This site is dedicated to restoring the "forgotten religion" of Late
Classical Pagan worship in the Byzantine Empire. It is a little known fact that
Pagan religion was still practiced throughout the Byzantine era, yet the
Goddesses and Gods of Greece and Rome continued to be honored. Pagan religion
survived past the founding of
Constantinople as the capital of Rome in 324 AD through to - and even
beyond - the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.
This 1,129 year period was more than the "long twilight" of
ancient faith. It was a time of transition from public Pagan rites to private prayer, ritual and offering. The Byzantine era was
the time of the greatest ancient Pagan piety as pagans continued to honor the
ancient Goddesses and Gods even under threat of death. It is a time to honor and build from, not to
mourn and ignore.
Scholars have noted that there
was still organized Byzantine Pagan resistance to persecution during the reign of Maurice
Tiberius in 602 AD, and that at that time much of the Byzantine population was
still Pagan.
John Zonaras, a Byzantine chronicler who held the position of Head
Justice under Alexious I Komnenos in 1118 AD wrote that the religious
practices of the Hellenes were still common even in that late time!
It is known
that the Neoplatonist philosopher
Gemistus Pletho was openly advocating a return
to the ancient faiths in 1450, and that his students were publicly praying to
the Pagan deities in the Byzantine city of Mystras (the "second capital of
Byzantium") in 1453 - the year Constantinople fell.
The lost history of Byzantine Pagan worship is
extremely valuable for those who still honor the Ancient Goddesses and Gods today. It is the
pagan tradition which continued into the beginning of the modern era, after
paganism was supposedly long dead. It is a direct link between the ancient and
modern worlds - and a path by which the ancient faiths may be restored today.
As a part of working toward becoming a modern Byzantine
successor state,
Byzantium Novum has made provision for restoring Byzantine
Paganism as a modern religious path. We are working to establish a living
spiritual community and Priesthood honoring the ancient deities worldwide, that all
the faiths of the Eastern Roman Empire may be reborn.
Here, rites to the ancient deities continue and the ancient faiths remain alive. Here the ancient priesthoods
are being rebuilt and ancient religious community restored. We invite you
to join us in renewing this small spiritual spark into a bright flame once
again!
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