OAJ Santa Maria Antiqua with pix

Santa Maria Antiqua – TheHeart of the East in theCentre of RomeIn the heart of the Forum in Romethere stands building, which is

partially hidden from view that at a second glance seemsodd. It has a roof and there is window glass to be seenwhich seems incongruous compared to its neighbours that areglorious ruins. A small sign tells that it is Chiessa SantaMaria Antiqua and it is closed to the public. Most peoplemove onto to the Temple of Augustus. Yet, the simplicityhides a great secret, for here is the “Greek Church” ofRome, the place that almost displaced St John Lateran as theseat of the Bishop of Rome. Hidden upon it’s walls are someof the oldest iconographic frescoes that still survivedating back to the 5th century and spanning the period uptill it’s burial by an earthquake in 847 AD. It was oncehome to the majestic and mysterious Icon of the Theotokos,the Santa Maria Antiqua which dates from just after the timeof the Council of Ephesus and provided a prototype for many,if not all the ancient Icons of the Theotokos revered inRome today.History of the Site

This is an area fraught with difficulty. As far asI can work out there are now 3 theories as to theorigins and original purpose of the building.However, one thing is clear; it was the finalenclosed section at the bottom of a processionalway from the Imperial Palaces that overlooked theForum. It was here Emperors, Governors and their

retinue made themselves ready before entering the Forumproper. Likewise, if things were rowdy it marked a place ofsanctuary where they could escape to from the crowds. Thus,we know that there was a military presence and function. AsChristianity became the religion of the empire and theEmperor a Christian, so to become a member of the PraetorianGuard it became obligatory to be a Christian. So we find by

around 380 C.E. the first evidence of Christian art and alsoworship in this space. At some stage after the conversionand stabilization of Christianity as the faith of the Empireearly signs appear that this area had become a devotionalspace.

Over the years, the structure was expanded in size takingits final size in the mid 4th century C.E. It was sometimeafter the Council of Ephesus and the later Council ofChalcedon that the oldest fresco of the Theotokos, of whichthere are but fragmentary remains, was painted. It shows herin imperial like regalia seated on a throne and yet she isnot yet the “imperial” Theotokos of Ravenna just yet. Partsof it survive in what is known as the “palimpsest” whichprovides at least three clearly discernible layers of art.

Around the same time the “Santa MariaAntiqua” icon dating from around 455 AD alsobecame associated with this place. It is avery large panel icon of the hodegitrastyle in encaustic Its survival andplace in the Roman Church history is afascinating story which is still beingexplored notably by two orthodoxscholars, one in Oxford and the other in Moscow, at themoment. It is cocooned in the Church of Santa FrancescaRomana away from public access whilst an 18th century copyadorns the space above the High Altar for the public to see.

During the time of the Emperor Justinian II (c 565 – 578C.E.) various architectural alterations were made includingthe construction of the apse. The construction of the apseled to the destruction of much of a fresco that depicts theBlessed Virgin Mary as a Byzantine Empress. However it wasnot just the Emperors who made the changes to the building.As it evolved Santa Maria Antiqua became the focal point fortwo things that would shape it’s future. The first is thatit became the focus for the greek clergy and community inRome. Records show that by the beginning of the 7th century

the Church was very much the place where visiting greekscame to worship. As many of the Popes of the time also werefrom the eastern part of the Empire, Santa Maria Antiquabecame like there private chapel and thus they decorated itwithout the restraints that may have come if they tried todo it at St John Lateran, St Peters or the other majorbasilicas. Secondly, Santa Maria Antiqua became a“diakonia”, a place where material aid and spiritualassistance was given. It also became the focus for a“healing” ministry with the Chapel to the left of the

Presbytery that was dedicated to the MedicalSaints primarily focused on Sts Cyrus andJohn. There is also evidence of some form ofministry to women and those experiencingfertility problems with the area outside theChapel of the Physicians having images of StAnna and the Child Theotokos, the Three HolyMothers – St Anna and the Theotokos, theTheotokos and the Christ Child and St

Elizabeth and St John the Baptist.

It was first known as “Santa Maria Antiqua” in the document“De Locis Sanctis Martyrum” in 635 C.E. Various Popes overthe years made alterations and redecorated the Church thatwill be referred to later as we look at the art.

Notable periods of artistic work were conducted in thepapacy’s of Martin I, John VII, Zacharias and Paul I thoughpossibly the most significant images for Orthodox Christianswhich are to be found in Santa Maria Antiqua fall outside ofthese periods. Each Pope contributed something unique in theworks commissioned. Those, which Pope Martin had painted,reflect the victory over the monothelitist heresy at theLateran Council of 649 and were finally condemned at the 6th

Ecumenical Council in 680-681. Whilst only a limited amountof the works survive, a stunning wall friezeoccupies the left side of the nave withChrist enthroned with the Doctors of theRoman Church on Christ’s right side whilst

on the left stand the Fathers of the Eastern Church. Theinscriptions are in greek and the art reflects the heavyhand of the byzantine style and it would seem, as is oftenthe case in this humble Church, the Pope is sending messageto imperial authority. The works of John VII form thelargest amount of extant works. John VII had a deep love ofSanta Maria Antiqua, so much, so that it was recorded thathe seriously thought of moving the cathedra of the Bishop ofRome to Santa Maria Antiqua. Much of the art found in theChapel of the Physicians’ plus the works surviving in theapse and triumphal arch date from his period together withthe Chapel of the 40 Martyrs which is adjacent to SantaMaria Antiqua. There is an intense movement towards theimage of the Crucified Christ in the art together with aninteresting change in the use of written language. The OldTestament quotes are in greek, whilst those from the NewTestament are in latin. The style of art still shows adeeply imbedded byzantine style which is fusing with a morefluid roman style. Part of the surviving text on theTriumphal Arch is taken from the Vespers of Holy and GreatFriday from the Church of Jerusalem.

