1st Century Christianity in Rome

If you aren't already planning on going to some catacombs........Also, is San Pietro in Vincoli/St Peter-in-Chains Church on your list? There's a whole lot of Jerusalem that was moved to Rome; you can start with Emperor Constantine's mother Helena and her little project...I'm sure it's all authentic ;-) OK - that's actually 4th century...

Check out the Mamertine Prison (also called the Mamertinum) in Rome where Paul was held (just north of the Roman Forum as you exit, near the Clivo Argentario at Via dei Fori Imperiali [INVALID] Google it). You can read more about it here: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-mamertine-prison :)

If you're like me and are interested in standing exactly where a saint might have stood then, yes, the Mamertine Prison is really something. Also look into the Scavi Tour below St. Peter's Basilica where St. Peter's bones were found and are on display, although a little hard to see because they wanted to leave them where they found them. The Church of San Clemente is also fascinating. Although not first century, it is a 12th Century church built on a 4th century church built on a pagan church.

One site I found very powerful was the church of Santa Croce (the one near the Lateran basilica, not the one near the Pantheon); relics from the crucifixion are there, and I was surprised how moving I found them to be. I also found the sites were the first Christians gathered to be very moving. The earliest churches in Rome were home churches, and the first church buildings were often built on those sites. Most of these sites are known, and the churches on those sites are referred to as titular churches. You will find a list of titular churches at http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/waters/titular.html. My particular favorite is Santa Praesseda (1/2 block from Santa Maria Maggiore, has the pillar of the flagelation and amazing mosaics); nearby is Santa Pudenzia (sometimes Prudenziana or other spellings), another very early church. You might also enjoy San Clemente; you can visit 3 levels of the church, the current ~12th C basilica, under it the ruins of the 4th C basilica, and under that an area of housing with a Mithric temple.

Nice to get a question like this, a change of pace from the usual here. When you exclude things after the 1st century and things related to martyrdom, it certainly narrows the field, since only a few surviving Christian sites in Rome would predate Constantine's 4th century conversion and events related to that. Some of the catacombs were used by "early" Christians, but I don't know if they mean 1st century when they say "early." The church Sherry mentions (in her 1st sentence) is Santa Croce in Gerusalemme but I think it too only goes back to the 4th century CE. And the earliest date I've found for Santa Pudenziana is late 4th century CE.

I do not have the references available right now, and they may be a little later than first century, but several churches (a couple in the Trastevere) have lower levels that still retain worship areas from very early Christianity. I think the RS Rome talks about some, otherwise a good Google search might yield something. I would also second the Scavi tour at the Vatican.

I agree with Kent...an interesting, fresh thread...not bad for the 1st Century! Just saw a documentary in the "Naked Archeologist" series in which the host (an archeologist who is, thankfully, clothed) looks for Peter in Rome...Peter sites. Think it was the History Channel. You might want to check their website. One point that emerged was that many of the sites in Rome related to Peter could not be proven with archeological evidence (even proven that Peter was there, or took a certain road, or was buried where he's supposed to be buried). But that doesn't detract from the spiritual power or interest or tradition. You might find this show useful.

The Mammertine prison where Paul was imprisoned is a great place to visit.However I believe it is closed for renovation.

Thanks everyone! I knew I came to the right place. I will definately check out the History Channel website because it seems to be right up my alley. I would like things to be as authentic as possible, but it's not like I would bring along my CSI kit and run tests. I know that some things are just impossible to prove and I'm perfectly ok with that - just don't want someone showing bones from a long dead relative and telling me it's Paul. I just want to be in a place where the artifacts/remains, coupled with my imagination, can bring some life into the stories about the start of Christianity in Rome. For example, many Christians like Paul preached in the marketplaces, and when I visited Palatine Hill and saw the remains of the "shopping mall" it's the first thing I thought of. I think it would be really nice to see what was once a meeting place for the early Christians as well. BTW, although as I said I'm not looking for stories of matyrdom, can anyone verify whether or not the Colleseum was the site of the execution of many Christians? Rick says no. Another site says yes.

Monique, re your: "Can anyone verify whether or not the Colosseum was the site of the execution of many Christians?" The Blue Guide: Rome (a guidebook with a good reputation, as far as I know, but of course no guidebook is considered a primary historical source), says: "There is no historical basis for the tradition that Christians were killed in the arena."

