The Basilica of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls is one of the four major basilicas in the city of Rome, and is built on the grave site of St. Paul.
Since the basilica is named after St. Paul, it was most likely created to acknowledge some part of his life. As such, those who created the basilica might have wanted to promote some of his key themes. Of the many topics St. Paul speaks of, unity in the Church was always an important one. Specifically, he talked a lot about the acceptance of the Gentiles in the Church. There was a struggle between Jewish and Gentile converts, as nobody knew if Gentiles should comply with all the rules the Jewish Christians followed (McGinn). A specific example of this issue was circumcision. All Jewish males were circumcised, did this mean that Gentile converts needed to follow this practice as well? St. Paul spoke on this, for example, in his letter to the Romans 1:5: “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” In short, he is saying that the main importance of Christianity is faith in Jesus. This was one of many things he said about this issue.
Aside from unity specific to the Gentile/Jewish convert problem, St. Paul also spoke about unity between all members of the church (Letters). In his letter to the Ephesians, he speaks about the Mystical Body of Christ, an idea that encapsulates all Christians as part of the same body. Therefore, when one part of the body is hurt, the rest suffer as well. Accordingly, when one part of the church was hurt or mistreated, it brought down the rest of the church as well. St. Paul desired a church of equals, and he encouraged it through this dialogue.
A special example to look at in Paul’s letters is his letter to the Romans, since his basilica is located outside of their city. Biblical scholars have come up with a few different motivations for this letter. John Pilch, contributor to The Collegeville Bible Handbook writes that Paul wrote the letter for the following reasons: "First, to introduce himself to a community which for the most part did not know him personally. Second, to marshal, evaluate, and summarize the arguments he might have to present in Jerusalem if his preaching were still being challenged. Third, to win the affection of the Jewish-Christian minority in Rome, which probably was uppermost in his mind." (283)
Among Paul’s letters, this letter is unique, since it deals with a church he has not met before. As such, this letter can almost be seen as part of a business proposition. Since the community did not know him personally, it makes sense that he would start out with an introduction to himself. With the introduction of that exchange complete, he moves on to his goods, a description of his faith. While also a preparation for any theological arguments he might face in Jerusalem, this also works to show the Romans that St. Paul has legitimacy as a preacher. Watson Mills, author of the Mercer Commentary on the Bible view Paul’s letter to the Romans as “a general theological treatise,” (1123) supporting that idea. Lastly, to firm up relations with Paul’s hopeful clients in the faith, he would assuredly try to win the friendship of the Romans. If they cannot interact with Paul as a friend in the faith, he could not possibly share the Gospel to them. In conclusion, seeing members of the church in Rome built a memorial to him and venerated it up through the conversion of Constantine, it would appear to be that Paul’s aims in this letter were successful. The church in Rome showed great respect for him after his death, a respect that culminated in the construction of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls.
With the respect for St. Paul and the values he preached established, one more question about his basilica has to be answered: why would a church be built over his grave? In modern society, people will visit a loved one’s grave a few times a year, but that constitutes much of the reverence given to the dead. Few would even imagine putting a building of any size over a grave. However, this was quite different from what the ancient people practiced: "In the Roman Catacombs the sacrifice of the Mass was offered up over the graves of the martyrs. When the Christians were free to build churches they, in some instances, as in the case of the Church of St. Agnes, built them around the martyr's grave" (Riordan). It was an ancient tradition to offer up Mass around the grave sites of the dead. Going back to St. Paul, as an example, this most likely would have started out with the creation of a Cella Memoriae, which would have been a popular place of worship and pilgrimage. As the years went on, this easily could have morphed into the saying of Mass over the martyr’s grave, and as such, it would only be fitting to build a Church over the grave, for a fitting location to celebrate the Mass.
While the construction of a church over a grave is, by itself, quite a testament to a martyr, there is another way to look at the culture associated with these churches. Mario Ariosto, author of part of the Vatican’s Jubilee 2000 magazine, writes: “It will not be surprising to see that the tombs of the martyrs are adorned with decoration [ . . . ] most famous are those of Pope Damasus for their artistic value and for the testimony of living historical memory which they hand down and orientate.” As Ariosto states, these buildings actually used in testifying to a living memory. They pass on the culture of the person who they were created for.
