Part 8

Singularly enough the great Cluniac Brotherhood of Benedictines, with its two thousand churches, scattered over the countries of the West, never seems to have adopted the Crypt as a part of any of their many homes of prayer. There is little doubt that the example of so mighty and influential a section of the Church of the twelfth century also contributed largely to the disuse of this most ancient and interesting feature, which for some ten centuries or more had occupied a place in the planning of so many of the more important abbeys and homes of prayer in the West.

To sum up, the Crypt was entirely a Latin and Western use; it was virtually unknown, and practically non-existent outside the broad area of Latin Christianity. The custom of the Eastern Church received it not. It belonged exclusively to the Western school of Romanesque architecture. It is interesting to remember that as the school of Romanesque building gave place to another and different school of architecture, the Crypt virtually disappeared. No purely Gothic Crypt can be quoted or referred to.

In the first place it was undoubtedly understood to be the resting-place of the remains of the famous saint or confessor after whom, in so many cases, the church built over the Crypt in question was named, and to whose honoured memory the church was dedicated. But it came to pass, when the vogue or fashion of constructing a Crypt or under-church became very general, that not unfrequently we find this under-church, sometimes of considerable size and importance, designed and planned _without_ the presence of any of these hallowed remains dating from far-back days. Such, for instance, was the vast Gloucester Crypt. No tradition exists in Gloucester of the remains of any saint or confessor ever having been laid to rest in the wide ambulatory or in the central division of that most venerable and solemn under-church which lies beneath the stately Cathedral of Gloucester.

[Illustration: The central part of the Crypt of Gloucester Cathedral. XI Century.]

THE CRYPT OF S. PETER ON THE VATICAN HILL

THE STORY OF A TOMB

There was one Crypt of remarkable sanctity--that of S. Peter at Rome. It was the favourite object of all Western pilgrimage from the last years of the first century--and it retained its far-reaching popularity for many centuries.

This Crypt which contains the remains of the great Apostle, with the “Memoria” of Anacletus immediately above it, may justly be considered to have set the vogue which prevailed in the planning of a Crypt in so many important churches of Western Christianity, from the fourth until the end of the twelfth century.

The immense and enduring estimation in which this Crypt of S. Peter at Rome was held for so many centuries, has determined the writer of these studies to describe it with some detail--and to tell its eventful and striking story at some length.

In the year of grace 70, Jerusalem and her glorious temple were burnt and destroyed by Titus and his Legions, who saw in Jerusalem, the sacred city and citadel not only of the rebel Jews, but also of the hated Christian sect. There is no doubt but that from the year of the great catastrophe Rome gradually became the acknowledged centre and metropolis of Christendom--it had no longer any recognised centre when Jerusalem was destroyed.

This position has been altered and the influence of Rome has been dimmed, and to a certain extent materially diminished by certain other centres of Christianity which have arisen. But she holds it to a certain extent still. _Constantinople_ the home of the widespread Eastern or Greek Christianity, and later _Moscow_ after the fall of Constantinople, were important religious centres. _London_ among the far-reaching Anglo-Saxon peoples may claim, with some reason, the lofty title of the Metropolis of the Christian world.

Yet after all these great religious centres have been reckoned with, Rome, though her old fame and influence has been sadly tarnished and dimmed, still ranks first. The Eastern or Greek Church, changeless in the midst of change, silently watches _her_ loved metropolis of Constantinople all spoiled and desecrated, in the hands of unbelievers. The Protestant Churches dear to the Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic peoples, reluctantly perhaps, sadly without doubt, in their hearts still think of Rome as the centre or metropolis of that living faith in the Crucified which has been adopted as the religion of the fairest and most powerful portion of the world.

