Today I did the "Pilgrim's Tour" of Rome. I stopped by San Giovanni in Laterano - which is the first Christian church in Rome. Before it was built, wealthy Christians opened their homes for Sunday Mass. The interesting thing about this church is that it's the Bishop of Rome's home church - and the Bishop of Rome is, you guessed it, the Pope. Apparently the Pope isn't even officially the Pope until he sits in this massive chair in the apse of this church. Shhh, don't tell anyone, but it looks just like a throne.
Right next to the church were the Scala Santa - the Holy Stairs. These are the 28 steps of Pontius Pilate's house in Jerusalem that Jesus climbed the day he was sentenced to death. Emperor Constantine's mom brought them to Rome. Today pilgrims to this site climb these stairs (now covered with wood) on their knees to do penance.
Next up was the Santa Maria Maggiore. This church's claim to fame is their relic - a nice chunk of wood from The Manger. Yep, the one Baby Jesus slept in.
But the coolest church I visited today was San Clemente - it showed the entire history of Rome on one site.
The top part is a 12th century church with some really beautiful detailed mosaics. Right underneath the church is an older fourth century church that was recently excavated. It has a wonderful fresco of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus that looks like it came from a Russian Orthodox church.
And under that, is a pagan temple dedicated to Mithras! The temple wasn't very big (there were 30,000 gods in Rome at the time so I guess they had to conserve space). Right next to it is what they think is a typical Roman house with a handful of rooms and running water! They had access to an underground spring right in their house.
Say what you will about pagans, those Romans were pretty smart.
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| San Giovanni in Laterano The very first Christian Church in Rome - I think it's been renovated a couple of times. |
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| The Bishop's Chair |
Right next to the church were the Scala Santa - the Holy Stairs. These are the 28 steps of Pontius Pilate's house in Jerusalem that Jesus climbed the day he was sentenced to death. Emperor Constantine's mom brought them to Rome. Today pilgrims to this site climb these stairs (now covered with wood) on their knees to do penance.
Next up was the Santa Maria Maggiore. This church's claim to fame is their relic - a nice chunk of wood from The Manger. Yep, the one Baby Jesus slept in.
But the coolest church I visited today was San Clemente - it showed the entire history of Rome on one site.
The top part is a 12th century church with some really beautiful detailed mosaics. Right underneath the church is an older fourth century church that was recently excavated. It has a wonderful fresco of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus that looks like it came from a Russian Orthodox church.
And under that, is a pagan temple dedicated to Mithras! The temple wasn't very big (there were 30,000 gods in Rome at the time so I guess they had to conserve space). Right next to it is what they think is a typical Roman house with a handful of rooms and running water! They had access to an underground spring right in their house.
Say what you will about pagans, those Romans were pretty smart.
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| Mosaics from San Clemete |
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| New sighting of the the Lamp Copter! |
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| The Temple of Mithras Doesn't that sound like it belongs in an Indian Jones movie? |
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