Catacomb of Callixtus

The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) was one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes (Italian: Capella dei Papi), which contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th centuries.[1][2] The crypt fell into disuse and decay as the remaining relics were translated from the catacombs to the various churches of Rome; the final wave of translations from the crypt occurred under Pope Sergius II in the 9th century before the Lombard invasion, primarily to San Silvestro in Capite, which unlike the Catacomb was within the Aurelian Walls.[1]

The Catacomb is believed to have been created by future Pope Callixtus I, then a deacon of Rome, under the direction of Pope Zephyrinus, enlarging pre-existing early Christian hypogea. Callixtus himself was entombed in the Catacomb of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way. The Catacomb and Crypt were rediscovered in 1854 by the pioneering Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi.[1]

Contents

Papal tombs

At its peak, the fifteen hectare site would have held the remains of sixteen popes and fifty martyrs. Nine of those popes were buried in the Crypt of the Popes itself, to which Pope Damasus I built a staircase in the 4th century. Among the discovered Greek language inscriptions are those associated with: Pope Pontian, Pope Anterus, Pope Fabian, Pope Lucius I, and Pope Eutychian. A more lengthy inscription to Pope Sixtus II by Furius Dionisius Filocalus has also been discovered.

Outside the Crypt of the Popes, the region of Saints Gaius and Eusebius is so named for the facing tombs of Pope Gaius ("Caius") and Pope Eusebius (translated from Sicily). In another region, there is a tomb attributed to Pope Cornelius, bearing the inscription "CORNELIVS MARTYR", also attributed to Filocalus.[3]

A plaque placed by Pope Sixtus III (c. 440) lists the following popes: Sixtus II, Dionysius, Cornelius, Felix, Pontianus, Fabianus, Gaius, Eusebius, Melchiades, Stephen, Urban I, Lucius, and Anterus, a list not including any 2nd century tombs.[4] The Crypt of the Popes quickly filled up in the 4th century, causing other popes to be buried in related catacombs, such as the Catacomb of Priscilla (underneath San Martino ai Monti), the Catacomb of Balbina (only Pope Mark), the Catacomb of Calepodius (only Pope Callixtus I and Pope Julius I), the Catacomb of Pontian (only Pope Anastasius I and Pope Innocent I, father and son), and the Catacomb of Felicitas (only Pope Boniface I).[5]

2nd century

Pontificate Portrait Common English name Pre-Callixtus translations Location within Callixtus Post-Callixtus translations Notes
155–166 Anicetus
Saint Anicetus		 Vatican Hill (some sources say he was originally buried in the Catacomb of Callixtus) Unknown Altemps Palace (Piazza Navona) Sarcophagus which may have once contained remains is extant in the Altemps Palace[6][7]
c.166–174/175 Soter
Saint Soter		 None Unknown San Silvestro in Capite
San Sisto Vecchio
Toledo, Spain
San Martino ai Monti		 Possibly never buried in Catacomb of Callixtus and confused with a martyr buried in 304[8]
199–217 Zephyrinus
Saint Zephyrin		 Private cemetery ("in cymiterio suo")[9] Not in the Crypt of the Popes San Silvestro in Capite First pope buried in the Catacomb, which he ordered Callixtus to organize[10]

