Catacomb of Callixtus
The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes (Italian: Cappella dei Papi), which once contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th centuries.[1][2]
History
The Catacomb is believed to have been created by future
Description
The catacomb forms part of an ancient funerary complex, the Complesso Callistiano, that occupies thirty hectares. The boundaries of this are taken as being the Via Appia Antica, the Via Ardeatina and the Vicolo delle Sette Chiese. The area of the catacomb proper is about fifteen hectares, and it goes down for five levels.[3] A rough estimate puts the length of passageways at about twenty kilometres, and the occupancy at about half a million bodies.[4]
This catacomb's most ancient parts are the crypt of
In the adjoining crypt is the grave of Saint Cecilia, whose relics were removed by Pope Paschal I in 821: the early 9th-century frescoes on the walls represent Saint Cecilia praying, the bust of the Redeemer and Pope Urban I. A short distance away, an arcade dating to the end of the 2nd century gives access to the cubicula of the sacraments, with their frescoes from the first half of the 3rd century hinting at baptism, the Eucharist and the resurrection of the flesh; in the region of Saint Militiades next door, a child's sarcophagus has a front sculpted with biblical episodes. In the region of Saints Gaius and Eusebius are some crypts set apart, opposite each other, with the tombs of Pope Gaius (with an inscription) and Pope Eusebius, who died in Sicily where he had been exiled by Maxentius and whose body was translated to Rome during the pontificate of Militiades; on a marble copy of the end of the 4th century (of which fragments may be seen on the opposite wall) may be read of an inscription by Damasus which highlights Eusebius' role in the resolution of schism in the early church, particularly as it related to the acceptance of apostates.
Along "passage O" north of the Crypt of the Popes are, in succession, the crypt of the martyrs
Papal tombs
At its peak, the 15-hectare (37-acre) site would have held the remains of 16 popes and 50 martyrs. Nine of those popes were buried in the Crypt of the Popes itself, to which
Outside the Crypt of the Popes, the region of Saints Gaius and Eusebius is so named for the facing tombs of Pope Gaius ("Caius") and Pope Eusebius (translated from Sicily). In another region, there is a tomb attributed to Pope Cornelius, bearing the inscription "CORNELIVS MARTYR", also attributed to Filocalus.[5]
A plaque placed by
2nd century
Pontificate | Portrait | Common English name | Pre-Callixtus translations | Location within Callixtus | Post-Callixtus translations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
155–166 | Anicetus Saint Anicetus |
Vatican Hill (some sources say he was originally buried in the Catacomb of Callixtus) | Unknown | Altemps Palace (Piazza Navona )
|
Sarcophagus which may have once contained remains is extant in the Altemps Palace[8][9] | |
c. 166–174/175 | Soter Saint Soter |
None | Unknown | San Silvestro in Capite San Sisto Vecchio Toledo, Spain San Martino ai Monti |
Possibly never buried in Catacomb of Callixtus and confused with a martyr buried in 304[8][10] | |
199–217 | Zephyrinus Saint Zephyrin |
Private cemetery ("in cymiterio suo")[11] | Not in the Crypt of the Popes | San Silvestro in Capite | First pope buried in the Catacomb, which he ordered Callixtus to organize[10] |
3rd century
Pontificate | Portrait | Common English name | Pre-Callixtus translations | Location within Callixtus | Post-Callixtus translations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
222/223–230 | Urban I Saint Urban |
None | Unknown (see notes) | None known | Not to be confused with a non-Roman bishop Urban buried in the catacomb of Praetextatus; slab in Crypt of the Popes bears the Greek words: OYPBANOC E[ΠΙCΚΟΠΟC] ("Urban, Bishop"), but identification is not certain[12] | |
21 July 230 – 28 September 235 | Pontian Saint Pontian |
Sardinia | Crypt of the Popes | None known | Translated from Sardinia (the "Isle of Death") by Pope Fabian in 237, buried in the papal crypt on November 12; two extant engravings: ΠONTIANOC EΠI[CΚΟΠΟC] M[ΑΡΤΥ]Ρ ("Pontianus Bi[shop] M[arty]r"); and ΕΝθΕΩΝ [ΑΓΙΩΝ ΕΠΙCΚΟΠΩΝ] ΠΟΝΤΙΑΝΕ ΖΗϹΗϹ ("Mayest thou live, Pontianus, in God with all")[12][13] | |
21 November 235 – 3 January 236 | Anterus Saint Anterus |
None | Crypt of the Popes | San Silvestro in Capite | Possibly the first pope in the Crypt of the Popes; inscription reads ΑΝΘΕΡΩϹ EΠI[CΚΟΠΟC] ("Anterus, Bishop") and is broken such that it could have once mentioned him as a martyr[13] | |
