Marcus Moravius Piscinus Horatianus (Election MMDCCLIX)

Salvete Quirites

I, Marcus Moravius Horatianus, don the toga candida and humbly enter the Forum once more, this time as candidate for Consul of our Res Publica.

Nova Roma, it should be understood, is part of a much wider community of Roman enthusiasts than just its own current members. The Census of 2005 showed how Nova Roma has had a turn over of 80% of its membership during the past five-year period. Former citizens may have left Nova Roma itself, but they remain part of the same wider community in which Nova Roma shares. The challenge before Nova Roma today is to be a community of Romanitas for its own citizens, to welcome back former members, and to attract new members from this wider community of which we are a part.

I was first elected Tribunus Plebis for the year 2001. Health issues and other personal issues required that I resign from office, and my citizenship from Nova Roma as well, after serving for only two and a half months. For the past five years I have been involved with various Roman communities, mainly teaching others about the religio Romana. I have been a member of the Board of Advisores to the Temple Religio Romana, and twice served as Consul in the Societas Via Romana as well as Rector of SVR's Collegium Religiosum. I taught courses at Academia Thules for which, in 2004, the Senate of Nova Roma paid me the honor of special recognition for my work. This was a very special honor for me personally, and much of a surprise, as I was not then a citizen of Nova Roma. Later then I became Decanus of the religious Studies Program at Academia Thules. And there are other Roman communities with which I have been involved, either on line or in person, performing Roman ritual or lending my views on Romanitas. I returned as a citizen of Nova Roma in June 2005, serving then as scriba to Censor Fabius Buteo Quintillius, on whose behalf I directed the effort made in conducting the Census of 2005. For this current year of 2006 I have been serving once more as Tribunus Plebis, as Procurator and Sacredos in provincia Lacus Magni, and as a scriba to Aedilis Curulis Titus Sabinus for the Magna Mater Project. Typical of others, my sojourn has been one that took me through many parts of our wider community of Roman enthusiasts before returning to our Res Publica of Nova Roma. I am grateful for the reception I have received upon my return, meeting once more with old friends and making new friends. At the same time I am aware of others, some former members of Nova Roma and others who have not yet been introduced to our Res Publica, who could be welcomed additions to our community. Nova Roma is a social, educational, and religious organizations. Each aspect of Nova Roma needs to be revitalized and developed further. This is not some thing that can be done by proposing new laws, distracting our attention into online debates, but rather must be addressed in the manner by which we conduct Nova Roma affairs. In order to provide for our Citizens, we shall have to refocus our attention on a local level. In that way we shall reinforce the social bonds that hold our Citizens together while they in turn attract new members. We also, from the central level, have to better assist and provide for local communities of our Citizens.

One area of concern that I think we will need to take up in the coming is a reorganization of our provincial system. Suggested by the Census 2005 is that provincial organization should be based in local communites rather than according to arbitrarily drawn boundaries. In 2007 another census shall be held, and what will be needed is to formulate how information gained from that census may be used. This is a matter that has been discussed by magistrates over the past two years, and I will later provide my ideas on the issue.

Another thing that we should do is to focus on specific projects, with delineated goals by which to measure our progress. Nova Roma has one such project already in the Magna Mater Project. Individual Citizens have taken it upon themselves to found a Roman podcast, to establish religious sanctuaries, and to perform other activities. We need to develop more projects, some at a very local level, in order to engage our Citizens and to help further develop Nova Roma's community. Changing our focus over to projects will go hand in hand with reorganizing our provinciae.

More is needed from the central organization in providing informational support to local communities and to individuals. Primarily our informational resources can be found in our sodalitates and Collegium. We have relied perhaps too much on individuals referring to our website for informational support. I would like to see instead the Consules work with our sodalitates and Collegium Pontificum to coordinate active dissemination of our informational resources down to local levels, through our Propraetores, in order to foster monthly activities.

It will be by local gatherings of our Citizens, engaging in activities, that will inspire projects for all of our Citizens to participate in. This will in turn eventually build a stronger community, one that is more stable than a community based primarily in online activity, and will then in turn attract new members into our Res Publica as they see what Nova Roma can provide. This is a long range plan for revitalizing Nova Roma. The means are already in place. We need only to lay a foundation in the coming year for managing and coordinating our efforts. I hope that you wil see in me one of the Consules needed to steer Nova Roma back in this direction of local involvement and future growth.

Valete et vadete in pace Deorum

M Moravius Piscinus Horatianus

Flamen Carmentalis

Tribunus Plebis

Procurator Lacus Magni

Sacerdos Lacus Magni

Scriba Aedile TIS: Magna Mater Project

Decanus Facultatis Theologiae, Academia Thules