Greetings all,

Byzantium Novum has done well in April 2011! We now stand at 166 Citizens, a gain of 10 this last month! This is a great sign that the word about Byzantium Novum is getting out there. Thanks to everyone who has recommended our small nation to their friends!!

Speaking of "friends", we now have 1890 Facebook friends, which widens our regular online communication circle for news and updates. We are also now more active on Twitter, and have had several people sign up to receive our "tweets" this month.

This month has been a busy one for many of our Citizens, especially with Easter and commemoration of the Siege of Constantinople which continues through May 29th, the date of the final fall of the City.

The other big date in the coming month is May 11, the anniversary of the founding ceremony of Constantinople, which was decreed by Constantine I in 330 AD. This city wide ceremony was presided over by the priesthood of both the old and new faiths, and Constantinople was made sacred with the burial of sacred objects under the Pillar of Constantine.

The coming month of May is especially meaningful in Byzantium Novum, in that it is a time to remember both the original founding and the final ending of the Byzantine Empire. This time is an opportunity for us to commemorate the fall of old Byzantium, and to continue the work of rebuilding a new Byzantine civilization worldwide!

We encourage the Citizens of Byzantium Novum to celebrate Byzantine history and also to remember Byzantium, both old and new, in our prayers. Together we can make this a true time of renewal for this ancient civilization.

Hail Byzantium!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President
Byzantium Novum

Greetings all,

March was the "first month" of our second year and it was a very good one for Byzantium Novum. Our main forum, the Senate and our business forums have all been quite active! Currently Byzantium Novum has a total of 156 Citizens, a gain of 6 for the month. Our Facebook contacts now number 1842, so 56 new people have found and "friended" us this month.

The biggest news for March 2011 is that the Senate has just approved the first official "colony" of Byzantium Novum: the Colony of "Megalopotamia," which comprises the modern US states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

This is actually a huge step for us. It means we now have enough "citizens on the ground" in one area for them to be within reasonable travel distance of each other so they can gather for group meetings and events! From the start the goal of Byzantium Novum has been to get people together about "things Byzantine" in the physical world as well as online.

Our new nation project has already had one "physical" meeting of citizens in this last year, and the new Colony is an exciting step. Now that we have several new Counts (formally Eparchs) helping to coordinate other areas we will hopefully be able to add other new Colonies over the next few months!

In other news, the Byzantium Novum Chancellery has created an official "handbook" to help our new Counts and other local officers build a Byzantine presence in their local area. Many thanks are due to Senator Baduila Chalkas for creating this project, and Senator Amma Doukaina for her assistance also!

Senator Marcus Audens has also done some great new work on behalf of the Militarium in his Byzantine blog, located at: http://ByzantiumNovumMilitarium.blogspot.com and it is great to see historical research being done here!

In April, Byzantium Novum will begin commemorating the Fall of Constantinople from the siege which lasted from April 6th, 1453 until May 29th, 1453 AD. In May we will also be commemorating the founding of Constantinople, which was officially done on May 11, 330 AD.

May Byzantium Novum and it's Citizens have an active and prosperous Spring!


-Marcus Cassius Julianus
Senate President, Byzantium Novum