Citizens of Nova Roma

Citizens of Nova Roma are official members of the Nova Roma corporation. However, regardless of official membership, all people who identify as Romans are spiritual members of the revived New Roman nation. This renascent Roman People, consecrated as native Romans by the Pignora Imperii, is the spiritual owner of Nova Roma. This means that Nova Roma does not belong only to its official members, but to anyone who considers themselves a Roman wherever in the world, with a special emphasis of respect toward those living in the former territory of the Roman Empire, especially those of the Romance languages and nationalities.

While anyone identifying as Roman in our modern world is considered to be part of Nova Roma, only full citizenship (official membership) grants any actual legal status and rights within the res publica, the corporation of Nova Roma, and only citizens enjoy various rights pertaining to citizenship.

Census-registered citizens: cives censi

Cives censi, also called "active citizens," are those who have registered in the previous census of Nova Roma which is held twice in every 5-year period, at the end of a 30-month period. Only those citizens can exercize their civic rights (membership rights) in Nova Roma who register on the census. Those who fail to register on the census, whatever type of citizenship they possess, suffer various consequences: their citizenship rights get suspended and they loose their census points which can be recovered only gradually in a 5-year long period. If a civis incensus realizes that he or she has missed the census, they should ask the Censorial Office for reinstatement of their civic rights as soon as possible.

An assiduus (assidua, female, assidui, plural), is a taxpayer citizen of Nova Roma. "Taxes" in Nova Roma are voluntary based optional donations (not obligatory for membership) that are used to advance the mission and function of the organization.

An assiduus citizen is a member of the social elite of Nova Roma, a privilege open to all citizens who are dedicated enough to pay the small amount of "tax" (voluntary and optional membership fee) of Nova Roma. Assiduus citizens are hierarchically grouped into 5 classes, and further distributed among the 22 centuries within the classes, and within 15 rural tribes, whereas capite census citizens (citizens not paying the taxes) are distributed into the remaining 4 urban tribes and into the one single proletarian century. These distributions ensure the Roman principle that assidui have an overwhelming voting power in all comitia, but specially in the comitia centuriata.

Taxation and assuiduus status was introduced into Nova Roma by the lex Vedia de assiduis et capite censis in Fl. Vedio (II) M. Cassio (II) cos. ‡ MMDCCLIV a.u.c., and the first taxes (which are in fact voluntary donations) were collected in M. Octavio L. Sulla (II) cos. ‡ MMDCCLV a.u.c., the year when assidui of Nova Roma were first registered. Assiduitas is also defined in article I.C.9 of the lex Cornelia Domitia de re publica constituenda, which serves as the constitution of Nova Roma. The distribution of both assidui and capite censi is governed by the lex Arria Tullia de classibus et centuriis et de tribubus novis.

Plebeians (plebeius: "member of the plebs (stuffing, Lat.)") were originally immigrants to Rome after its foundation and inhabitants of conquered territories around the city. In Nova Roma plebeians are members of the those gentes that joined later.

New citizens of Nova Roma will be plebeians. Access to the patrician order is by birth or adoption into a patrician family.

Regarding rights and privileges, functionally there is almost no difference between patricians and plebeians. Patrician status is just a way to honor those families which came on-board at a very early stage of Nova Roma and were therefore instrumental in our early history. In fact, there are a few magistracies (such as the tribunus plebis and aedilis plebis) that can only be occupied by citizens of the plebeian order, and only plebeians can participate and vote in the comitia plebis tributa, which makes plebeians more powerful than patricians.

The Constitution of Nova Roma states that there are three orders equal under the eyes of the law, the plebeian, equestrian and patrician, and says about the plebeian order:

The ordo equester (equestrian order or knightly order) of Nova Roma consist of the highest standing citizens who excel in their service to the republic, either by public service, or by financial contribution to the treasury. A knight (or equestrian) in Latin is called an "eques" (in plural: equites). In ancient Rome, the ordo equester was originally made up of those citizens who could afford their own horses and equipment, who would then make up the cavalry of the army. During the republic, the equites became the elite club of citizens. In Nova Roma, we have adopted the ordo equester to encourage contributions and activity in service of our community, and to reward those who sacrificed the most and worked the hardest way for our res publica.

Citizens of Lacus Magni