"New Rome"

Nova Roma or "New Rome" is a concept within the Pontifical Church and Pontifical States which posits that after the fall of the Vatican City the Church needs to be strongly and favorably tied to the economic, cultural, and military center of the Doggerlands for its own proliferation and protection, similar to the position of the early Church in the Roman Empire.

Proposed Cities

Several candidates have been proposed for what city or state can claim to be the New Rome.

Ekklesiovsk

Traditionalists in Ekklesiovsk recognize Ekklesiovsk and the Pontifical States as the New Rome due to its long history of being the home for the administration and main corpus of the Pontifical Church, and due to the linkage of the state government to the Church's institutions.

Novenae

During the Neu Corporate Republik's (NCR) takeover of the Pontifical States, particularly after the NCR's victory over the Eastern Federal Republic (EFR), several universalists argued that Novenae as Capital of the Republik and center of Doggerland commerce and political activity was to be the New Rome. Under Rokossovsky's pontificate the Church in Novenae expanded rapidly under this idea, including the construction of the largest cathedral on the Doggerlands in the city. The Holy See however remained in Ekklesiovsk following Rokossovsky's death and the Pontifical States' declared independence from the Republik after its collapse in 3021.

Cyrene

After the downfall of the NCR and its reorganization into Paxem, the universalist claims on a New Rome split between newly independent Novenae and the new capitol of Paxem in Cyrene. The Church has seen favorable growth in Cyrene, however it still represents a small minority of the Doggerlands' Pontifical population. A rise in anti-Christian and anti-Holy Roman Empire sentiment in the city following the collapse of several Paxemese dependencies into the Empire's fold has greatly diminished claims for Cyrene as the New Rome.

Balancin Kingdoms

Following the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Maximillian Augustus, the Pontifical Church and States became closely tied to the Emperor's seat of government in the Balancin Kingdoms. Going so far as to acquire a permanent territory within the Kingdoms, the Church has invested greatly in securing for itself larger military and political power by means of the Kingdoms, making it the most prominently argued proposed declaration for a New Rome in the current international scene.