* * * * *

S. Peter is regarded by Roman Catholic writers (as might have been expected) as the founder of the Roman congregation--many too among Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic scholars now accept this view. This conclusion undoubtedly is supported: (1) by the general testimony of early Christian writers mostly of the second century; (2) by the important traditional “Memories” of the presence and preaching of S. Peter in Rome. Some of these “Memories,” it is true, are purely traditional, others have clearly an historical foundation; but taken all together, they constitute an argument of no little weight. In the written testimonies, as well as in the “Memories” which hang round the figures of SS. Peter and Paul in Rome, who are generally joined together as founders of the great Church of the Metropolis of the Empire, it is notable that Peter, not Paul, ever is the principal figure; (3) the place which the two mighty Basilicas of S. Peter and S. Paul have ever occupied in the minds and hearts not only of the dwellers in Rome, but also of all the innumerable pilgrims in all ages to the sacred shrines of Rome, seems accurately to measure the respective positions which the two great Apostles have ever held in the estimate of the Roman congregation.

The comparative neglect of S. Paul’s Basilica in Rome when measured with the undying reverence bestowed on the sister Basilica of S. Peter, is due, not to any want of reverence and regard for the great Apostle of the Gentiles, but solely because Rome itself and the innumerable pilgrims to the Queen City were conscious of the special debt of Rome to S. Peter, who was evidently in all ages regarded as the first and real founder of the mighty Church of the Capital.

This great and revered teacher S. Peter suffered martyrdom about the year 66-67. Somewhere about A.D. 69, when the violence of the terrible persecution of Nero, who perished A.D. 68, was dying away, the Christian worshippers in Rome prepared a tomb in the nearest available spot to the place of his martyrdom on the Vatican Hill. This tomb was a vaulted chamber almost entirely subterranean.

This sacred sepulchre was visited from very early days by ever large and increasing numbers of the faithful, not only belonging to the Roman congregations, but including pilgrims from all parts of the Roman world who wished to pray at the sacred tomb; these visitors were undeterred by any danger of arrest and death. Pilgrimage to the holy places of Jerusalem was impossible since a heathen temple had arisen on the site of the Holy Sepulchre. It was therefore to Rome, and especially to the tomb of S. Peter, that the early pilgrim devotees of Christendom chiefly turned.

But the original sepulchre or vault where the remains of S. Peter rested[26] provided but little space for pilgrims, and was not indeed very easy of access. So Anacletus, who followed Linus as Bishop of the Roman Church, A.D. 79-87, built a “Memoria” or upper chamber immediately above the tomb to serve as a little church or meeting-place for the ever-increasing numbers of pilgrim visitors. This “Memoria” of Anacletus was constructed by simply raising the walls of the tomb or crypt to a higher level, and was of the same shape as the vault itself; thus, as it were, providing a chamber for the pilgrim visitors on the floor immediately above the actual tomb.

This little upper chamber of the tomb, which was above ground, is the “Tropæum” spoken of by Caius the presbyter, when, in A.D. _circa_ 210, he writes as follows: “I can show you the trophies of the Apostles, for whether you go to the Vatican or on the Ostian Way you will meet with their ‘trophies’” (_i. e._ of SS. Peter and Paul who founded the Church in Rome).

But in addition to building the little upper chamber or “Memoria” of the tomb itself, Bishop Anacletus prepared places, or graves, in which he himself and a certain number of his successors might be buried round S. Peter.

In this sacred burying-place, in these graves prepared by Anacletus round the Apostle’s tomb, were the early second-century Bishops of Rome laid, close to the resting-place of S. Peter, and it is these graves which were laid open in the excavations of which we shall presently speak, in the year 1626.

* * * * *

There is no record of the exact date of the building of the Basilica of S. Peter, but there can be no doubt that it was really, as immemorial tradition has asserted, the work of Constantine the Great after he became absolute master of the Roman world.

We should put the date probably shortly _after_ A.D. 324, in which year the yet earlier Basilica of the Lateran was consecrated. The inscription which still runs along the west front of the Lateran Church--

“Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia, omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum Mater et Caput”--

voices the ancient tradition that the consecration of the great Lateran Church preceded the building of S. Peter.

