The Early Christians in RomeSpence-Jones, H. D. M. (Henry Donald Maurice)
History
The Early Christians in Rome
Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Henry Donald Maurice)
Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600; Rome (Italy) -- Church history
On the first story, the original tomb of Priscilla, according to the
ancient Itineraries, is in a crypt close to an old entrance staircase.
Close to the crypt is a large chamber of the second century, evidently
used for public worship. Small chambers or chapels lead out of this
large crypt, one of these being the famous Greek Chapel, so called in
later times from some Greek inscriptions on the walls. The paintings
on the walls are important and highly interesting. This ancient chapel
was also used for worship. In the neighbourhood of this portion of the
cemetery is a large crypt which from various sure signs, such as the
evident desire on the part of many to make it their last home; from
the pillars on which once were placed the lamps which used ever to
burn close to specially revered sanctuaries; from the many means of
access for pilgrims of the third and fourth centuries,--was clearly
the last resting-place of several of the more famous saints of the
Catacomb of S. Priscilla. No inscription or graffiti of pilgrims have
yet been deciphered to tell us _who_ lay here. It has been suggested
that Prassedis, Pudentiana, and other well-known saints were probably
interred in or near this place. Marucchi calls attention to the great
number of loculi in this cemetery, still untouched--not rifled of their
precious contents. The inscriptions on many of these loculi for the
most part are very short and simple, containing little besides the name
of the dead, with just a brief beautiful reference to the sure hope of
the dead in Christ.
In this first or uppermost gallery of the catacomb on which we are
dwelling, was discovered quite lately a very large crypt surrounded
with corridors, sadly ruined, but with the remains of elaborate
decoration still visible and with fragments of marble lying about, with
pieces of sarcophagi and portions of inscriptions carefully carved,
some in Greek, beautifully wrought. This area, which is quite distinct
from the great cemetery in the midst of which it lies, once contained
the remains of the Christian members of the noble Roman house of the
Acilii Glabriones. From the inscriptions which have been found and
deciphered, this burying-place of a famous family dates from the first
century, and the interments from the first and following centuries.
These Acilii Glabriones whose names occur and recur in the broken
inscriptions were members of a distinguished family, holding a very
high position in the aristocracy of Rome under the early Emperors.
We learn a good deal about a head of this illustrious house, Acilius
Glabrio, from the historians Suetonius and Dion Cassius.
In the year of grace 91, Acilius Glabrio was consul, and excited the
jealousy of the Emperor Domitian, who condemned him to fight with wild
beasts in the gardens of one of the Imperial villas. From this deadly
combat he came out victorious, but the hatred of the Emperor was not
satisfied, and he exiled the powerful patrician, and eventually put him
to death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account