10 January 236 – 20 January 250 | Fabian Saint Fabian |
None | Crypt of the Popes | San Martino ai Monti Old St. Peter's Basilica San Sebastiano fuori le mura |
Greek inscription from the Catacomb of Callixtus is extant; translated to San Martino by Sergius II (Liber Pontificalis) or combined with Sixtus II in Old St. Peter's (Petrus Mallius); sarcophagus inscribed with ΦΑΒΙΑΝΟϹ ΕΠΙ[CΚΟΠΟC] Μ[ΑΡΤΥ]Ρ ("Phabianos Bi[shop] M[arty]r") in San Sebastiano fuori le mura[13] | |
25 June 253 – 5 March 254 | Lucius I Saint Lucius |
None | Crypt of the Popes | Santa Cecilia in Trastevere San Silvestro in Capite Santa Prassede |
Extant inscription reads "Lucius, Bishop" (Greek: ΛΟΥΚΙϹ) sarcophagus that once held remains is extant in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere[9][14] | |
30/31 August 257 – 6 August 258 | Sixtus II Saint Sixtus II |
None | Crypt of the Popes | Old St. Peter's Basilica San Sisto Vecchio |
Translated from the Catacomb of Callixtus to Old Saint Peter's by Paschal I; translated from Old Saint Peter's to San Sisto Vecchio by Leo IV; lengthy epitaph discovered in the Catacomb of Callixtus[14] | |
22 July 259 – 26 December 268 | Dionysius Saint Dionysius |
None | Crypt of the Popes | San Silvestre in Capite | Alleged relics of Popes Sylvester I, Stephen I, and Dionysius were exhumed and enshrined beneath the high altar of San Silvestro in Capite in 1601; no archaeological evidence in the Catacomb of Callixtus[15] | |
5 January 269 – 30 December 274 | Felix I Saint Felix |
None | Crypt of the Popes | None known | According to legend buried in the "Cemetery of the Two Felixes", which has never been located[15] | |
4 January 275 – 7 December 283 | Eutychian Saint Eutychian |
None | Crypt of the Popes | Abbey of Luni (Sarzana) Sarzana Cathedral |
Last pope buried in the Crypt of the Popes; inscription reads: EYTYXIANOC EΠΙC[KOΠOC] ("Eutychian, Bishop")[15] | |
17 December 283 – 22 April 296 | Caius Saint Caius |
None | Crypt of St. Eusebius | San Silvestro in Capite Church built over his original house Sant'Andrea della Valle (Barberini chapel) |
Inscription reads: Γ[AIO]Y EΠI[ϹΚΟΠΟΥ] / ΚΑ[TA]Θ[ECIC] / [ΠΡΟ I] ΚΑΛ MAIΩ[N] ("The deposition of Caius, Bishop, the 22nd day of April")[15] |
4th century
Pontificate | Portrait | Common English name | Pre-Callixtus translations | Location within Callixtus | Post-Callixtus translations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
c. 309 – c. 310 | Eusebius Saint Eusebius |
Sicily | Crypt of St. Eusebius | None known | Inscription and lengthy epitaph extant[16][17] | |
2 July 311 – 11 January 314 | Miltiades Melchiades Saint Miltiades |
None | Unknown | San Silvestre in Capite
|
Only pope entombed in the Catacomb of Callixtus during the "long peace"; buried in a large sarcophagus with a roof-shaped cover[17] | |
1 October 366 – 11 December 384 | Damasus I Saint Damasus |
None | Unknown | Old St. Peter's Basilica San Lorenzo in Damaso |
Buried with his mother, Laurentia, and sister, Irene; sarcophagus inscription extant; head allegedly in a reliquary donated by Clement VIII to St. Peter's[18] |
In popular culture
In the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, Judah Ben-Hur, along with his wife Esther and Malluch, decide to build the catacomb.
In the novel The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapters 3 and 4 describe a visit to the catacomb. As it was published in 1860, this is an early literary description of the recently discovered site.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Reardon 2004, p. 291.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-6096-5. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Meera Lester: "Sacred Travels" 2011, p. 244
- ^ Matilda Webb: "The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome" 2002
- S2CID 161067498.
- ^ Reardon 2004, p. 10.
- ^ Reardon 2004, p. 11.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 25.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 270.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 26.
- S2CID 170377420.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 27.
- ^ a b c Reardon 2004, p. 28.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d Reardon 2004, p. 31.
- ^ Reardon 2004, p. 32.
- ^ a b Reardon 2004, p. 33.
- ^ Reardon 2004, p. 37.
References
- Reardon, Wendy J. (2004). The Deaths of the Popes: Comprehensive Accounts, Including Funerals, Burial Places and Epitaphs. ISBN 0-7864-1527-4.