It was during the time of Pope Zachariasthat saw the decoration of the Chapel ofTheodotus on the left side of thepresbytery. It is so named as the donor wasTheodotus, an official of the papacy. It isimportant to remember that whilst this

Chapel was being decorated the first iconoclastic period wasin full flight in the Eastern part of the Empire. Zachariaspredecessor Gregory III had already condemned iconclasm asheresy and despite threats from the Imperial Legate inRavenna the popes used Santa Maria Antiqua to thumb theirnoses at the heretical Emperor. The remarkable survival ofthis Chapel gives us a delicious taste of what the whole ofthe building must have been like with its striking colours.Finally Paul I contribution is to found largely in theAtrium area, the best example being the niche painting ofAbbacyrus ( St Cyrus).

The end of Santa Maria Antiqua came about with theearthquake of 847 C.E. when much of the Church was buried ina landslide. Pope Leo IV had a new church constructed acrossthe Forum naming it Santa Maria Nova and assigned to it therole Santa Maria Antiqua had to the new building. Variousitems from the ruins were retrieved including the largeimage, known as “Santa Maria Antiqua” dating from the 5thcentury. Attempts were made to use parts of the buildingwhere it was structurally sound and so there were a numberof chapels still in use at the time of the Norman sack ofRome in 1084, yet the earth had other ideas and graduallythe site was covered and another church built over the topSanta Maria Liberatrice. The site was mined for stone forthe building of St Peters Basilica by Julius II. There wereminor excavations that occurred from time to time during the16th and 17th centuries but it was not until 1900 GiaconoBoni undertook the first systematic excavation of the site.G M Rushforth from the British School of Rome undertook asystematic investigation and wrote it up in the Papers ofthe British School of Rome in 1902 and this work still formsthe starting point for any study of Santa Maria Antiqua.Since that time there have been numerous academic studiesmade of the site and the World Monuments Fund continues thework of conservation, under approval of the ItalianGovernment who is unable to make any financial contributionto the task.

The Special Significance of Santa Maria Antiqua forOrthodoxy

Santa Maria Antiqua has a pivotal place in OrthodoxIconography. This appears to be a sweeping statement thatwill cause consternation from Alexandria to Zagorsk, that aruined church in the centre of Rome, a former papal privatechapel should have a place of preeminence. For Santa MariaAntiqua is the home of the earliest surviving examples oftwo images that are to be found in just about every OrthodoxChurch throughout the world. They are;

The Anastasis – The figure of the risen Christreaching out to Adam, Eve and other figuressuch King David. The image is situated at therear of the Church at the door leading to theramp up to the Imperial Palace Complex. Thedating appears to place it in the time of JohnVII (705 – 707 AD)

The second is the Deesis – The figures ofthe Theotokos to the right of Christ andthe Forerunner to the left interceding withChrist. This dates back to the time of thevisit by Sophronius in 620AD and it flowsfrom an encounter he had at the Church inAlexandria dedicated to St Cyrus with a former monophsiteSub Deacon. The story is not well known, though St JohnDamascene cites it in his “Defence of Holy Images”.Unfortunately, most translations, particularly on theInternet do not have it as it was considered along with manyothers to be superfluous by the protestant translators.

I have much more I could say about the dating, compositionand origins of these images. However, let me state quiteclearly here that I have spent many many years seeking theorigins of these images and the earliest examples of them. Iam prepared to state categorically that these are theearliest examples and I have the backing of many scholars tosay that here is the source, fount from which has flowed thecountless examples to found across Orthodoxy. All of themfind their source in the little greek church in the Forum inRome.

Conclusion

Santa Maria Antiqua began its religious life when it waspart of the barracks for the Praetorian Guard. With thewithdrawal of the Emperors from Rome to the eastern capitalof Constantinople, the imperial complex above becameoffices, the residence of the Viceroy, and also a papalresidence. As result, the Church became a papal peculiar,that is to say a place that was the pope’s privatepossession where they could do what they wanted. Therefore,it was that we find that there is a rich history of figures,styles and peculiarities reflected in the decorationreflecting the particular devotions of the pope whocommissioned the art. Yet there was more to the Church than just that. It servedas Diaconia, a place where food, welfare and otherassistance was provided to populace. The church was alsoknown as the “Greek church”. Many of the clergy and monkswho served there were from the eastern part of the empireand brought their unique understandings, practices anddevotions, art to this place. Here a visitor to Rome fromthe East could feel at home, a haven in the middle of thecapital of Latin Christianity.

(Fr Paul Walliker is an Antiochian Orthodox Priest who has a Master of Visual Art(Painting) from Monash University, Australia. The focus of his project for hisMasters was Santa Maria Antiqua. He also recently attended the conference heldat the British School of Rome on Santa Maria Antiqua) All photographs were taken by Paul Walliker with theexception of the image of Santa Maria Antiqua which wassupplied to him by Chiessa S. Francesca Roma

The best website to start any web based research is that ofSoprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma.

Santa Maria Antiqua