Archaeologists

have uncovered

the oldest known

depiction of the

Apostle Paul,

dating back to the

end of the 4th cen-

tury. This image

of St Paul came to

light last June 19th

during excavations

that are taking

place in a cata-

comb dedicated

to St Thecla along

the Via Ostiense

which runs south-

west from Rome

to the coast, not

far from the Basilica where the mortal remains of the

Apostle are buried.

As the archaeologists were cleaning the roof of a cubicle

with lasers, they discovered a richly frescoed ceiling. At

the centre of the dome they found a depiction of the

Good Shepherd surrounded by four tondos showing St

Paul, in a well preserved image, together with St Peter

and what are most likely two other apostles.

In two lengthy articles in the Vatican newspaper,

L’Osservatore Romano, the archaeologists described in

detail their discovery: yet there is one detail which is

particularly striking and regards the reasons why the

Apostle Paul was depicted in the way we see him in this

fresco and in many other later images. In all these he is

given the face of a philosopher with a pensive gaze, a

high domed, slightly balding forehead and a pointed

beard.

In a recent art exhibition dedicated to St Paul in one of

the wings of the Vatican museum, two sculptures from

Roman times showing the heads of two philosophers –

one of them thought to be Plotinus – were on display

bearing a striking resemblance to the ancient depictions

of St Paul, starting with this most recent discovery. This

same question also concerns the Apostle Peter, tradi-

tionally depicted with a mass of short, thick, white

hair, with a broad face and determined gaze and

with a short pointed beard. The same traditional

depictions can be seen for other characters from the

Scriptures. Portrait painting was very common in

Greek and Roman art, but in Jewish culture it was

forbidden to depict human faces, so it is quite un-

thinkable that Paul or any of the disciples allowed

themselves to be painted. It was only much later that

the Church began to allow paintings of people con-

nected with the Christian faith.

So how were they to depict Peter and Paul, the

princes of the apostles, the two corner stones of the

Christian Church? Well, they decided to depict

these two key apostles with the features of two key

philosophers. Thus Paul, balding and bearded, with

the serious and thoughtful expression of an intellec-

tual was given the face of Plato, or perhaps Plotinus,

while Aristotle’s features were given to the pragmatic

and down-to-earth Peter, charged with guiding the

Church of Christ through the trials and dangers of

the world. If that indeed happened, the Church of

the first centuries did not find any difficulty in attrib-

uting to the apostles, and in particular to St Paul, the

features of a philosopher, nor in preserving, study-

ing and proclaiming for posterity the entirety of his

writings which were not easy to understand or to

accept.The same truth can be attributed to the Fa-

thers of the Church. In an age when Christianity was

on the rise, in an era when the spreading of the

Christian faith ‘to all nations’ was in full swing, the

Church never attempted to water down or adapt its

message to make it more acceptable to people of

those times. Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, Presi-

dent of the Pontifical Council for Culture, noted

that ‘close to this extraordinary depiction of Paul, we

can also see that of Peter, less well preserved but

none the less expressive and a sign of that Concor-dia apostolorum which was so dear to the heart of

the 4th century Church’. He said this is an

‘exceptional’ discovery because it reinforces in an

unexpected and surprising way, the initiatives that

marked the recently concluded Pauline year.

DISCOVERY OF THE OLDEST DISCOVERY OF THE OLDEST DISCOVERY OF THE OLDEST DISCOVERY OF THE OLDEST

ICON OF ST PAULICON OF ST PAULICON OF ST PAULICON OF ST PAUL The depiction of the Apostle of the Gentiles came to light not far from St

Paul’s tomb, in the catacombs of St Thecla.

December 2009

Year 3, N° 8

Page 2 Bulletin of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls

THE SERIES OF

‘PAPAL PORTRAITS CONTINUES’

ST. ANACLETUS (80-92) and ST. CLEMENT 1 (92-99)

The two medallions are located about twelve metres up on the east wall of the transept of the

Basilica, third and fourth to the right for those who are looking towards the apse.

