Basilica di San Clemente

That night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred pole that is beside it; and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order; then take the second bull, and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the sacred pole that you shall cut down." So Gideon took ten of his servants, and did as the Lord had told him; but because he was too afraid of his family and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it by night. When the townspeople rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the sacred pole beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. - Judges 6:25-28

One common feature of Roman architecture, especially churches, is a distinct layer effect. With a city thousands of years old, things inevitably get built on top of each other. When Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, some of it was deliberate. Many churches were converted temples or holy places sanctified to make the city Christian instead of pagan. However, in some cases it was partially incidental, coming from the usefulness or perceived general holiness of a site. San Clemente is just such a site, where centuries of history stack on top of each other and demonstrate the Roman tendency to try to replace its own past.

In the second and third centuries, this site was likely used as a Mithraic temple. In was enclosed within a sort of apartment complex and was probably a place of initiation. This was probably partly due to the very convenient spring active near the site. Today, this level comprises the lowest part of the structure and the sound of running water makes one practically feel in a waterfall. However, adjacent to the site was the home of a Roman who converted to Christianity in the first century and allowed his home to be used for worship before Christianity was made legal. As Christianity gained acceptance, the Mithraic temple fell out of use and a church was built over the site. At the end of the 11th century, the church was mostly destroyed in the Norman sack of the city.

A new basilica was built on the site, and it wasn't until the late 19th century that the lower, ancient level of the church was even discovered. Inside, they found some of the most ancient frescoes to be found in the city of Rome. Even today, the Irish Dominicans who are entrusted with the church are trying to recover some of these frescoes.

Trips through the church are like a tour through time. The upper level is beautifully decorated, the lower level slowly emerging, and the bottom ancient level seeming almost primal with its dirt walls and sounds of rushing water. In this case, while the site itself was merely convenient, I am sure that the Christians of the time deliberately wanted to replace the remnants of pagan Rome and reclaim it for the Christian God. In this way, they were very similar to their ancient predecessors, trying to make their small and growing faith known and removing temptation to fall back into old ways. Regardless, it is good to have at least some foundation of the history of these sites so we can remember that Christian faith did not always have a safe place to be. We cannot appreciate who we are unless we know where we've been.

God our Father, you have guided us throughout the centuries. Keep us always in the true faith, steer us from temptation, grant us your mercy and strengthen our faith. When we are tempted to stray from you, send us your Holy Spirit to reignite our hearts and souls with the love of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.