GOALS OF THE JULIAN SOCIETY

III. To continue the Emperor Julian's plan and works to restore Paganism to its rightful place as a major and respected world religion. 

The Emperor Julian seems to have approached the restoration of Paganism in three basic ways. The first was Rebuilding - repairing and replacing Pagan infrastructure that had been damaged or destroyed. The second was Reorganizing - changing the way Pagan religion was organized so that it could respond to outside competition and attack for the first time. The third approach involved Revitalizing Pagan religion. Julian worked to inspire a disorganized and often weary Pagan populace with renewed hope for a positive future, and renewed faith in the power of the Gods and our connection to them.  

Julian's efforts were diffused throughout the Roman world and consisted of many goals both large and small. Some of the most important are presented here:

REBUILDING

By Julian's time, Christianity had already eliminated a vast amount of public Pagan property and community standing. Temples were unused or converted into churches, shrines were abandoned or destroyed. The Pagan priesthoods still existed but were rapidly dwindling in number as the state no longer supported or approved their existence.  While public funds were being given to build Christianity, public funds were no longer available for Paganism.


I. Julian's first goal was to reopen the closed temples, and reclaim the temples which had been converted to other uses. He understood that a public religion needs public places to practice. The home worship of his day, (family worship at the home shrine (lararium) was not enough to maintain Paganism in the face of a competing religion which made good use of public events and space to promote itself.

II. Julian's second goal was to recruit people for the priesthood. (This in addition to reorganizing the priesthood itself.) The Roman populace needed learned and respectable leaders for public religion, and obviously many Pagan priests had converted or left public life under Constantine and Constantius.

III. Julian's third goal was to raise funds for Paganism. The Christian church had made very good use indeed of its three decades of Public Funding. Julian shut that off, but still had to try and revive a weakened Paganism. He funded many projects out of his own purse and asked the same of others.

REORGANIZING

The Emperor Julian saw a great need to reorganize Pagan religion as a response to Christianity. Ancient systems that had worked for centuries had been found to be completely ineffective against a determined rival system. Christianity had found the "weak spots" in Classical religion and exploited them successfully. Julian now wanted to close those gaps so that no further damage could be done.

1. Reorganizing the Priesthood - Julian and others saw clearly that the Christian priesthood had been much more successful with the people than the older Pagan forms of priesthood. Most of the important Roman priesthoods were governmental offices. Some were even elected for a short term! Such offices had become little more than a formality by Julian's time, and they were no match for a fanatic Christian priesthood who held their positions for life.

Julian worked to restructure many aspects of the Priesthood. The first was overall organization. It was important to restore the credibility of the Pagan priesthood by making sure that the positions were not empty offices. Priesthood was chosen by merit rather than by rote, and for personal commitment. Terms were for life.

II. Renewing the foundations of Priesthood.  - The Emperor Julian did a great deal to change the basic foundation of what pagan priesthood was about. His goal was to gain the same level of credibility with the populace that the Christian priesthood now enjoyed. Belief became a more important focus, as did willingness to work with the people (ministering). Julian encouraged VERY strict personal standards for Pagan priesthood, encouraging leadership by positive example. Through this  duties of the Priesthood changed. Priests were no longer just servants of the Gods and leaders of ritual... they were also to be the there to work with the religious faithful. 

III. Expanding the duties of Priesthood - In ancient tradition, the Pagan priesthood was responsible only for performing rites to the Gods. By Julian's time it was obvious that Paganism had lost ground through this narrow focus, and that the religion of the Galileans had gained by having a more active role in the lives of the people. Julian in his letters exhorted his Priesthood to engage in such community acts as providing charity for the poor, encouraging people to convert back to the ancient traditions, and to be champions of resistance toward those attacking the worship of the ancient Gods. 

REVITALIZING

Julian understood well the demoralizing effects that internal disorganization, and constant attack and slander from outside had upon the Pagans of his time. Pagans were finding that it was easier to abandon the old Goddesses and Gods and embrace the new faith than to remain loyal. With no opportunities to gather publicly, and a dwindling priesthood unable to champion the cause - there was continually less cohesion keeping the Pagan population together. The Gods and their ways seemed unable to stand against the problems assailing on all sides. 

I. Focus on the Gods - Julian, in consort with other Pagans of his time, worked continually to remind all that the Gods are beings of honor, strength, and beauty that bring all that is positive to our world. Julian's writings and works sought to reinforce the positive nature of the Gods and the rightness of our connection to them. 

II. Restoring ancient Rites - The Emperor Julian believed that the ancient rites to and worship of the Gods was crucial to the nature of Pagan religion. He worked to restore the ancient rites as quickly as possible, both to empower his attempts to restore the worship of the Gods, and to help rebuild the bonds between the Gods and the world which had been damaged by  'Galilean atheism'. 

III. Education and Inspiration - Julian worked to 're-position' Pagan religion in the minds of the citizens of the Roman world - a world that had been subject to three decades of negative propaganda toward pagan religion and the Gods. Julian sought to argue against that propaganda, even as he strove to lead by positive example. Julian sought to inspire people through many ways - presenting Paganism in the light of philosophical wisdom and the Mysteries, as well as exhorting the virtues of ancient tradition and piety. By focusing on ancient religion in new ways he sought to rebuild the hallowed image of ancient Classical tradition. 

The Julian Society therefore seeks to continue Julian's works as faithfully to the original intent as is possible. We seek to rebuild the ancient infrastructure of Pagan religion, We seek to reorganize our efforts to make them applicable to current needs, and we seek to educate and inspire those who seek the Gods toward the importance of Pagan religion.