Your last question gets at the difference between "tradition", on the one hand, and something that has been "verified" by "evidence." Which of course leads to the further questions of what the words "verified" and "evidence" mean, etc - big subject, I'll just leave it at that. Except to say that when guide books or history books use the word "tradition" they sometimes mean: some/many people believe this, although it hasn't been verified by evidence. It's also been said that, religious belief, ultimately at some point, gets down to faith, what someone called the truths of the heart that the head may not know; things people believe without requiring proven evidence, maybe things about which there ultimately can be no "evidence."

Kent: like for example how the Mamertime Prison (I just looked it up) has not been archealogically proven to be the place Paul was imprisoned but it's widely accepted as such?

Yes. My understanding is that archaeologists look for physical evidence; and historians look for corroborating written evidence, the written evidence ideally being an account written at or near the time of the event and written by someone who either witnessed it or interviewed eyewitnesses and is trying to set down an accurate account, rather than someone who was writing for a political purpose or had some other kind of "agenda."

This link might also be useful to you for further research: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-churches.htm

If you are into 1st century christianity go to the Mamertime prison, st. peter in chains, Arch of Constatine (legalized christianity in 313 A.D).

Monique, a couple of additional thoughts. Regarding comments about tradition/proof/etc, I have found it very powerful to be at sites and with relics that have been held sacred for millenia, regardless of whether science will ever be able to prove their authenticity... that seems somewhat irrelevant, once I let myself get away from the rigid scientific framework that controls my professional life. As someone said earlier, it comes down to faith. And one other thing: I'd be a little careful about viewing the History channel as "gospel" (so to speak); they have a pretty pronounced agenda, much of which is centered on entertainment and the degree of sensationalism needed for ratings (which is not surprising). Going with reputable scholars is safest and there are a number of accessible sources. The earlier cited Blue Guides are typically recognized as the best travel guides for history and art. There are also Christian travel guides: I've found The Pilgrim's Italy and Traveling in Italy with the Saints to be really helpful (led me to some wonderful places I didn't know about); The Christian Travelers Guide to Italy was somewhat less useful.

One last thought: the Vatican Museums include the Paleochristian Museum, which has a very good collection of very early Christian grave markers, artwork, etc. Great collection, but check on hours; sometimes those galleries close earlier than some other parts of the museum.

Monique, I asked a very similar question back in December/January and here are the replies. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/39679/favorite-christian-sites-in-rome.html Just copy and paste into your internet address bar. I got some very interesting replies. It is not as specific as yours with the first century but similar. I particularly liked the one that gave scriptural references to read while at the sites. Mammertine was closed at the end of January but still neat to be at the entrance. I hope it is open for you. The Scavi Tour under St Peter's is great but you may be to late because they only do 20 english speaking tours a day. Details are on the site. The Appian Way day we got rained on at our picnic but made for way less crowds. There is a Church on the Appian Way where Paul was beheaded and his head bounced three times so it is called Tres Fountaine or somthing because three fountains immediately shot up when his head bounced down the hill. You will need to take a bus/taxi to that site. We also bought a book about the Saints in Italy which enhanced our trip because we are not Catholic and have never studied most of them. Rick interviewed the authors on his radio show. I put our trip together for the Sunday School Class (8th Graders) that I teach when we returned and told them about all of the sites we went too. This passed June when we went around and asked the kids what there favorite lesson was several comented they enjoyed the day that Nate talked about Rome. So I guess it was a success for more than just me and my wife. PM me if you would like any more reccomendations or details. Hope you ave an awesome trip! Happy Travels!

Thanks everyone so much for your replies! I definately have a good idea as to what I would like to put into my itinerary.

About how much in advance does one have to reserve for the Scavi tour at St. Peter's? I just tried to get in during October but was denied. Just wondering. Thanks.

Gwen, We sent our request about 6 weeks before we went but that was in January. They sent us back a confirmation that they only had one time slot available. Like I said in the previous post there are only 2 english speaking groups of 10 people per day so it fills up fast. It was a highlight of our trip so I hope everything works out for you. When I mentioned it to our B & B owner they had never heard of such a tour. It was a very neat experience.