| Church of Saint Theodore in Palatine hill San Teodoro al Palatino (Italian) |
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Entrance of the church. |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Rome |
| Affiliation | Orthodox |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | church |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Carlo Fontana, Francesco Barberini |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | VI century |
| Completed | XV century |
San Teodoro is 6th century church in Rome. It was given to the Orthodox community of Rome by Pope John Paul II in 2004. It is dedicated to Theodore of Amasea, and is located on an ancient route between the Roman Forum and Forum Boarium along the north-west foot of the Palatine Hill.
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It may first have been built early as the 6th century in the ruins of the granaries of Agrippa. The unusual round shape suggests it may have been built into the ruined shell of a temple similar in construction to the well-preserved nymphaeum once identified as a Temple of Minerva Medica. An ancient pagan altar may be seen in the atrium in front of the church, and a Christian mosaic of that date has been found on the site. The apse mosaic certainly dates to the 6th century, and shows Christ (in black clothing with gold lati clavi, indicating high rank on Roman garments) seated on an orb representing the heavens, flanked by Peter and Paul and by the two martyrs Theodore (a later addition, from Nicholas V's restoration) and Cleonicus.
It is also traditionally one of the seven original deaconries in Rome, being assigned to a deacon by Pope Agatho (c. 678), though the first titular deacon known by name is Roberto, c. 1073, who died before 1099.
No definitive evidence exists for the church, however, before the 9th century. As the dedication to an eastern saint suggests, this places it in a period of strong Byzantine influence in Rome. It was rebuilt under Pope Nicholas V, had its long-held titular-church status suppressed by Pope Sixtus V, was renovated by Francesco Barberini in 1643, and rebuilt and given to the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Clement XI and his architect Carlo Fontana in 1703-1705.
Its titulus was reestablished on 2 December 1959 by Pope John XXIII, with William Theodore Heard (1959-1970, pro hac vice presbyterial titular 1970-1973). The last titular of the church was Vincenzo Fagiolo, who died on 22 September 2000.
Pope John Paul II announced in November 2000 that he was allowing the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox community in Rome to use the church, with the official inauguration occurring on 1 July 2004, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
At the back of the atrium outside the church is an ossuary, where you can see stacked skulls and bones through a grille. The Capitoline Wolf was kept in this church until the 16th century.