Church History; Ordeal of the Church, Catacomb Christian Life
Padraic42
Catholic Church History
Pagan Imperialism (49 B.C.-313 AD) IV. Ordeal of the Church (249-313)
25. Catacomb Christian Life
IV
Ordeal of the Church
25. CATACOMB CHRISTIAN LIFE
A. The Church in the Catacombs
(1) THE CATACOMB SYSTEM
Origin. "The usage made by Christians of catacombs . . . was not at first due
to a care for personal safety on the part of people who no longer dared to live
in daylight, and it was only progressively that such use became frequent at
Rome, if not almost habitual in times of crisis. Christians had used private
houses as their first places of worship, and apart from exceptional cases they
were able to continue peacefully until the time of the great persecutions."
Evolution. The catacombs according to this view of Zeiller were developments
of primitive Christian cemeteries, ultimately used as emergency chapels and
meeting places. A catacomb was a network of passages dug underneath cities
where the subsoil was adaptable to the purpose. They comprised narrow
passageways intersecting one another on either side of which were recesses for
tombs. The latter were often sealed by slabs of stone or masonry. At the end
of certain passages, chambers or vaults were later hollowed out to serve as
chapels. The first catacombs were dug under the estates of rich Christians,
such as Domitilla, for Roman law permitted citizens to inter any whom they
wished on their lands. Christians took advantage of this to provide for the
decent burial of poorer members of the flock. When such private cemeteries
became inadequate, they passed under the supervision of the Christian
community, and therefore of the popes. At the beginning Of the third century,
Pope St. Zepherinus named St. Calixtus, his deacon and future successor,
administrator of the catacomb along the Appian Way. This cemetery, later known
by the name of St. Calixtus, is the most famous of the catacombs. Other well
known ones are those of Lucina on the Via Ostia, of Domitilla on the Via
Ardeatina, of St. Cecilia and St. Sebastian on the Via Appia and Via Ardeatina,
and of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.
Expansion. Though the Roman catacombs are the most renowned, similar
structures were in use at Naples, in Sicily, at Alexandria, and throughout
Northern Africa and Asia Minor. At Rome, existing catacombs were often
enlarged by superimposing layers or galleries ranging from 22 to 80 feet below
the surface. The porous Roman stone facilitated excavations, which were made
by the fossores, whose responsible task ranked them next to the clergy.
Monograms and inscriptions help to identify the tombs placed in the catacombs.
Pope St. Damasus (366-84) fittingly restored those inscriptions after the
cessation of the persecutions. During later times the martyrs' relics were in
large part removed to Roman churches. The catacombs were then abandoned, the
silt of centuries covered them, and they were but imperfectly known until De
Rossi's investigations during the nineteenth century.
(2) CATACOMB SYMBOLISM: THE HOLY EUCHARIST
Catacomb artistry can make small claim to accurate drafting and aesthetic
finish. Often the representations are mere sketches or suggestions of an idea
or practice. Nevertheless the dogmatic value of these drawings is immense for
they provide lasting evidence of Christian beliefs, especially in the
sacraments of baptism and Holy Eucharist, and in the primacy of St. Peter. A
few examples of this catacomb symbolism will be noted here.
The Milk. In the catacomb of Domitilla there are pictures of a lamb or of the
Good Shepherd carrying a pail of milk. It is important to note that a nimbus
surrounds the milk, thereby indicating its sacred nature. This drawing
represents the Good Shepherd nourishing His flock by the Holy Eucharist. The
identification can be substantiated through Clement of Alexandria who says:
"The Church nourishes her children with milk, and this milk . . . is the body
of Christ"
The Fish. In the catacomb of St. Calixtus in the crypt of Lucina are two
paintings of a fish against a green background. The fish bears a wicker basket
on its back, filled with bread and glasses of red wine. Now the fish is a
symbol of Christ, whether the symbolism be interpreted as a metonymy springing
from use of a fish to suggest Christ's multiplication of the fishes and bread;
or from a typical reference to the fish that healed Tobias; or from the
acrostic: Iesous Christos Huios Theou, Soter: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior,
made of the first letters of the Greek word for fish: ichthus. The fish in the
drawing bears what is evidently the material for the Eucharistic sacrifice in
the simple vessels necessitated by primitive poverty. St. Jerome alludes to
this usage: "What can be more rich than the man who carries Christ's body in a
basket of wickerwork, and Christ's blood in a glass vessel?" (Letter to
Risticius.)
