Third Rome

"Modernity" – Marina Reich

Third Rome |
Tuesday – February 3, 2026

There's been much discussion historically and on the internet about the concept of a "Third Rome", and at least three states have claimed this title, and they include: The Holy Roman Empire, The Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire. Now, I have no interest in attempting to adjudicate whether any of these historical entities had more or less of a claim to this title, but I find the concept of a Third Rome interesting for a couple of reasons. First, if there's a Third Rome, shouldn't there be a second Rome? What about a Fourth Rome? Of course, the First Rome, if you will, was the old Roman Empire that existed from the time of late classical antiquity until the extreme early dawn of the Middle Ages, and the collapse of this Empire marks, according the the scholars, a temporary readjustment of the metaphysical order; it should also be noted that many of the modern confusions that reign supreme were first developed in the time of classical antiquity and especially expressed in ancient Rome. From about 395 anno domini (a.d.) the Roman Empire was split into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, which later became the Byzantine Empire, and generally it is this Byzantine Empire that is thought of as a kind of "Second Rome", and while some scholars may claim that the Western Roman Empire was the true "Second Rome", especially since the city of Rome was located in this part of the Empire, it's clear that the essential character of the Roman Empire carried on in the east, especially since the Catholic traditions that came to temporarily readjust the metaphysical order meant a divide in the Church. Of course, in the wake of the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered into a period known among the moderns as the "Dark Age", but really this age was actually quite the opposite of a Dark Age, but more on that point at another time. I just quickly need to deal with the Holy Roman Empire: yes, it was claimed by many that this Holy Roman Empire was the Third Rome, but in my view I believe that it is important to understand the development and establishment of Christianity in Europe apart from the Roman Empire, and to that extend I view the Roman Empire a metaphysical precursor to Christianity and something that enabled Christianity through it's decline, rather than through its essence, and therefore I believe that one should guard against the tendency, so common among Christians who merely believe without the proper knowledge of the priesthood, of glorifying this past. In my view, the Holy Roman Empire represented a temporary departure from a kind of metaphysical deviation that was set in motion at the opening of this era, the Kali Yuga, a deviation that very much was fostered in the ancient world, and that was only really understood at the very end of the Roman Empire, but I also need to add that this deviation was far less expressed in ancient times, and that surely most men of the Roman Empire still possessed some of that primordial essence, but it is my view that most of them played the part in promoting this deviation and that the Holy Roman Empire represented a temporary halt of the confusions that this deviation has enabled. Of course, in discussing the Third Rome, I would be remiss if I also didn't mention the Vatican (The Holy See, which is the modern and confused term): it's clearly the case that the Vatican more than any other entity has carried on whatever transmission of that primordial essence the Roman Empire still represented, but in comparison to something such as Hyperborea, the Roman Empire was also closer to our times, at least on the metaphysical dimension, but again thinking of Hyperborea merely as a symbol is useful but also a materialist application of truth and knowledge; the thought that something can represent two or more things at once is hard to grasp for the modern mind, but this should be expected since the modern mind has been primed for negativism.

    Is Rome then, in terms of symbolism, a good symbol? I refuse to deal with these matters in black and white, but overall I believe that most men of even a small amount of conscience tend to do right by understanding Rome from the perspective of a Western civilization in decline, but far too often these men fail to understand the whole picture; it is not a matter of Rome being an ideal, because Rome was after all a civilization only possible in the particular time and milieu that it emerged in and such a civilization in the modern world would quite simply not be of any meaning. This is why the contemporary world should be considered a "post-Roman" world: by this I mean that the Modern world, generally Western civilization, ought to be understood as a Christian civilization, because to most modern men the doctrines of Christianity are most familiar and most likely to be understood and appreciated; generally, Pagan traditions are completely forgotten and lost to history in the west, but this need not be the case with Christianity, and it is from this point that the Roman Empire should be understood, as a bridge between two cycles making up the large Cycle that is the Kali Yuga, a transitional phase so to speak, and we are currently living in one of these transitional periods, or really we have been living in a transitional phase since at least the 15th century culminating with the modern world.

    Lastly, I do want to make it clear that I do not believe that any Fourth Rome is possible or necessary in the pursuit of cosmological readjustment, and I believe that any such attempt would be futile. This is not a matter of terrestrial and temporal power; if anything this is a matter of a metaphysical crisis, and all attempts to restore a previous metaphysical order by temporal powers must be doomed to fail, since lesser castes, if you will, may not understand the nature of the superior caste. The metaphysical crisis in the west is a crisis of knowledge coming from within the priesthood; the only thing an attempt to restore "normal" conditions coming from men of lesser knowledge and capability could achieve is a further erosion of doctrinal application in the terrestrial domain, and yes the democratic confusion is the result of this, an inversion of the metaphysical order. Let Third Rome be a symbol of doctrinal manifestation in the terrestrial domain; this is the only purpose of my involvement and interest in this topic.

Reginald Drax – February 3, 2026.