Day 6 commenced with some last minute studying for and then the taking of Exam 1. The group got together for a study session in the breakfast room the night before to exchange notes and play a study game of Jeopardy. Class topics otherwise consisted of the beginnings of Medieval Christianity, the Merovingians, Charles Martel, Charlemagne, the 7th Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, and the problem of the "filioque" ("and the Son" from Holy Spirit section of the Nicene Creed).
For the past couple of days, parts of the group have consistently eaten lunch at the L'800 Caffe I spoke of yesterday. What we are coming to realize in Italy is that repeated visits to the same places to eat quickly builds a rapport with the waitstaff and owners, even though we're foreigners. Each time we come back, they are nicer and easier to work with, each one is beamingly happy to see us, and the food stays delicious. One night we actually had 1 euro knocked off everyone's bill thanks to our continued patronage. More about this kind of thing to come when I discuss dinner.
Today's main site was to the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. Most people believe the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the seat of the Bishop of Rome; this fact is false. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is actually the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Rome, just as every bishop elsewhere has a designated cathedral ("cathedra" in Latin means "seat). Anything regarding the wellbeing of Rome as a diocese is dealt with from this church.
I actually had to look up the definition of "Lateran" as I had no idea of the origin of John Lateran. I was actually completely mistaken. This basilica is consecrated in the name of 2 Johns: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. "Lateran" refers to the Lateran family who owned this property and gave it to Constantine; Constantine, in turn, built the original church on the newly acquired land.
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| St. John Lateran |
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| Christ atop the basilica entrance |
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| As I was taking a bigger shot, I noticed the sun above the statue of Christ - I had to take this picture |
The length of the basilica has statues of all 11 of the faithful Apostles (Judas would be the 12th) with Paul (who never met Jesus and is not an Apostle). Many of the Apostles are shown holding the instruments used for or associated with their martyrdoms (if they were in fact martyred).
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| Bartholomew |
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| Simon |
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| Matthew |
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| James the Less |
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| Philip |
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| Thomas |
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| John the Evangelist |
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| Andrew |
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| Thaddeus |
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| James the Greater |
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| Peter |
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| Paul |
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| Shrine to St. John the Baptist |
Every cathedral actually does have a "seat" from which the bishop conducts business. Beneath the apse of the basilica you find the chair of the Bishop of Rome.
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| The "cathedra" of the Bishop of Rome |
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| Apse |
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| High Altar |
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| St. Anthony in the mosaic of the apse |
The group then split up. Some people went home due to not wanting to be "churched-out". As for myself and another friend, the day was just getting started.
The first stop on our solo journey was to the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, or the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. One of the 7 pilgrim churches of Rome, Santa Croce holds many important relics of Christendom.
Santa Croce contains a number of relics, including one of the True Cross, Thorns from the Crown of Thorns, the Title Card placed on the cross by Pilot, the finger of St. Thomas, a large piece of the cross of the Good Thief who spoke to Jesus with a contrite heart on the cross, a piece of the Scourging Pillar, a piece of Christ's Tomb, a fragment of the Crib of Jesus, and a piece of the grotto of Bethlehem. Shown here is the Chapel of the Reliquaries where the relics are kept. These are the Relics of the Passion, pertaining to different events in the Passion of Christ. Being in the presence of these objects is absolutely dumbfounding. I lit a candle and prayed for a while trying to take it all in. I still don't think I've fully internalized it yet. It's hard to say that the events of Christianity did not exist when you're sitting right in front of the objects which helped fulfill those events. Even if they aren't true relics, something about seeing objects that could in fact have killed God made Flesh is still captivating.
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| The Chapel of the Reliquaries, with the relics in their vessels behind thick glass |
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| The Relics of Christ's Passion |
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| A copy of the Shroud of Turin given to Santa Croce by the keepers of the actual Shroud in Turin |
On our way to another church, we passed the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, or the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs. The entrance to this basilica is built right into the
frigidarium of the Diocletian Baths; this was a conscious move to show the domination of paganism by the true religion of Christianity.
After this, we finally made it to the church we had been actually trying to get to the whole time, Santa Maria della Vittoria. This is a tiny church compared to the magnificent basilicas, but it holds a treasure. Tucked inside in one of the small chapels is Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Theresa". This sculpture, magnificent to behold and known to many, was also featured in "Angels and Demons". Seeing pictures of the statue definitely does not do it justice. It was absolutely awesome.
We had a late dinner at a place near the College where some of the group had gone before. The staff recognized us and told us that, if we waited for a table to open up, we would get "the best service". We ended up getting free appetizers (nothing too special, but it was free!) and, when the kitchen accidentally made two meals for someone, we got the extra meal. We were very pleased. Partway through dinner, the waiter came over and gave us a bottle of wine, saying "I don't know where this came from, but it's for you for free". We were told by a couple sitting near us that an older American gentleman had seen us eating and bought us a very good bottle of white wine. He apparently told the waitstaff not to tell us who bought it and that it was to be a surprise. We were touched. Maybe we'll pass on the kindness to some other group tonight and see how far the favor goes.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Vatican Necropolis and St. Peter's Basilica. For those of you who know me, this will arguably be the pinnacle of my Rome experience. Prepare for a very happy Jack.
Thus ends the 6th day.
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