Library >> The Banner of Peace
The Banner of Peace
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PAX
CULTURA "Where there is Peace, there is Culture; Where there is Culture, there is Peace." - Nicholas Roerich |
The Banner of Peace is the official flag in use around the world by members
of the Planet Art Network and World Thirteen Moon Calendar Change Peace
Movement. It is displayed at all events, gatherings, and centers which
promote natural time and planetary peace.
The Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace was designed by Russian artist and
humanitarian, Nicholas Roerich (1874 - 1947) as a response to the destruction
of the first world war and the Russian Revolution.
It is an international treaty signed by India, the Baltic states, and
22 nations of the Americas including the United States. The Roerich Peace
Pact established an international agreement allowing any nation to protect
its cultural or artistic heritage with a symbolic banner, the Banner of
Peace. Signed in 1935, this treaty is international law today.
Just as the Red Cross protects hospitals, the Banner of Peace was implemented
to protect culture.
Written with the assistance of international experts and lawyers, the
Banner of Peace was praised by many notable figures during its signing
including Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, and H.G. Wells. The Pact
states, "educational, artistic, and scientific institutions... shall
be protected and respected by the belligerents ... without any discrimination
as to the state allegiance of any particular institution or mission...
these missions may display a distinctive flag (the Banner of Peace)..
which will entitle them to special protection and respect..." Thus
any site of cultural activity around the world can fly the Banner of Peace
to declare itself neutral, independent of combatant forces, and protected
by international treaty.
Nicholas Roerich was an artist and travelled extensively through Russia,
India, Tibet, and the United States. He hoped by using a symbol that represented
all cultures no group would feel excluded from using it. The Banner would
have not one but several meanings, as Nicholas Roerich himself wrote:
"Let us be united - you will ask in what way?
You will agree with me: in the easiest way,
to create a common and sincere language.
Perhaps in Beauty and in Knowledge."
The distinctive Banner is three red circles surrounded by a larger red
circle on a white banner. The banner is a deep red or magenta color to
symbolize the color of our one blood, which is the same for all peoples.
The top circle represents spirituality and encompasses the truth of all
religions, that we can all unite regardless of our distinct beliefs. The
two circles on the bottom represent art and science. The circle that surrounds
the three spheres represents culture, the unity of art, science, and spirituality.
In 1993, Peace Pilgrims José and Lloydine Argüelles revived
awareness of the Roerich Pact by using the Banner of Peace to represent
the aims of the World Thirteen Moon Calendar Change Peace Movement and
the Planet Art Network. With the strength of its historic and international
validity, the Planet Art Network has reactivated this symbol, bringing
its message of Peace to the Vatican, the United Nations, as well as several
world leaders, in efforts to promote global calendar change. Argüelles
expanded Roerich's original motto to read "PAX CULTURA, PAX BIOSPHERICA",
adding an emphasis that we must protect the Biosphere, the Mother
of all Culture. "Peace through Culture. Peace with the Biosphere."
The symbol for the Banner of Peace can be found in many cultures and numerous
philosophical systems. It can be found on the coat of arms of the Popes,
on Ethiopian and Coptic antiquities, and stone age amulets. It also appears
on Tibetan rings, Buddhist banners, the Temple of Heaven in Peking and
in the oldest of Indian symbols, the Chintamani, the sign of happiness.
Found in all cultures, the Banner of Peace is the perfect symbol
to bring all peoples together in peace.
More information about the Roerich Peace Pact can be found at
the website
of the Nicholas Roerich Museum.