The NSIR: Part 1

What's in a Name?

Saint Maurice, Patron Saint of Chivalry

Hail, readers! As some of you may or may not know, I've been hard at work on a constitution for the Imperium recently. Unfortunately, every man must learn his weaknesses at some point and I've certainly discovered one of mine: writing legal jargon. My prose is simply far too flowery for legal papers. So, the official Constitutio is on hold as of now. However, I am still seized by the same sense of urgency that propelled me to write it. Ergo, I have decided to write a series of posts explaining what exactly we are. All readers are encouraged to share the post; even if you hate it, I really don't mind. Bad Publicity is still publicity, after all. The main goal is to develop a platform of sorts for us, so that we can with confidence know why we're here and what we're doing.

So, what better place to start than the beginning: why we are named what we are named.

 

 

Meaning of Our Name: Novum Sacrum Imperium Romanum (New Holy Empire of the Romans/New Holy Roman Empire)

The Phoenix; our official symbol.

Novum (New): We are not a novelty. We are a rebirth and resurrection of the noble tradition of temporal defense of the Church. We are new in that we are a thing unseen in the modern age; we are unheard of and uncommon. We are exceptional in who we are and what we seek to accomplish.

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor

Sacrum (Holy): Our cause is holy; the defense of the sacred. It is an upright thing to protect that which is sacred; to forbid pearls from being cast to the swine. We seek - though at present we do not have it - the blessing of the Church to carry out our mission, as the Holy Roman Empire received to defend Christendom.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Imperium (Empire): An Empire is defined as a geographically extensive group of nation-states and nationalities brought together under a single ruling government. The Hapsburg Monarchy of happy memory embodied the idea of Catholic Imperium in that it brought together numerous nationalities and races without discrimination and united them via their common faith. The Hapsburgs ruled their empire via autonomous rulers and nation-states, all of whom held their allegiance to the monarch. In a similar fashion, this is what we aspire to be. We are a nation of Catholics bound together under the Church who wish to go above and beyond the vulgarity of the world in our aspiration to be Saints and do the will of Christ in the world.

Romanum (Roman): We are Roman in not only that we are Roman Catholics, but also as the Church did when it filled the power vacuum left by the emperor, we are inheritors of Rome's legacy as a force for civilization, justice, and order in the world. We seek to spread the Faith and the Pax Christe across the world as Rome spread Civilization and the Pax Romana.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

In Conclusion

Roman Legion battling the Barbarian Horde

The NSIR seeks to be a militant force of Catholicism. Not seeking to be a pervasive political ideology, but rather a nation born out of already existing Catholicism. From the grass roots, a physical movement of Catholics towards identifying themselves as part of a larger nation (while not necessarily a state) of Catholics. Catholics who wish to live the authentic faith in community with like-minded fellows and have all the comforts, support, and security that comes from just such a thing as a community. We are tired of our voice being silenced, our churches being ransacked, our clergy assaulted, and of our history being maligned in pursuit of a real pervasive and political ideology. We have come together to be unbreakable as one; united we shall stand against the enemies of God, Pope, and Church.