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Enter into the underground... |
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written
by calaroni / 09.08.2004 |
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Conclusion |
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When I chose this topic from Lisa’s list, I chose it because of the mysteriousness of burial places. Like walking through a cemetery at night, I expected the catacombs to be a topic that would send chills through my spine and I would catch everyone’s attention with the creepiness of the theme. As with most sensational topics, the more I learned about the catacombs, the less mysterious they became, and the more my eyes were opened to the life within the catacombs, as opposed to the death. The catacombs I once thought of as gloomy are now places of gorgeous art and symbols that show the beginnings of a religion and the faith a people had in their God and in their future.
The art and faith expressed through the catacomb are merely the beginning. Emerging as a small cult, Christians carefully worshiped in private. The secrecy and mysteriousness of this new religion is apparent through the early Chrsitian imagery seen in the catacombs. As history progressed, these symbols once used in private as a sign of faith and obedience became the symbols of the grandeur of the Roman Catholic world. The Monogram of Christ, as one example, once neatly and simply scratched into the walls of the catacombs can now be seen ornately engraved in the brilliant basilicas throughout Rome today.
Walking through the catacombs, experiencing the incredible number of Christians buried there, it became obvious the huge impact this new religion had on the people of Rome. The catacombs are intriguing because they open our eyes to the lives of the earliest Christians. What was it like to live in the first and second centuries of Rome as a Christian? How would I feel watching and hearing the stories of martyrs sacrificing their precious lives in the name of their God? As hard as it is to imagine the life of Christians during this time, the Catacombs, complete with their galleries of tombs and walls filled with early Christian symbols, shine a light on the deep faith people had in their God and in Christ.
As hard as I try, I cannot say it better than does the website on the Catacombs of Rome:
"The Christians of the first centuries bore a wonderful witness to Christ; many of them even by the shedding of their blood, so that martyrdom has become a glorious mark of the Church.
Despite the fact that the catacombs are, after all, only cemeteries, they speak to the mind and heart of the visitors in a silent and understandable language. In the catacombs everything speaks of life more than death. Every gallery they pass through, every symbol or painting they see, every inscription they read, brings the past to life and gives a message of faith and of Christian testimony. Therefore the visit to the catacombs cannot be reduced to a mere sightseeing tour neither to a cultural archaeological trip. Following the example of the numberless pilgrims of the past, it should turn out to be an authentic pilgrimage of faith to one of the historical monuments that better expresses the life and martyrdom of the Roman Church of the first centuries."
As intriguing as the catacombs are on paper, I cannot wait to experience them myself. The photos and descriptions of the artwork and galleries of the Catacomb of Priscilla cannot come close to Catacombs themselves. Only when we are able to smell, touch, and see the catacombs ourselves will we be able to catch a true glimpse into the history that took place with them thousands of years ago.
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