Paul’s burial in Rome

The apostle Peter gets the most attention in Rome, but Paul also has his share of shrines. Paul was taken to Rome in the custody of the Roman Empire (Acts 27-28).

I appeal to Caesar. (Act 25:11)

Tradition has it that Paul was buried outside the walls of Rome where we now find the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The statue in front of the church shows Paul with a drawn sword and a book. The inscription reads PREDICATORI VERITATIS and DOCTORI GENEIUM. Paul was a preacher of truth and a teacher of the Gentiles.

For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1Timothy 2:7 NAU; see also 2 Timothy 1:11)

The Arch of Constantine

The Arch of Constantine was dedicated to the Emperor by the Senate and the People of Rome in A.D. 315. Constantine served as Emperor from A.D. 306 to 337. By the time of Constantine the church had made major departures from the New Testament pattern of church organization. The Emperor attended the Council of Nicea, but allowed the eastern bishops to preside over the meeting.

Grant comments on the question of Constantine’s conversion:

The question as to whether he was a “genuine” Christian or not depends on somewhat subjective definitions. (Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 227).

The Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Helena, the mother of Constantine, was responsible for the construction of many of the well-known churches of the Holy Land. Rosenberg says,

Her role in church history was due to her partnership in Constantine’s program of church building at Bethlehem and Jerusalem and to her discovery of what she believed to be the true cross, both of which led to the revival of Jerusalem and the encouragement of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. (Encyclopedia of Early Christianity 417).

How big is the Canon? Depends on who you ask.

Bible Study Magazine has made available a chart comparing various canons of Scripture. Those included are the Samaritan Bible, Hebrew Bible, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Syriac, Ethiopian, and Protestant. By clicking on the small chart you will be taken to the complete large chart in Bible Study Magazine.

Dan Brown’s novels: Fact or Fiction?

On the plane from Rome last week I noticed someone reading The Lost Symbol. I think the Today Show made a lot of the book a few weeks ago. I gave some attention to The Da Vinci Code here, but don’t plan to do the same for this new book.

The Telegraph, in an article by Tom Chivers, mentions 50 factual errors in the two books by Dan Brown.

Dan Brown’s new novel The Lost Symbol opens with a bold word: FACT. “All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel are real”, it says.

The Da Vinci Code, his previous bestseller, began in a similar fashion. “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate”, Brown says before the prologue.

Chivers discusses the categories of History, Geography, Science, Symbols, Religion and Mythology, Language, and Miscellany.

Swiss Guard at the Vatican. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Here is one of the mistakes that would not matter much except for the fantastic claim that everything in the books are true.

Langdon says the Swiss Guard’s outfits were “designed by Michelangelo himself.” This is an urban myth: Michelangelo had nothing to do with them. The current uniforms were designed by Commandant Jules Repond between 1910 and 1921.

The Vatican’s official web site says,

The colours which make the uniform so attractive are the traditional Medici blue, red and yellow, set off nicely by the white of the collar and gloves. The blue and yellow bands give a sense of lightness as they move over the red doublet and breeches. The Guard’s every-day uniform is completely blue. With the passing centuries there have been a few minor changes, but on the whole the original dress has been maintained. It is commonly thought that the uniform was designed by Michelangelo, but it would seem rather that he had nothing to do with it. However, Raffaello certainly did influence its development, as he indeed influenced fashion in general in Italy in the Renaissance, through his painting.

I wondered how I would ever use this good photo of a Swiss Guard at the Vatican.

HT: Biblical Paths

The Colosseum in Rome

The Colosseum in Rome was built in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus. He used 10,000 of the slaves from Judea in this work. Titus was in command of the Roman army when Jerusalem was burned in A.D. 70.

I know that this photo will make some of our tour members jealous  , but I thought I would share a photo I made of the Colosseum Friday afternoon. You may recall that our group visited the Colosseum and Forum in the rain a week ago.