In looking at the characteristics Reinhold Niebuhr uses to describe culture, these churches over martyrs’ graves satisfy quite a few. First, they demonstrate the values present to the martyr. By dedicating the building to the martyr, they call to mind the values the martyr stood for, which are all associated with the good of mankind. Martyrs would not be celebrated for the bad things they do, but for all the positive things they did to advance the Christian faith.
Next, the church shows the realization of the values present to community surrounding the martyr. Would the martyr’s values be unimportant to the community, they would not be remembered for it. However, the creation of the church shows that something was special about the deceased.
This then leads into the last characteristic that these martyrs’ churches demonstrates: conservation of values. By creating such a monument to the martyr, the community testifies that they appreciate the values the martyr stood for. As such, these are values they would like to see in the coming generations. By erecting the church for the martyr, they create something that future generations will see, and by those future generations seeing this monument, it will introduce them to the person of the martyr, and the values they stood for. As such, by exposing the future generations to the martyr, his or her values will be brought to mind again and again, encouraging their uptake in all who see them.
Here in 2015, as a visitor looks at the basilica of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls, many of St. Paul’s themes can be seen. As can be expected, this church continues the ancient tradition of the veneration of St. Paul. Most significantly is the actual presence of his tomb, immediately beneath the altar. Just as with the cella memoriae of the past, Paul’s tomb remains a place for prayer and pilgrimage, where Christians can encounter the memory of one of the church’s great saints.
Unity, that value that Paul adored so much, can be seen by the statues of both Saints Peter and Paul in the basilica. In front of the altar are their two statues, Peter on the right and Paul on the left. This offsetting of the two is seen in the mosaic behind the altar as well. As these two saints are seen as the apostles of the Jews and the Gentiles respectively, it demonstrates their unity as being parts of the same church.
Mills, Watson E. Mercer Commentary on the Bible. Macon, Ga.: Mercer UP, 1995. Print.
Pilch, John J. "Romans." The Collegeville Bible Handbook. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1997. Print.
Since the basilica is named after St. Paul, it was most likely created to acknowledge some part of his life. As such, those who created the basilica might have wanted to promote some of his key themes. Of the many topics St. Paul speaks of, unity in the Church was always an important one. Specifically, he talked a lot about the acceptance of the Gentiles in the Church. There was a struggle between Jewish and Gentile converts, as nobody knew if Gentiles should comply with all the rules the Jewish Christians followed (McGinn). A specific example of this issue was circumcision. All Jewish males were circumcised, did this mean that Gentile converts needed to follow this practice as well? St. Paul spoke on this, for example, in his letter to the Romans 1:5: “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” In short, he is saying that the main importance of Christianity is faith in Jesus. This was one of many things he said about this issue.
Aside from unity specific to the Gentile/Jewish convert problem, St. Paul also spoke about unity between all members of the church (Letters). In his letter to the Ephesians, he speaks about the Mystical Body of Christ, an idea that encapsulates all Christians as part of the same body. Therefore, when one part of the body is hurt, the rest suffer as well. Accordingly, when one part of the church was hurt or mistreated, it brought down the rest of the church as well. St. Paul desired a church of equals, and he encouraged it through this dialogue.
A special example to look at in Paul’s letters is his letter to the Romans, since his basilica is located outside of their city. Biblical scholars have come up with a few different motivations for this letter. John Pilch, contributor to The Collegeville Bible Handbook writes that Paul wrote the letter for the following reasons: "First, to introduce himself to a community which for the most part did not know him personally. Second, to marshal, evaluate, and summarize the arguments he might have to present in Jerusalem if his preaching were still being challenged. Third, to win the affection of the Jewish-Christian minority in Rome, which probably was uppermost in his mind." (283)
Among Paul’s letters, this letter is unique, since it deals with a church he has not met before. As such, this letter can almost be seen as part of a business proposition. Since the community did not know him personally, it makes sense that he would start out with an introduction to himself. With the introduction of that exchange complete, he moves on to his goods, a description of his faith. While also a preparation for any theological arguments he might face in Jerusalem, this also works to show the Romans that St. Paul has legitimacy as a preacher. Watson Mills, author of the Mercer Commentary on the Bible view Paul’s letter to the Romans as “a general theological treatise,” (1123) supporting that idea. Lastly, to firm up relations with Paul’s hopeful clients in the faith, he would assuredly try to win the friendship of the Romans. If they cannot interact with Paul as a friend in the faith, he could not possibly share the Gospel to them. In conclusion, seeing members of the church in Rome built a memorial to him and venerated it up through the conversion of Constantine, it would appear to be that Paul’s aims in this letter were successful. The church in Rome showed great respect for him after his death, a respect that culminated in the construction of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls.
With the respect for St. Paul and the values he preached established, one more question about his basilica has to be answered: why would a church be built over his grave? In modern society, people will visit a loved one’s grave a few times a year, but that constitutes much of the reverence given to the dead. Few would even imagine putting a building of any size over a grave. However, this was quite different from what the ancient people practiced: "In the Roman Catacombs the sacrifice of the Mass was offered up over the graves of the martyrs. When the Christians were free to build churches they, in some instances, as in the case of the Church of St. Agnes, built them around the martyr's grave" (Riordan). It was an ancient tradition to offer up Mass around the grave sites of the dead. Going back to St. Paul, as an example, this most likely would have started out with the creation of a Cella Memoriae, which would have been a popular place of worship and pilgrimage. As the years went on, this easily could have morphed into the saying of Mass over the martyr’s grave, and as such, it would only be fitting to build a Church over the grave, for a fitting location to celebrate the Mass.
While the construction of a church over a grave is, by itself, quite a testament to a martyr, there is another way to look at the culture associated with these churches. Mario Ariosto, author of part of the Vatican’s Jubilee 2000 magazine, writes: “It will not be surprising to see that the tombs of the martyrs are adorned with decoration [ . . . ] most famous are those of Pope Damasus for their artistic value and for the testimony of living historical memory which they hand down and orientate.” As Ariosto states, these buildings actually used in testifying to a living memory. They pass on the culture of the person who they were created for.
In looking at the characteristics Reinhold Niebuhr uses to describe culture, these churches over martyrs’ graves satisfy quite a few. First, they demonstrate the values present to the martyr. By dedicating the building to the martyr, they call to mind the values the martyr stood for, which are all associated with the good of mankind. Martyrs would not be celebrated for the bad things they do, but for all the positive things they did to advance the Christian faith.
Next, the church shows the realization of the values present to community surrounding the martyr. Would the martyr’s values be unimportant to the community, they would not be remembered for it. However, the creation of the church shows that something was special about the deceased.
This then leads into the last characteristic that these martyrs’ churches demonstrates: conservation of values. By creating such a monument to the martyr, the community testifies that they appreciate the values the martyr stood for. As such, these are values they would like to see in the coming generations. By erecting the church for the martyr, they create something that future generations will see, and by those future generations seeing this monument, it will introduce them to the person of the martyr, and the values they stood for. As such, by exposing the future generations to the martyr, his or her values will be brought to mind again and again, encouraging their uptake in all who see them.
Here in 2015, as a visitor looks at the basilica of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls, many of St. Paul’s themes can be seen. As can be expected, this church continues the ancient tradition of the veneration of St. Paul. Most significantly is the actual presence of his tomb, immediately beneath the altar. Just as with the cella memoriae of the past, Paul’s tomb remains a place for prayer and pilgrimage, where Christians can encounter the memory of one of the church’s great saints.
Unity, that value that Paul adored so much, can be seen by the statues of both Saints Peter and Paul in the basilica. In front of the altar are their two statues, Peter on the right and Paul on the left. This offsetting of the two is seen in the mosaic behind the altar as well. As these two saints are seen as the apostles of the Jews and the Gentiles respectively, it demonstrates their unity as being parts of the same church.
Mills, Watson E. Mercer Commentary on the Bible. Macon, Ga.: Mercer UP, 1995. Print.
Pilch, John J. "Romans." The Collegeville Bible Handbook. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1997. Print.