When and by whom was the Basilica Apostolorum built?
Alastair Logan (University of Exeter)
Journal of the Oxford University History Society:Issue 5 (Michaelmas, 2007)
Abstract
The church of San Sebastiano, located at the ancient site called ‘ad Catacumbas’ on the old Via Appia a mile or so outside the modern city, conceals behind its seventeenth century façade the remains of the fourth century basilica of Peter and Paul, the so-called Basilica Apostolorum. The latter seems to have been built in the first half of the fourth century, but no-one is quite sure when or by whom. Traditionally it has been associated with Constantine and his considerable church- building programme in Rome and environs from 313 on, recorded in the sixth century recension of the Liber Pontificalis. But no entry in it either under Silvester or any later bishop of Rome makes any mention of the basilica. On the other hand, the imperial monogram discovered by Paul Styger on the threshold of the gateway to the complex could very well be that of Constantine (if also of Constantine II, Constans or Constantius II).
The basilica was built on the site of an earlier memoria or martyrium, the so-called Memoria Apostolorum, dedicated to the two princes of the apostles.3 They were the object of the earliest datable Roman martyr cult (29th June 258),4 which from the beginning attracted pilgrims not only from Rome and Italy but also from Africa, Egypt and the Orient.5 Such a renowned site and cult must surely have attracted the attention and interest of Constantine, who, according to the Liber Pontificalis, was persuaded by Silvester (314-35) to build individual basilicas in honour of St Peter and St Paul, endowing them lavishly.
When and by whom was the Basilica Apostolorum built?
Alastair Logan (University of Exeter)
Journal of the Oxford University History Society: Issue 5 (Michaelmas, 2007)
Abstract
The church of San Sebastiano, located at the ancient site called ‘ad Catacumbas’ on the old Via Appia a mile or so outside the modern city, conceals behind its seventeenth century façade the remains of the fourth century basilica of Peter and Paul, the so-called Basilica Apostolorum. The latter seems to have been built in the first half of the fourth century, but no-one is quite sure when or by whom. Traditionally it has been associated with Constantine and his considerable church- building programme in Rome and environs from 313 on, recorded in the sixth century recension of the Liber Pontificalis. But no entry in it either under Silvester or any later bishop of Rome makes any mention of the basilica. On the other hand, the imperial monogram discovered by Paul Styger on the threshold of the gateway to the complex could very well be that of Constantine (if also of Constantine II, Constans or Constantius II).
The basilica was built on the site of an earlier memoria or martyrium, the so-called Memoria Apostolorum, dedicated to the two princes of the apostles.3 They were the object of the earliest datable Roman martyr cult (29th June 258),4 which from the beginning attracted pilgrims not only from Rome and Italy but also from Africa, Egypt and the Orient.5 Such a renowned site and cult must surely have attracted the attention and interest of Constantine, who, according to the Liber Pontificalis, was persuaded by Silvester (314-35) to build individual basilicas in honour of St Peter and St Paul, endowing them lavishly.
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