The Colosseum in Rome. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

It is true that Christians were persecuted and even put to death in Rome, but there is no evidence that this occurred in the Colosseum. The persecution under Nero took place in the Circus of Nero. That is where St. Peter’s now stands. The persecution in the days of Claudius took place at least 30 years before the Colosseum was built. Luke describes Paul’s first visit to Corinth,

After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth.  And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,  and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. (Acts 18:1-3)

St. Paul’s Bay in Malta

We said goodbye to our group early this morning at the Rome airportas they prepared to depart for the USA. Elizabeth and I went to another terminal to wait for our noon flight to Malta.This was my first time to fly Air Malta. The planes bear the distinctive Maltese Cross on the tail.Malta is renowned for its association with the 12th century Knights of Malta (also know as the Knghts of Rhodes, and the Knights of St. John). They were also called the Hospitalers. I think they built the first hospital in Jerusalem at a site now near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Air Malta planes display the Maltese Cross. Photo by Ferrell Jenkin in Malta.

Malta is a popular resort and is still in the high season. We are staying at a hotel on the southern side of St. Paul’s Bay. My purpose in coming here is to photograph possible sites associated with Paul’s shipwreck.

After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta.  2 The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold. (Acts 28:1-2).

This is one of the first photos I made from our hotel balcony.

View of St. Paul's Bay. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The next photo was made at sunset and shows a portion of the rocky coast even in an area now filled with shops and seaside restaurants.

The rugged coast of St. Paul's Bay at Sunset. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Vatican City and the Vatican Museum

We had a busy day Saturday in Rome. In the morning we visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Vatican is an independent state within Italy. This is the largest church building in the world. Thousands of people visit it each day. There probably isn’t anyone who reads this blog who had not been here or seen photos or video of the building and its art treasures.

St. Peter's basilica in Vatican City. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

St. Peter’s is located on the site of Nero’s Circus. Nero’s persecution of Christians was in his circus, A.D. 64.  (Tacitus, Annales, XV, 44).

St. Peter’s was financed through the sale of indulgences in the 16th century. The reaction to this practice was an important factor in the Reformation Movement. Dr. Dan Petty explains a little about Martin Luther’s role.

Doctrinal Issues and Religious Authority. The immediate issue that prompted Martin Luther to post his 95 propositions for debate in 1517 was the abuse of the Roman Catholic system of indulgences. The doctrine of indulgences, first formulated in the thirteenth century, was associated with the sacrament of penance and the doctrine of purgatory. While the sacrament was believed to provide forgiveness of sin and eternal punishment, it was thought that there was a temporal satisfaction that the repentant sinner must fulfill in this life or in purgatory. The indulgence was a document that one could purchase for a sum of money that would free him from the temporal penalty of sin. The excess merits of Christ and the saints were believed to be stored up in a heavenly “treasury of merit” which the pope could draw from on behalf of the living.  In 1517 the Dominican Johann Tetzel was selling a special plenary indulgence (promising complete forgiveness of all sin) to raise money for the church. Half of the money was to be given to Archbishop Albert, to whom the pope had given a special dispensation to hold two offices. The rest would help finance the completion of Saint Peter’s cathedral in Rome. Luther’s protest initially was against what he saw as the abuse of the system of indulgence. It was also a challenge to the papal authority that made such abuses possible.

After the visit to St. Peter’s we went to the Vatican Museum. I broke away from the group to make some photos in the Roman section of the museum. Tremendous crowds visit this museum. I have been here several times since my first visit in 1967, and I have never seen the crowds worse than today.

In the afternoon the group went to the catacombs, I took leave to return to the hotel and continue work on my lesson for the Sunday service at La Chiesa di Christo, via Sannio 69 (Roma).

Learning the Bible in the Middle Ages

Duomo, Baptistery, and Campanile. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Cathedral (or Duomo) of Florence is of the Gothic style and dates to the 12th century A.D. The church, along with the baptistery, and the campanile (bell tower) have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bronze baptistery doors, often designated as the Gates of Paradise, was designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti in the early 1400s. The gates we see today are reproductions.

