In this illustrated book, the renowned Latinist Pierre Grimal examines the multitude of churches in pontifical Rome, rediscovering through them not only the traces of nascent Christianity but also the spirit of the ancient Imperial city. Taken together, the churches of Rome reveal the evolving variations upon a basic architectural typology, while also allowing a dramatic summary of the history of Christianity, with its upheavals, schisms, and spiritual developments.
The annual Lenten pilgrimage to dozens of Rome’s most striking churches is a sacred tradition dating back almost two millennia, to the earliest days of Christianity. Along this historic spiritual pathway, today’s pilgrims confront the mysteries of the Christian faith through a program of biblical and early Christian readings amplified by some of the greatest art and architecture of western civilization. In Roman Pilgrimage, bestselling theologian and papal biographer George Weigel, art historian Elizabeth Lev, and photographer Stephen Weigel lead readers through this unique religious and aesthetic journey with magnificent photographs and revealing commentaries on the pilgrimage’s liturgies, art, and architecture. Through reflections on each day’s readings about faith and doubt, heroism and weakness, self-examination and conversion, sin and grace, Rome’s familiar sites take on a new resonance. And along that same historical path, typically unexplored treasures—artifacts of ancient history and hidden artistic wonders—appear in their original luster, revealing new dimensions of one of the world’s most intriguing and multi-layered cities. A compelling guide to the Eternal City, the Lenten Season, and the itinerary of conversion that is Christian life throughout the year, Roman Pilgrimage reminds readers that the imitation of Christ through faith, hope, and love is the template of all true discipleship, as the exquisite beauty of the Roman station churches invites reflection on the deepest truths of Christianity.
CONTAINS DETAILED PICTURES, DESCRIPTIONS, AND INSTRUCTION FOR OVER FIFTY CHURCHES A guided tour of fifty-one of the most important churches in Rome. Includes a history of each church, descriptions of the interior and exterior, a numbered floor plan, photographs, and details of the church's spiritual, architectural, and artistic treasures. LEARN ABOUT THE ETERNAL CITY Whether you plan on visiting Rome and using this as a guide or reading it to learn about the Eternal City, this book offers the modern pilgrim essential information on the fifty-one most significant churches in the city. Special treatment is given to St. Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, and St. Lawrence Outside-the-Walls.
Rome is filled with churches. It has been the center of the Catholic Church for almost two thousand years. You might know the most famous ones, like Saint Peter's Basilica or St. John Lateran. These churches are amazing. But they are not the only ones. If you are looking for something special to visit on your trip to Rome, pick out a few less know churches. You often find the most amazing and unexpected things inside them. I love showing people these lesser known churches, because you can show people something they did not expect at all. In this guidebook, I take you to all the amazing churches in Rome. I'll tell you all the interesting and funny stories about the big Papal Basilicas, like Saint Peter's, but I will also take you to the lesser known gems, like the San Clemente, where there are two churches built on top of each other and under that you can visit an ancient Roman house. I will show you the Sant'Ignazio, where you will be amazed by the perspective in the ceiling fresco. I'll show you where you have to ring a doorbell so a nun appears behind iron bars that you can pay a euro so she opens the door to an amazing chapel with frescos from the early middle ages. In this eBook, you will find interesting stories about the most important churches in Rome. I'll talk about Saint Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, Saint Paul outside the walls and many more. You will find detailed maps of all the churches, so you will know exactly where to find that Caravaggio painting I have been talking about. Also, the book is filled with pictures, so you know what I am talking about. Churches in this book: Saint Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, Santa Prassede, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria del Popolo, San Clemente, St. Paul outside the Walls, The Pantheon/Santa Maria ad Martyres, Sant'Agnese, Santa Maria dell'Anima, Sant'Ignazio, San Luigi dei Francesi, San Bartholomeo, Cripta dei Cappuccini, Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Scala Sancta and the Santi Quattro Coronati.
