What is Nova Roma?

So many people want Nova Roma to be so many things, that occasionally one is obliged to remind everyone just why Nova Roma was founded, and what are the implications of that foundation.

First, and foremost, Nova Roma was founded as a way to allow the Religio Romana to be practiced as it was in pre-Christian times. Specifically, prior to the removal of the Altar of Victory from the Senate in CE 357.

Everything Nova Roma was supposed to be, and everything it is, flows from that single fundamental purpose. Everything else is secondary.

Which is not to say those other things are unimportant or wrong, or that the non-Pagans who join our Res Publica are somehow second-class citizens, but Nova Roma cannot be understood in its proper context without that fundamental foundation. It is, and always has been, about restoring the Religio Romana.

That said, Nova Roma was formed as an independent nation — a micro-nation — specifically because doing so was the only way to properly allow for a complete restoration of the Religio Romana. Because so much of the Religio was centered around Roman civic life, and consisted of rituals, celebrations, and ceremonies designed to do honor to the Gods on behalf of the whole nation (the Religio Publica, as distinct from the Religio Privata that is done within the home), and because many of those rituals were and are performed by the publicly-elected magistrates, it was necessary to form a government capable of sustaining and supporting that aspect of the Religio Romana.

So…

There has been a lot of talk, for obvious reasons, about the corporate structure and who controls what and what the implications are for Nova Roma and so forth. But hopefully the above history and context will show my readers the truth of that relationship.

Nova Roma is in no way dependent on some corporate entity.

Let me say that again. Nova Roma’s existence, legitimacy, organizational structure, Constitutuon, leges, Collegia, Senate, and magistracies have nothing to do with any corporation. Who is in control of such a corporation is similarly irrelevant to the ongoing business, and the pursuit of the mission and objectives, of Nova Roma.

Now, a corporate entity is indeed needed to get along in today’s world. Such things as being able to collect and disburse money on any kind of useful scale, to get insurance, to rent space, to host Internet and social media presences, etc., are all greatly aided by the existence of some sort of corporate structure. In the case of a United States-based corporation, that would be a non-profit corporation, given Nova Roma’s religious and educational functions.

But never let it be said that Nova Roma’s Constitution, its laws, its magistrates, or its actions are somehow tied to the existence of some US corporate entity. From Nova Roma’s point of view, such a corporate entity is a convenience and a means to the end of fulfilling its purposes.

But when it comes down to it, Nova Roma does not need a corporation to survive or function. It managed for three years before the first corporation was created, and will continue to do so no matter what happens with the current corporate structure. Of course, we all hope for an amicable reconciliation with the current corporate Board of Directors and the government of Nova Roma. No one wants a swift and happy end to the dispute more than I. A warm and useful relationship between Nova Roma and the corporation can only be to the benefit of our Republic.

But Nova Roma is not the corporation, and never has been. Nova Roma is a sovereign nation created to restore the worship of the Gods of Rome, because such worship requires a sovereign nation. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.