The Tripod. In the same catacomb, in the chapel of sacraments, there are two
representations of a tripod-table with a loaf of bread and a fish. Standing
nearby are a man with bands extended and a woman with arms upraised. It is
believed that the man represents Christ multiplying the loaves and fishes for
the woman, who typifies the Church. The tripod-altar and other pictures refer
the symbolism to the Eucharist.
The Fractio Panis. In St. Priscilla's catacomb, in what is called the Greek
Chapel, there appears the famous symbol known as the Fractio Panis, the
Breaking of the Bread. Seven persons are seated at a long table on which are
placed two fishes, five loaves of bread, and a twohandled cup. Along the sides
of the table are seven baskets of bread. The man seated in the place of honor
is bearded and of venerable aspect. He is depicted as extending his bands over
the table and its contents. Evidently he is the president of the feast, the
bishop or priest who is consecrating the offering. Though Christ's miracle of
the loaves and fishes is suggested, it in turn refers to the Eucharist by the
addition of table, cup, and banquet scene.
(3) PAPAL PRIMACY IN CATACOMB SYMBOLISM
Petrine portraits. "The mark which most frequently distinguishes St. Peter in
the earliest representations is that our Lord is depicted in the act of handing
to him a roll or a volume, an act which is sometimes explained by the
accompanying inscription, Dominus legem dat. Of this class of representation a
good many instances have come down to us. The most famous is perhaps the
well-known sarcophagus which came originally from the Vatican Cemetery and is
now in the Museum of Christian antiquities at the Lateran. On this sarcophagus
Christ is shown already ascended into heaven, but handing over to St. Peter as
His visible representative upon earth the volume of the law of the New
Dispensation. There is a painting of the same subject in the Catacomb of St.
Priscilla, and on a gilded glass now in the Vatican Museum the volume actually
bears the title, Lex Domini. Most important of all this class, perhaps, is the
mosaic in Santa Constanze on the Via Salaria, where the whole parallel is
carefully worked out between the giving of the law of the Old Covenant to Moses
on Mount Sinai, and the giving of the New Law to Peter."
Papal tombs. "The earliest Bishops of Rome were buried on the Vatican close
round the tomb which contained the relics of the apostle. There their bodies
were found in the excavations in 1626, still largely preserved by the
quasi-embalming process to which they had been subjected, and surrounding St.
Peter like bishops attending a council." This juxtaposition to St. Peter is
itself a mute testimony to the papal succession. When the Vatican area was
filled, the pontiffs of the third century were laid in what thereby became
known as the Papal Crypt in the Calixtine Catacomb. Recent excavations at the
Vatican Basilica during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII have brought to light
a wealth of archaeological evidence which, while still controversial in certain
details, lends substantial confirmation to all the major traditions of St.
Peter's Roman burial and of papal succession in the Roman episcopate.
B. Christian Life Under Persecution
(1) PENAL PROCEDURE
Trial. Legal processes varied with imperial policies and the dispositions of
the local governors. In many if not most cases judicial procedure tended to be
summary for the ordinary Christian. Usually no witnesses dared come forward;
no legal defense was allowed; and no appeal was made, nor would it have been
heard had it been made. Christians were quickly condemned for pleading
"guilty": as may be seen from the letter of the Martyrs of Lyons (Eusebius,
History, VI, 1).