The Papal Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls houses artistic and architectural treasures of immense value. In this month’s bulletin we continue our series of articles dedicated to the de-

scription of ‘Papal portraits’ that were begun in the 5th century. The famous series of ‘tondos’ or ‘medallions’ started by Pope Leo the Great (440-461) and restored by Pope Pius IX, continues

through to the present day and is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world.

ST ANACLETUS (80ST ANACLETUS (80ST ANACLETUS (80ST ANACLETUS (80----92)92)92)92) He was most likely of Greek origins, as indicated by the

name Anacletus, a Latinised form of the Greek adjective

anèncletos meaning ‘irreprehensible’, a name frequently used

for slaves. He is also known as Cletus and some sources have

erroneously understood Cletus and Anacletus as two different

people. We have very few facts about his pontificate, most of

them legendary, such as the belief that he erected a monu-

ment over the tomb of St Peter, the first foundation of the

future Vatican Basilica, or the story that he ordained twenty-

five priests. Even the account of his martyrdom is based on

legend but his feast day is celebrated on April 26th.

ST CLEMENT 1 (92ST CLEMENT 1 (92ST CLEMENT 1 (92ST CLEMENT 1 (92----99)99)99)99) He was Roman and perhaps a freedman of the consul Titus

Flavius Clemens, cousin of the Emperor Domitian, put to

death for having converted to Judaism and with whom he is

sometimes wrongly identified. Ancient sources agree that he

had direct connections with the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is

perhaps possible to identify him with the Clement mentioned

by St Paul as one of his collaborators (Philippians 4:3). He was

ordained priest and was certainly the main leader of the Ro-

man Church. According to a tradition which is not backed up

in the ancient sources, he died a martyr’s death and the story

of his exile in Crimea where he was drowned with an anchor

around his neck is certainly no more than a popular legend.

We know almost nothing of his role in the Church in Rome. The only certain fact is that

he was the writer and perhaps also the author of an important text written around 96 AD,

the First Letter of Clement to the Church in Corinth, in which he asks for the reintegration

of a number of priests who had been excluded. This letter is the first document testifying to

an intervention of the Church of Rome in external matters and was widely circulated, so

much so that at certain times it was considered to be a part of the New Testament. Tradi-

tion has it that the Church of St Clement in Rome was built over the place where he lived.

His feast day is November 23rd.

Page 3 Bulletin of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls

As one approaches the baldachin in the Basilica of St Paul Out-

side the Walls, one is struck by the powerful visual impact of its

location. The modern day altar is situated directly over the tomb

of the Apostle Paul which is now on display for pilgrims fol-

lowing the recent excavations during the Pauline year.

The Eucharist is thus celebrated ‘over’ the body of the Apostle,

directly above the sarcophagus which contains his mortal re-

mains. There is no more meaningful way of affirming that the

faith of the Church is the apostolic faith and that our own faith

is rooted in the faith of the apostles who knew the Lord in per-

son. The Eucharist which St Paul celebrated and our own cele-

brations are one and the same sacrifice. Furthermore, Paul –

together with the other apostles – appears in the mosaic of the

apse to illustrate the Church in heaven, which – together with

the Church on earth – is the one Church encompassing both

heaven and earth.

This vertical dimension of the Church – as well as of life and

human history – characterises our Christian faith. The Church is

much more than simply a horizontal ‘us’ who believe today in

places all over the world, but includes also the vertical ‘us’ which encompasses all those who have

believed in previous generations, starting with the first apostles of Our Lord.

For this reason, since earliest times, the Church has placed emphasis on the tradition of pilgrimage

to the tombs of the apostles, martyrs and saints, so that each generation may receive the faith of the

previous generations and request their intercession from heaven.

The first recorded testimony to veneration at the tomb of St Paul on the Via Ostiense goes back to

the historian Eusebius of Caesarea who lived at the time of the Emperor Constantine and who, in his

‘Ecclesiastical History’ states that: ‘it is recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome and that Peter

likewise was crucified under Nero: and this account is substantiated by the monuments bearing the

names of Peter and Paul visited in the cemeteries of the city of Rome even to the present day’.

