Victory Of The Cross, The
Desmond O’Grady
Number of quotes: 35
Book ID: 278 Page: 11
Section: 2E3
To climb the Capitoline Hill is to enter Rome’s past which was transformed into a Christian future.. . . .
Today the hill is crowned by the town hall complex around Michaelangelo’s piazza and the church of Aracoeli, built above the ruins of a temple dedicated to a pagan mother-goddess.
Quote ID: 6965
Time Periods: 047
Book ID: 278 Page: 11
Section: 4B
The piazza flanking the church was designed by Michelangelo in 1536 for the visit of an emperor who claimed a link with Augustus but added a Christian sanction: the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was granted, for defeating infidels in North Africa, a triumph modelled on those of ancient Rome. Charles’s title harked back to the first Christian emperor, Constantine. The equestrian statue in the centre of the piazza was believed to be that of Constantine, which accounts for its preservation through the Middle Ages. In fact, it is of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor-philosopher whose tolerance did not extend to Christians. The melding of pagan and Christian is not untypical of Rome.Pastor John’s note: pagan + apostasy = christian
Quote ID: 6966
Time Periods: 7
Book ID: 278 Page: 13
Section: 2E5
Five months later, on 29th June, the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, when nets are draped from St Peter’s facade in memory of the fishermen-apostles, the pope blesses the pallia. (It is worth noting that 29th June, a conventional date for Peter and Paul, is also that of the old pagan festival for Romes’s legendary founders, Romulus and Remus.
Quote ID: 6967
Time Periods: 17
Book ID: 278 Page: 17
Section: 2A3
Christians, Egyptians and some Jews tended to bury corpses, but pagan Romans were more inclined to cremate them. However, as traditional religion’s drab picture of the fortunes of the dead was eclipsed from the second century on by a stronger sense of individual survival, corpse burial became more common.
Quote ID: 6968
Time Periods: 2
Book ID: 278 Page: 19
Section: 2E5
The mid-third-century Julii chamber, which contains among others the tomb of a two-year-old girl, was initially pagan, but evidently its owners became Christian. The wall decoration include Jonah and the whale, very popular with early Christians, the Fisher of Men, and the Good Shepherd. In the vault mosaic, amid stylized green and black leaves, Christ rises in a chariot toward the sun. He resembles an emperor enjoying his apotheosis or, even more, the Sun god, for sun rays cross behind his head.
Quote ID: 6969
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 21
Section: 2A3
Pagans used the term “necropolis”, or city of the dead, but Christians preferred “cemetery”, which simply means “dormitory”. For them the dead were simply sleeping in the Lord until resurrection.
Quote ID: 6970
Time Periods: 4567
Book ID: 278 Page: 23
Section: 2E3
The first church to be built in Rome was St John’s, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome (the Pope). It marked the beginning of an ambitious church-building programme by Constantine - a startling change, as previously there had been no recognizable church buildings.
Quote ID: 6971
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 24
Section: 2E3
Constantine’s churches were by or beyond the city walls, while the centre remained persistently pagan. Now, of course, there is a plethora of churches in central Rome, but for many years after Constantine’s conversion its civic (and pagan) core remained intact. To make a Christian capital, he transferred to Constantinople.
Quote ID: 6972
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 24
Section: 2C
Vestal virgins, an elite group of pagan nuns.
Quote ID: 6973
Time Periods: 0
Book ID: 278 Page: 26
Section: 2C
The six Vestal virgins, the remains of whose convent with an internal garden can still be seen, guarded objects supposed to prove that Rome had been founded by the survivors of the destruction of Troy. The Vestals’ convent is noteworthy not only because the cult began early, but because it finished late: it was abolished only at the end of the fourth century, eight years after Constantine’s conversion.. . . .
The convent stands near what is thought to be the house of Numa Pompilus (716-683 77 BC), the priest-king who founded Rome’s civil religion. He was the Pontifex Maximus, head of the twelve-man college of priests. Among other things, they were responsible for the all-important bridges across the Tiber (pontifex means bridge builder).
Quote ID: 6974
Time Periods: 01234
Book ID: 278 Page: 28
Section: 1A
It would transform Rome but also be shaped by it.
Quote ID: 6975
Time Periods: 1234
Book ID: 278 Page: 29
Section: 5D
At his death in AD 14, the city probably had eight hundred thousand inhabitants in an empire of thirty-five million, about five million of whom were Roman citizens.
Quote ID: 6976
Time Periods: ?
Book ID: 278 Page: 30
Section: 2C
But in 27 BC, when he was thirty-six, which the Senate bestowed on him the title “Augustus”, which became his name. Corresponding roughly to “Venerable”, it had religious connotations. It was still being used as a title by those who claimed to be heirs of the Roman emperors (the Habsburgs) eighteen hundred years later.
Quote ID: 6977
Time Periods: 17
Book ID: 278 Page: 35
Section: 3B
Emperor Claudius, in AD 49, expelled Jews because of disturbances among them over a certain “Chrestus”, which was probably a mis-spelling of Christ. A tentmaker named Acquila, originally from Pontus in what now is Turkey, and his wife Prisca, the first Christians of Rome whose names are known, were among this group.
Quote ID: 6979
Time Periods: 1
Book ID: 278 Page: 54
Section: 2E5
With due allowance made, gods were somewhat like saints - approachable intermediaries, and the more the merrier.
Quote ID: 6980
Time Periods: 7
Book ID: 278 Page: 67
Section: 3A1
The Roman imperial system. In the post-apostolic age, it was his model for a solid church structure as for effective evangelization.
Quote ID: 6982
Time Periods: 234
Book ID: 278 Page: 78
Section: 2C
Everything depended on the bishop. He guaranteed the unity of faith; he filled roles which were formerly those of prophets and teacher, and authorized others for liturgical functions. It has been suggested that the emergence of the “monarchical” bishop was prompted by the need to oppose his authority, now that the apostolic age was ending, against those who claimed to be leaders because they were in receipt of private revelation.
Quote ID: 6983
Time Periods: 2
Book ID: 278 Page: 110
Section: 4B
In the second half of the second century in Rome, Latin gradually replaced Greek as the Church’s language. Previously Christians had spoken Latin but had prayed (and written) in Greek.
Quote ID: 6984
Time Periods: 2
Book ID: 278 Page: 111
Section: 4B
He then made a violent attack on Christians’ behaviour: they feed on human flesh and blood, kill newborn children, indulge in love-feast orgies, encourage incest, and worship a crucified malefactor. Christians must practice obscene rites – or otherwise, he asked, why would they operate in secrecy, without temples, altars or recognizable images?
Quote ID: 8406
Time Periods: 123
Book ID: 278 Page: 113
Section: 4A
But Octavius argued cogently in asserting Christianity’s superiority. More remarkable still is his Romanness. He seems closer to Cicero than to Paul of Tarsus; if he, rather than Paul, had to preach on the Acropolis, he would have tried to convince the Greeks of Jesus Christ’s supreme reasonableness. He prized Christianity for its moral impact. Christ, the Cross and the New Testament are downplayed. Christianity has been grafted effortlessly onto classical Rome as a surer moral guide than Stoicism.. . . .
Minucius Felix, who wrote at the end of the second or the beginning of the third century, was the first Christian author in Rome, and perhaps the first of all, to write in Latin rather than Greek.
Quote ID: 6985
Time Periods: 23
Book ID: 278 Page: 114
Section: 2E4
Adoption of Latin distinguished Christians in Rome from Greek-speaking Christians, as did a related development: in Rome, Christians began to celebrate Easter, but unlike most Christians of Asia Minor, they decided it must always be on a Sunday rather than on the same day as the Jewish Passover. The Roman practice coincided with that of Alexandria. The difference in the date of celebration caused controversy, but in the AD 190 bishop Victor of Rome demanded that all other churches adopt the Roman practice.
Quote ID: 6986
Time Periods: 2
Book ID: 278 Page: 115
Section: 3B
The first bishop of Rome from North Africa, Victor (189-198) was not only imperious but had imperial connections. His link with Commodus was through the emperor’s concubine Marcia, a Christian who “could do just about anything she liked with him” (that is, with Commodus). She arranged the first deal between an emperor and a pope.
Quote ID: 6987
Time Periods: 2
Book ID: 278 Page: 137
Section: 3B
The son of a sheik from what is now Hawran, Iraq, Philip (Marcus Julius Philippus), who came to power in 244, was considered by St Jerome as the first Christian emperor. Both Philip and his wife Otacilla Severa corresponded with Origen. The church historian Eusebuis claimed bishop Fabian converted Philip to Christianity, but if so, his Christian sympathies did not affect his public behaviour. His reign can be seen as a high point for the church because, while he left it in peace, Origen reinforced its intellectual credentials and Fabian was still bishop of Rome. But in 249 Philip made a mistake which was to cost him, and also the Church, dearly.
Quote ID: 6988
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 138
Section: 3B
In Rome at the beginning of 250, Bishop Fabian was arrested. He died on 20th January, probably in prison as a result of beatings, and was buried in the Callistus catacombs. Commenting on Fabian’s death, Decius [PJ: 201–251] is supposed to have said, “I’d rather receive news of a rival to the throne than of another bishop of Rome.” Indeed the Roman church seemed to have resolved the problem of succession, which had become a nightmare for the empire.. . . .
The emperor could dispose of the bishop of Rome, but on average, in the third century, popes lasted more than twice as long as emperors.
