of the ancient priestly collegia, including the offices of pontifex and Vestal Virgin^[23], and the honoring of the full cycle of Roman holidays throughout the year.^[24] According to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, at the time of Christmas, Nova Romans celebrate the Roman holiday Saturnalia.^{[25][26][27][28]}

In 2006 Margot Adler noted the organization's plan to restore a Magna Mater shrine in Rome.^[29]

Live events[edit]

Nova Romans performing a Roman religious ceremony in Aquincum (Budapest), 2008.

Nova Roman citizens participate in such events as the Festival of Ancient Heritage^[30] in Svishtov, Bulgaria, the as of 2011^[update] defunct Roman Market Day^[31][32][33] in Wells Harbor Park, Maine and Forum Fulvii in Italy, Ludi Savarienses Historical Carnival or the Aquincum Floralia Spring Festival^[34][35][36] in Hungary.
On March 1 2018, Nova Roma celebrated its twentieth anniversary.^[37]

Cultural competitions and games[edit]

Among the cultural activities of Nova Roma, competitions and games associated with various Roman festivals have an important place. They can include a wide range of various programs from humorous online games up to serious art-competitions like the Certamen Petronianum,^[38][39] a literary contest of historical novel writing, where the jury was composed of notables including Colleen McCullough, author of many Roman-themed best-selling novels, and T. P. Wiseman, university professor of Roman history and former vice-president of the British Academy.

Historical contexts[edit]

Revival of things Roman and their co-option for symbolic importance have a long history. Nova Roma (in Latin, literally "New Rome") in its deliberate revival of grandiose remnants of the past thus parallels and echoes other New Romes such as:

• the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire as a surviving embodiment of Roman ideals based on Constantinople (sometimes chartacterised as "New Rome" or the "Second Rome") after the decline of the Roman imperium in the West.^[40]


• the doctrine of the Third Rome as justification for imperial Muscovite and Russian ambitions from the 15th century onwards^[41]


• Mussolini's attempted construction of a Mediterranean-based New Roman Empire (compare Imperial Italy) in the early 20th century^[42]

See also[edit]

• Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism


• Pan-Latinism

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• 
  American Religious Identification Survey," by The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (pdf)


• McColman, Carl. 2002. The Complete Idiot's Guide (R) to Paganism, Alpha Books. ISBN 0-02-864266-X
  


• Dennis A. Trinkle, Scott A. Merriman. M.E. Sharpe, 2002. US history highway, Volume 1. ISBN 0-7656-0907-X
  


• Danese, Roberto/Bacianini, Andrea/Torino, Alessio. 2003. Weni, widi, wici: tra 'volumen" e byte, Guaraldi. ISBN 88-8049-209-8
  


• Strmiska, Michael. 2005. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, ABC-CLIO. ISBN


• Davy, Barbara Jane. 2006. Introduction to Pagan Studies, Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0-7591-0819-6
  


• Dennis A. Trinkle, Scott A. Merriman. M.E. Sharpe, 2006. The history highway: a 21st-century guide to Internet resources. ISBN 0-7656-1631-9
  


• Dixon, Suzanne. 2007. Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Routledge. ISBN 0-415-33148-X
  

External links[edit]

• Official website