Gaius of Rome too, a presbyter who lived at the time of Pope Zephyrinus, in one of his disputes

with Proclus, leader of the sect of the Montanists, speaks of the places where the sacred remains of

the same apostles were laid and says: ‘I can point out to you the tropaia (memorials) of the Apos-

tles: for if you go to the Vatican or the Ostian Way, you will find the memorials to the founders of

this Church’.

This testimony from Gaius, reported by Eusebius, dates back to the years 199-217 AD but the tradi-

tion of the tomb of the Apostle goes right back to the years of the New Testament. Gaius uses the

term ‘tropaeum’ to signify the burial places of Peter and Paul on the Vatican hill and on the Via

Ostiense. If this term has come to mean the first architectural structures of those tombs, we must not

forget that originally it meant the ‘victory’ in Christ won by the two apostles and martyrs. As Paul

declares in 2 Tim 4:8, they have won the ‘crown of righteousness prepared by the Lord for ‘all

those who have longed for his appearing’.

ST PAUL, THE BASILICA DEDI-

CATED TO HIM AND THE

FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHURCH

The Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls contains a wealth of works which

bear witness to the mission of the Church

Via Ostiense, 186Via Ostiense, 186Via Ostiense, 186Via Ostiense, 186

00146 ROMA00146 ROMA00146 ROMA00146 ROMA

Telephone : 06 698 80 800

Telefax : 06 698 80 803

e-mail : info@basilicasanpaolo.org

Papal Basilica of

St. Paul outside the

Walls

“IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE,

BUT CHRIST WHO LIVES IN ME!”

Gal 2, 20

The website of the Pauline year, started in Italian language, now is available in English, Spa-nish, Deutch and French.. The web site, that supplies modernized informations also about the calendar and the services beyond a montly bulletin for the mass media, allows to interact with announcement of pilgri-mages and reservations of celebrations and events in the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls.

The exquisite candelabrum for the Pascal candle made by Niccolò d’Angelo and

Pietro Vassaletto in the late 12th or early 13th century, which survived the terrible

19th century fire that devastated so much of the Basilica, bears an inscription

which is still perfectly legible and extols the triumph of Christ who brings to his

own the fruits of salvation: ‘The tree brings forth fruit. I am the tree that brings

light. And gifts. I proclaim the joy of a feast day. Christ is Risen. And I offer these

gifts’.

The apostles, who are depicted beneath the figure of Christ as Pantocrator in the

rounded apse, also sing of God’s glory, with two angels singing antiphons around

the Etimasia or throne upon which the victorious cross of Christ stands.

The angel to the right of the throne intones a hymn, with the words ‘Gloria in ex-

celsis Deo’ written on a scroll and the angel to the left replies with the words ‘et in

terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis’. The apostles follow, to the left and right,

continuing the hymn of praise.

Alongside the angelic choirs and the first generation of apostles, there follows the

action of Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) who is prostrate at the feet of Christ. Ar-

tistically speaking, this is the most beautiful part of the mosaic: in fact it is only the lower central part of the original

design that has survived intact, while the rest was completely restored after the 19th century fire, albeit adhering

closely to the earlier iconography.

Paul VI, in his first address to the bishops of the Second Vatican Council in September 1963, said the following words

which express the unity of Tradition offering praise to Christ: ‘We see before our tired and ravished eyes Jesus himself

shining with that majesty which appears to you, venerable brothers of the Eastern Churches and also of the Western

Churches, in the Pantocrator. And we see ourselves in the person of our predecessor Honorius III in the splendid mo-

saic of St Paul Outside the Walls, small in stature and reduced to nothing as we prostrate ourselves on the ground to

kiss the feet of Christ who presides in majesty over the assembly gathered in the Basilica, that is the Church’.

THE WEB SITE OF THE PAULINE YEAR NOW ALSO IN ENGLISH,

SPANISH , DEUTCH , FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE