Struggle for the sacred colleges (Nova Roma)

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The month of Februarius MMDCCLXI saw the loss of several long-serving priests and senators, mostly due to a struggle to control of the Collegium Pontificum and Collegium Augurum.

In the January session, the Senate had voted 23-4 with 3 abstaining to approve a Senatus Consultum forbidding owners of any official mailing list to deny membership as an observer to any Senator who wished it. With this in hand, Consul Piscinus demanded that Pontifex Maximus M. Cassius Iulianus add Senators to the Collegium Pontificum list. Cassius saw this demand as rude and improper, and delayed doing so, eventually deleting the entire list rather than comply with the Consultum.

As the debate grew increasingly heated, two long-standing citizens voluntarily resigned their citizenships and offices, two were removed from their offices and another voluntarily resigned from the Senate.

C. Iulius Scaurus

On a.d. IV Kal. Feb. ‡, Pontifex C. Iulius Scaurus, in a posting to the Collegium Pontificum list, voluntarily resigned his offices and citizenship in protest of the "Christians, atheists, and political appointees" attempting to assert control over the priesthood, presumably in response to the Senatus Consultum. [1]

M. Octavius Gracchus

On prid. Non. Feb. ‡, Senator and Consular M. Octavius Gracchus, in a posting to the main list, resigned from the Senate and "retired to private life", citing his disgust with the "scheming" and "paranoia" of persons he had once liked and respected. Octavius had been among the first ten people to join Nova Roma in Fl. Vedio M. Cassio cos. ‡ MMDCCLI a.u.c., and had been an active Senator since Q. Maximo M. Minucio cos. ‡ MMDCCLIII a.u.c.. He had recently been voted a message of thanks for his services by the Senate, making his departure all the more tragic.

L. Equitius Cincinnatus

On a.d. X Kal. Mar. ‡, Senator, Consular and Pontifex L. Equitius Cincinnatus Augur was stripped of all his titles and even his Assiduus status, being demoted to the status of Capite Censi, resulting from a legal action initiated by Pontifex and Censor Modianus, for refusing to admit the latter to mailing lists owned by Lucius Equitius. Not only did the Praetores - both members of Censor K. Buteo Modianus's cohort - issue a default judgement against Lucius Equitius, but they added an additional penalty to the sentence due to his refusal to participate in the trial: he was fined $300, the most severe punishment in Nova Roma's history, for the charge of failing to appear for trial.

The harsh treatment of Lucius Equitius caused the recently-departed Octavius to return to the main list, and to inform the Censores that the free technical support he had been providing "stops, now". Censor Ti. Galerius Paulinus, as advocatus for Lucius Equitius, demanded the right of provocatio. Cn. Iulius Caesar also became an outspoken advocate of justice for Lucius Equitius. In a message to the main list, Lucius Equitius accepted accepted Paulinus as advocate.

As of this writing, the matter is unresolved, and the outcome uncertain.

M. Cassius Julianus

prid. Kal. Mar. ‡, publication of Collegium Pontificum voting results revealed that Pater Patriae M. Cassius Julianus had been removed from the offices of Pontifex Maximus and Pontifex by a 6 to 1 vote. Pontifices M. Cassius Iulianus and L. Equitius Cincinnatus were not recorded as having voted, though both had been invited to the list a.d. VII Kal. Mar. ‡.

Cassius was removed the day after the tenth anniversary of his founding of Nova Roma, marring the anniversary celebrations.

a.d. XV Kal. Sept. ‡ Marcus Minucius Audens posted the following message to Nova-Roma Announce [2]:

Patricia Cassia

Patricia Cassia, Senatrix for eight years, long-serving CFO of Nova Roma, had been threatened with legal action by Consul M. Piscinus in January for alleged slowness in transferring financial control to the new CFO. On a posting to the NovaRoma-Announce list a.d. VI Kal. Apr. ‡, she resigned citizenship without an explanation. This announcement came a day after a new Pontifex Maximus was appointed to the position that Patricia's husband, M. Cassius Iulianus, had created and held for exactly ten years.