Sentence was passed by the judge. The mildest was banishment without loss of
civil rights; e.g., St. John the Apostle, Flavia Domitilla, Pope St. Cornelius.
Next deportation entailed loss of civil rights: such martyrs were classed as
criminals, e.g., Pope St. Pontian. Third in order came penal servitude, in
which the convicts, branded and chained, were forced to work in quarries and
mines under subhuman conditions. Finally, the death penalty was administered
by crucifixion for slaves; condemnation to beasts or burning for noncitizens;
and beheading for citizens. But at least as early as 177 at Lyons this
privilege was ignored in the case of Christian citizens. St. Justin declared:
"We are beheaded, crucified, exposed to beasts, tortured by chains and fire,
and the most fearsome torments" (Dialogue, 110). Tertullian says much the
same: "We bang on crosses, are engulfed by flames, the sword bares our throats,
and wild animals spring on us" (Apologeticus, 31). Only after 303 was drowning
used by exasperated persecutors to carry out mass executions (Eusebius,
History, VIII).
Imprisonment, however, was often by its duration and horror equally bard to
endure. The well-to-do had first to experience confiscation of their property,
or the disinheritance and persecution of relatives still at large. Once
arrested, Christians were usually imprisoned under conditions all the more
dreadful because unfamiliar. St. Perpetua exclaims: "I was afraid; never
before had I seen such darkness. 0, the day of horror! The overpowering heat
caused by the crowd of prisoners! The soldiers' brutality!" Frequently
Christian prisoners were subjected to irons or stocks: "Let them be returned to
prison and be put in irons until tomorrow" (Acts of Martyrs of Scillium).
Solitary confinement was also used; the martyrs of Lyons occupied the "darkest
and worst part of the prison" (Eusebius, History, V, 1). Origen was so treated
for many months. In ordinary times, however, the Christians were held in
public prisons to which access was possible by bribing the guards. Priests and
deacons found ways of administering the Eucharist, through lesser clerics and
laymen when they themselves were too well known. Torture, finally, was
routine: "I avow and you torture; . . . we confess and we are tortured"
(Tertullian, Apologeticum, 2).
(2) VENERATION OF MARTYRS
Acts of martyrs include: (a) acta strictly so called, the court
records, e.g., St. Cyprian's trial; (b) the passiones, eyewitness accounts,
e.g., St. Polycarp's sufferings; and (c) legends subsequently composed for
edification, e.g., St. Cecilia. It is obvious that the first two categories
are primary documents of the greatest value; however, in regard to the third,
it should be stressed that perfectly historical martyrs may have been the
subject of legends, either plausible or embroidered.
Indulgences granted through the superabundant merits of the martyrs may be
seen in the custom of the libelli pacis, already discussed. When not abused,
these certificates were worthy of mercy, and even the stem St. Cyprian says:
"Persons who had a letter from the martyrs and were near death might confess
and have bands imposed in penance and so be commended to the Lord in the peace
promised them by the martyrs" (Letter 20).
Masses in honor of martyrs were eventually celebrated at the Christian
liturgical reunions. The first martyr known to be so honored was St. Polycarp.
His authentic Acta relate the objection that if the Christians secure St.
Polycarp's relics, "they will abandon the Crucified and worship this man." To
this the editor of the Acta replied with a prudent distinction: "They failed to
realize that we will never abandon Christ, who suffered for the salvation of
all saved throughout the world-the Innocent One for the guilty-or to worship
any other. Him we adore as the Son of God; the martyrs we love as disciples
and imitators of the Lord." And when the Christians were able to obtain the
charred bon,, of St. Polycarp, they interred them in a decent place. "There
the Lord permitting, we will meet with joy to celebrate his martyrdom, his
birthday, both to recall heroes who have gone before us, and to train and
prepare the heroes of the future" (Acta, 17-18). Thus, indeed, did the blood
of Christ's martyrs become a seed.
Pax Christi, Pat
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)