3rd century

Pontificate Portrait Common English name Pre-Callixtus translations Location within Callixtus Post-Callixtus translations Notes
222/223–230 Urban I
Saint Urban		 None Unknown (see notes) None known Not to be confused with a non-Roman bishop Urban buried in the catacomb of Praetextatus; slab in Crypt of the Popes bears the Greek words: OYPBANOC E[pivskopoV] ("Urban, Bishop"), but identification is not certain[11]
21 July 230 - 28 September 235 Pontian
Saint Pontian		 Sardinia Crypt of the Popes None known Translated from Sardinia (the "Isle of Death") by Pope Fabian in 237, buried in the papal crypt on November 12; two extant engravings: IIONTIANOC EIII M[αρτυ]ρ ("Pontianus Bi[shop] M[arty]r") and ENθEΩN [αγιωv 'Eπισχοπωv] IIONTIANE ZHCHC ("Mayest thou live, Pontianus, in God with all")[12]
21 November 235 - 3 January 236 Anterus
Saint Anterus		 None Crypt of the Popes San Silvestro in Capite Possibly the first pope in the Crypt of the Popes; inscription reads ANΘEPΩC EIII ("Anterus, Bishop") and is broken such that it could have once mentioned him as a martyr[13]
10 January 236 - 20 January 250 Fabian
Saint Fabian		 None Crypt of the Popes San Martino ai Monti
Old St. Peter's Basilica
San Sebastiano fuori le mura		 Greek inscription from the Catacomb of Callixtus is extant; translated to San Martino by Sergius II (Liber Pontificalis) or combined with Sixtus II in Old St. Peter's (Petrus Mallius); sarcophagus inscribed with ΦABIANOC EIII MP ("Phabianos Bi[shop] M[arty]r") in San Sebastiano fuori le mura[13]
25 June 253 - 5 March 254 Lucius I
Saint Lucius		 None Crypt of the Popes Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
San Silvestro in Capite
Santa Prassede		 Extant inscription reads "Lucius, Bishop" (Greek: ΛOYKIC) sarcophagus that once held remains is extant in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere [7][14]
30/31 August 257 - 6 August 258 Sixtus II
Saint Sixtus II		 None Crypt of the Popes Old St. Peter's Basilica
San Sisto Vecchio		 Translated from the Catacomb of Callixtus to Old Saint Peter's by Paschal I; translated from Old Saint Peter's to San Sisto Vecchio by Leo IV; lengthy epitaph discovered in the Catacomb of Callixtus[14]
22 July 259 - 26 December 268 Dionysius
Saint Dionysius		 None Crypt of the Popes San Silvestre in Capite Alleged relics of Popes Sylvester I, Stephen I, and Dionysius were exhumed and enshrined beneath the high altar of San Silvestro in Capite in 1601; no archaeological evidence in the Catacomb of Callixtus[15]
5 January 269 - 30 December 274 Felix I
Saint Felix		 None Crypt of the Popes None known According to legend buried in the "Cemetery of the Two Felixes", which as never been located[15]
4 January 275 - 7 December 283 Eutychian
Saint Eutychian		 None Crypt of the Popes Abbey of Luni (Sarzana)
Sarzana Cathedral		 Last pope buried in the Crypt of the Popes; inscription reads: EYTYXIANOC EIIC ("Eutychian, Bishop")[15]
17 December 283 - 22 April 296 Caius
Saint Caius		 None Crypt of St. Eusebius San Silvestro in Capite
Church built over his original house
Sant'Andrea della Valle (Barberini chapel)		 Inscription reads: I [AIO]Y EIII[CKOIIOY] / KAΘ / [IIPO I] KAΛ MAIΩ[N] ("The deposition of Caius, Bishop, the 22nd day of April")[15]

4th Century

Pontificate Portrait Common English name Pre-Callixtus translations Location within Callixtus Post-Callixtus translations Notes
c.309 - c.310 Eusebius
Saint Eusebius		 Sicily Crypt of St. Eusebius None known Inscription and lengthy epitaph extant[16]
2 July 311 - 11 January 314 Miltiades
Melchiades
Saint Miltiades		 None Unknown San Silvestre in Capite Only pope entombed in the Catacomb of Callixtus during the "long peace"; buried in a large sarcophagus with a roof-shaped cover[17]
1 October 366 - 11 December 384 Damasus I
Saint Damasus		 None Unknown Old St. Peter's Basilica
San Lorenzo in Damaso		 Buried with his mother, Laurentia, and sister, Irene; sarcophagus inscription extant; head allegedly in a reliquary donated by Clement VIII to St. Peter's[18]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Reardon, 2004, p. 291.
  2. ^ Carragáin, page 59, 2007
  3. ^ Saghy, Marianne (2000). "Scinditur in partes populus: Pope Damasus and the Martyrs of Rome". Early Medieval Europe 9 (3): 273. 
  4. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 10.
  5. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 11.
  6. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 25.
  7. ^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 270.
  8. ^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 25–26.
  9. ^ Johnson, Mark Joseph (1997). "Pagan-Christian Burial Practices of the Fourth Century: Shared Tombs?". Journal of Early Christian Studies 5 (1): 37–59. doi:10.1353/earl.1997.0029. 
  10. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 26.
  11. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 27.
  12. ^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 27–28.
  13. ^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 28.
  14. ^ a b Reardon, 2004, p. 30.
  15. ^ a b c d Reardon, 2004, p. 31.
  16. ^ Reardon, 2004, pp. 32–33.
  17. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 33.
  18. ^ Reardon, 2004, p. 37.

References