Important centres of charity, hospitality and representation, the national churches of Rome were also major hubs of musical production. This collective work is the fruit of several years of largely unpublished research on the musical life of these institutions, considered for the first time as a whole. What it primarily brings to light is the common model which emerged from the interactions between the national churches, as well as between these and other Roman churches, in musical matters - eloquent example of a unifying cultural paradigm. The repertories used by these churches, the ceremonies and celebrations they orchestrated in the teatro del mondo which Rome constituted at the time, their role in the placing of musicians within the city's professional networks are just some of the themes explored in this work. The cultural exchanges between the national churches and the "nations" that they represented in the pontifical city form another important area of investigation: whether musical or devotional, connecting places of worship and private palaces or extending from one side of the Alps to the other, these exchanges reveal the permeability that characterised many national traditions. At the heart of this richly illustrated study are two fundamental lines of inquiry: the fi rst concerns the processes of identity construction developed by communities installed in foreign lands, the second line of inquiry is cultural hybridity. In pursuing these, we aim to further understanding of the dialectics of exchange at work in Rome during the modern period.
With its official recognition by the Roman state, the Christian community suddenly enjoyed the sympathy of the highest authorities, wide public attention and a great afflux, and with imperial support architectural masterpieces were erected, the Lateran Basilica, St. Peter's and San Paolo fuori le mura, whose dimensions and magnificence bore every comparison with pagan sanctuaries. The great rise in martyr worship furthermore prompted the construction of numerous memorial churches outside the city gates, which at the same time served as burial grounds for believers. Rome was transformed from capital of the Empire to capital of Christianity boasting the tombs of the two prime apostles Peter and Paul and numerous other witnesses of Christ. Alongside these monuments of papal and imperial representation, several tituli, parish churches, were founded along the main thoroughfares inside the city to create visible landmarks of Christianity and satisfy the pastoral needs of an ever-growing community. Focusing on these formative centuries of Christianity, from the reign of Constantine until the emergence of the Medieval world order in the Carolingian age, Hugo Brandenburg offers a broad panoramic view of Christian church architecture in Rome from its conception to the establishment of canonical church types. Throughout, the author treats the archaeological remains as speaking testimonies, articulating the intentions, motivations and self-perception of Rome's early Christian community. This lucid and detailed exposition of more than 50 early churches of Rome from the fourth to the seventh century, which draws together archaeological, documentary and literary sources, will appeal to the layman and the specialist alike. It contains an up-to-date bibliography on each subject and gives ample space to the discussion of recent developments in the field, whereby Hugo Brandenburg offers his own well-founded interpretations of the evidence and shows his immense expertise of early Christian architecture. The present work is lavishly illustrated with original plans and drawings and exclusive photographs especially taken for this volume, which allow an unusually detailed visual insight into the sacred architecture of early Christian Rome.
In the second edition of this major work, Dominican theologian Aidan Nichols provides a systematic account of the origins, development and recent history—now updated—of the relations between Rome and all separated Eastern Christians. By the end of the twentieth century, events in Eastern Europe, notably the conflict between the Orthodox and Uniate Churches in the Ukraine and Rumania, the tension between Rome and the Moscow patriarchate over the re-establishment of a Catholic hierarchy in the Russian Federation, and the civil war in the then federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, brought attention to the fragile relations between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, which once had been two parts of a single Communion. At the start of the twenty-first century, in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, a papal visit to Russia—at the symbolic level, a major step forward in the ‘healing of memories’— appears at last a realistic hope. In addition, the schisms separating Rome from the two lesser, but no less interesting, Christian families, the Assyrian (Nestorian) and Oriental Orthodox (Monophysite) Churches, are examined. The book also contains an account of the origins and present condition of the Eastern Catholic Churches—a deeper knowledge of which, by their Western brethren, was called for at the Second Vatican Council as well as by subsequent synods and popes. Providing both historical and theological explanations of these divisions, this illuminating and thought-provoking book chronicles the recent steps taken to mend them in the Ecumenical Movement and offers a realistic assessment of the difficulties (theological and political) which any reunion would experience.
This warm anecdotal guide gives legends and traditions of both the popular sites of Rome as well as little-known places of historical significance. Written by an internationally known expert and veteran of fifty visits to the Eternal City. Color illustrations, photos and maps are included.
Placing the biblical book of Romans in its historical and cultural context, Reta Halteman Finger here creates a simulation of the Roman house churches that first heard Paul's Romans letter and its call for inclusiveness among the people of God. Finger guides readers in small groups to re-create house churches as in first-century Rome. Based on the text of Romans, participants play various roles and converse, even debate, with other characters from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. This experiential approach makes Romans come alive in new, concrete ways and applies Romans theology to current issues that often still divide groups of Christians. Roman House Churches for Today includes aids and suggestions for simulation leaders, sample character sketches, and website links with resources for further, deeper study. Not only small groups but also individuals will profit from this unique Bible study.