Quote ID: 6989
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 143
Section: 2E3
. . .bishops from Asia Minor appealed to Aurelian to arbitrate in a dispute with a certain Paul, who became bishop of Antioch in 260. In 268 a synod in Antioch declared Paul a heretic for this teaching on the person of Christ. But it was easier to condemn him than to expel him from his church, where his loyal congregation would wave their handkerchiefs enthusiastically and applaud him. The bishops appealed to Aurelian, claiming legal right to the church building. They were onto a sure thing: Aurelian’s decision was a foregone conclusion because Paul, as well as being bishop, had held high civil office in the local Palmyrene kingdom, which had unsuccessfully fought the emperor. The episode showed that an alliance between Church and Emperor was possible.
Quote ID: 6992
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 146
Section: 2D1
Stephen denounced Cyprian as Antichrist and then used his Big Bertha: the dissidents had better believe him, he was Peter, holder of the keys of the kingdom. It was the first time a bishop of Rome had invoked “Thou are Peter” to affirm his pre-eminence. Stephen never forgot it, and Cyprian never remembered it. It must have hit him like a thunderbolt from Jupiter, for he considered all bishops equal. The conflict was never resolved, for both bishops died soon afterwards. (Stephen died a natural death in 257, while Cyprian was martyred the following year.
Quote ID: 6990
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 149
Section: 2B1
Although Neoplatonism [PJ: 3rd c. AD] was hostile to Christianity, it was to give Christian theology the vocabulary it needed, especially for its Trinitarian doctrine.
Quote ID: 6991
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 156
Section: 2D3B
During a ceremony at Tignis in Maurentania (North Africa) on 21st July 298, a centurion Marcellus threw down his belt before the legion’s standards, saying that as a Christian, he could not serve under military oath but only for Christ Jesus. Tried some three months later, he confirmed his action and words and was beheaded for breaking the centurions’ oath.
Quote ID: 8407
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 278 Page: 166
Section: 3C
Constantine did not make Christianity the State religion. He was obviously attentive to other religious sensibilities, but he went beyond Gallienus’s edict of tolerance with a series of pro-Christian ordinances.
Quote ID: 6993
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 167
Section: 2E3
Shortly after the Milivian bridge victory, Constantine gave his second wife Fausta’s lateran Palace, where Marcus Aurelius had been born, to Bishop Melchiades as his residence. It enabled the bishop to live in a style to which he was not accustomed and put a greater distance than before between him and his flock. It was a startling change, which was reinforced when Constantine began building churches which made the Church visible.
Quote ID: 6994
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 168
Section: 2E4
Adapting the pagan assembly hall (basilica) for Christian purposes, Constantine built swiftly and on a mammoth scale, given that the city’s Christian community probably did not top a hundred thousand. (Not only did he Christianize space, but also time, by making Sunday a holiday from 321.)
Quote ID: 6995
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 173
Section: 3C
He planned to shift his capital to the East, where he had grown up. He said his Rome would be Sardis, a city of Asia Minor, and thought also of making Troy his capital, which would have brought history full circle. Finally, after a further vision, he decided on another site with seven hills and on the same latitude as Rome but in a better strategic position, easily defensible and with a splendid harbour. It would be a new Christian Rome in contrast to the older and still vigorously pagan one. Begun in 324, on the site of Byzantium, it was dedicated in 330. New Rome became known as Constantinople, which today is called Istanbul.
Quote ID: 6996
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 175
Section: 3A1,3C
Some of the legislation under Constantine shows obvious Christian influence, such as an ordinance forbidding branding of criminals’ faces, because “man is made in God’s image”. An ordinance allowing Christians to free slaves in a bishop’s presence merely extended a facility already available in pagan temples, but bishops were also allowed to arbitrate civil cases. It suggests that the Church was attracting men able to administer justice as least as well as State officials. An ordinance allowing people even on their deathbeds to bequeath whatever they liked to the Church was a favour not shared by Jewish or schisatic communities. Constantine compensated Christians for damages under the persecution, while a fixed proportion of provincial revenues was assigned to church charities.
Quote ID: 6997
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 278 Page: 179
Section: 1A,3A1,4B
Forceful bishops such as Julius I (337-352), Damascus I (366-384), Innocent I (401-417), and Leo the Great (440-461) managed to take advantage of the new situation and prestige which still attached to Rome, [used this part] for you could take the capital out of Rome but not Rome out of the empire it had created. Not only did the church in Rome absorb some imperial administrative practices and terminology, such as “diocese”, but also, as the civil power dissolved, it took over functions such as relief work for the poor. However, it directed aid not only to Roman citizens, as had the pagans, but to all the needy. When the empire crumbled, Rome still provided a vestige of order for the invaders through the Church, which, on the whole and with a struggle, managed to avoid Caesaropapism.
Quote ID: 6998
Time Periods: 45
Book ID: 278 Page: 179
Section: 1A,3A2,3C
After Constantine, Christians had only themselves to fear.
Quote ID: 6999
Time Periods: 4
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