In the Middle Ages Bibles were not available to the common people. One of the ways the Bible was taught was through the stained glass windows, wood carvings, and cast works such as the doors of the baptistery. The panel in the photo below shows the Israelites crossing the Jordan, and the capture of Jericho (Joshua 3-6). Remember that for the Western World those were the Dark Ages.

Baptistery panel showing capture of Jeriocho. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

There is more that should be said about Florence, but we arrived in Rome last evening. Today and tomorrow will be filled with activity in Rome.

Be careful where you start a fire

Piazza della Signoria in Florence with Savonarola marker showing. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Yesterday morning I visited the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. I think many people walk through this Piazza to get to the Uffizi Gallery and never notice the plaque about Savonarola. Sometimes groups of people were standing on the plaque. When it was clear, one man walked up and said to his companions “Who’s that?” The group walked on without an answer.

Daniel M. Madden says,

In the lovely Piazza della Signoria, the political forum of Florence in all ages, Savonarola arranged a huge bonfire in 1497 so that penitents won over by his words could do away with their wigs, perfumes, lotions, powers and other accouterments of an easy way of life. He himself was burned to death in the same piazza a year later as a heretic. The spot where he died is marked with a plaque. It is not far from the copy of Michelangelo’s statue of “David.” (A Religious Guide to Europe)

One may say anything he wishes as long as he does not step on the toes of those in authority. Jesus faced this problem when He dealt with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

“If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:48 ESV)

Here is a closeup of the plaque marking the spot where Savonarola died.

Plaque marking spot where Savonarola died. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The background of the Protestant Reformation

Dr. Dan Petty, chair of Biblical Studies at Florida College, gave me permission to post some of his information about the Reformation Movement on the blog. Dan has some other material on church history at Lessons on Line. The following section, without indentation, is by Dr. Petty.

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The Protestant Reformation began in 1517, when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg, Germany. The background of the movement is complex. The movement was conditioned by political, social, economic, moral and intellectual factors. But it was above all a religious movement led by men interested in a genuine reform of Christianity.

The Decline of Papal Power
The rise of national monarchies in the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries came at the expense of the power of the papacy. This fact is illustrated by Pope Boniface VIII’s struggle with the king of France, which resulted in the pope’s humiliation and untimely death in 1303. The papacy was subsequently located in Avignon, France for an approximately seventy-year period known in history as the Avignon Papacy or the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy (1303-77). During that time the papacy was dominated by the French monarchy. Efforts to restore the papacy to Rome at first only resulted in a division, known as the Great Schism. Rival popes claimed legitimacy until the situation was finally resolved in 1417.

Such scandalous affairs in the highest leadership of the Roman Catholic Church led to increasing corruption and a loss of confidence in the church. Many questioned the absolute authority claimed for the pope. Others increasingly called for a reform of the church in “head and members.”

Moral Corruption in the Leadership of the Church
The years leading up to the Protestant Reformation were also plagued by moral corruption and abuse of position in the Roman Catholic Church. The priesthood was guilty of several abuses of privilege and responsibility, including simony (using one’s wealth or influence to purchase an ecclesiastical office), pluralism (holding multiple offices simultaneously) and absenteeism (the failure to reside in the parish where they were supposed to minister). The practice of celibacy which was imposed by the church on  the priesthood was often abused or ignored, leading to immoral conduct on the part of the clergy. Secular-minded, ignorant priests corrupted their position by neglect or abuse of power.

During the fifteenth century the worldliness and corruption in the church reached its worst. The problem of corruption reached all the way to the papacy.

Among those who spoke out for a reform of the church was the Dominican Giralamo Savonarola (1452-1498) of Florence, Italy. This fiery preacher spoke out against the corrupt morals of the city’s leaders and the abuses of the papacy. The people were won over to Savonarola’s cause in Florence, but because of religious rivalries and political circumstances, the movement was short-lived. Savonarola was hanged and burned for heresy in 1498.

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Here is a photo of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. This is where Savonarola preached and died. In the next post we will show a photo of the plaque marking the place where Savonarola was martyred in 1498.

Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.