The venerable dedicatory inscription originally on the principal arch which spanned the nave of S. Peter recorded the name of its imperial builder:

“Quod duce Te Mundus Surrexit Ad Astra Triumphans Hanc Constantinus Victor Tibi Condidit Aulam.”

The entry in the _Liber Pontificalis_, presently quoted, tells of the first Christian Emperor’s special work in the vault or crypt of the Apostle’s tomb.

It was over this sacred tomb and the little “Memoria” above it that Constantine erected the magnificent church known as Old S. Peter’s. Before the days of Constantine, the humble “Memoria” of Anacletus represented the church above the tomb. Under the first Christian Emperor, the little “Memoria of Anacletus” grew into the magnificent Basilica[27] renowned for centuries through the Western world.

But here we have only to do with the tomb and the immediate work above it in the “Memoria” of Anacletus. The entry in the _Liber Pontificalis_ gives us a precise account of what the Emperor Constantine did in the vault of the tomb.

“He hid away the stone coffin which contained the body after this manner: He enclosed the coffin altogether in bronze, and then built up (_i. e._ filled the vault) with masonry. After this manner he enclosed the body of the blessed Peter and hid it away.”

There is no doubt, however, that the Emperor, in enclosing the sarcophagus of the Apostle with solid masonry, left clear a little space actually above the coffin in the ceiling of the vault, for the same entry goes on to tell us that Constantine made a gold cross and placed it above the bronze covering of the coffin. This gold cross was seen gleaming through an opening as late as A.D. 1594. We know too that in the early Middle Ages, objects of devotion were occasionally lowered from the church above, through the ceiling, and these objects were revered as bonâ fide precious relics of the Apostle whose coffin they had touched.

* * * * *

Here the entry in the _Liber Pontificalis_ ends, and the particulars of any work which Constantine carried out in the “Memoria” of Anacletus, which had been built above the tomb, we can only learn from its present appearance and from detached notices which occur in later entries of the _Liber Pontificalis_ which tell us of the splendid gifts made to this “Memoria” by the Popes and others in the following centuries.

Directly above the “Memoria” it is clear that Constantine, when he built the great church, placed a heavy stone altar. This had to be supported by strengthening the comparatively slender walls of the “Memoria.” The vault of the tomb filled up, save directly above the sarcophagus, with solid masonry, provided a firm foundation, and the “Memoria,” which was now divided into two chambers, was made strong with additional masonry. The lower of the two chambers was completely filled up save for a small opening or passage which led directly down to the vault of the tomb.

The walls of the upper chamber of the “Memoria” were also strengthened with masonry sufficient to support the great altar placed immediately above it, but enough space was left to form the Confessionary, part of which still exists beneath the great altar.

Thus direct communication with the sacred vault of the tomb itself existed by means of the narrow opening or passage through the lower chamber above mentioned, by means of which handkerchiefs or similar objects could be let down so as to touch the sarcophagus in which lay the remains of the Apostle. This opening or passage was closed with two small gratings carefully locked. These gratings are generally known by the term “cataracts”--the one at the lower end, which was in fact the ceiling of the vault, which ceiling consisted of one or more marble slabs; the other on the top of the opening or passage, on the floor of the upper chamber of the “Memoria”--which became the well-known Confessionary.[28]

We possess in the writings of S. Gregory of Tours a vivid description of the manner in which pilgrims to Rome revered the sacred shrine in early times. The description in question was given to S. Gregory by his deacon Agiulphus who had made the pilgrimage. The account is given us by S. Gregory in his book called _In gloriâ Martyrum_, written about the year of grace 595. We append a translation of the words here of S. Gregory--

“S. Peter is buried in a church called from ancient times the Vatican.... His sepulchre, which is placed under the Altar, is exceedingly rarely entered. However, if any one desires to pray, the gates by which the place is fenced are opened, and he goes in above the sepulchre, and then, having opened a little window, puts his head within and makes request concerning his needs.

“Nor is the result delayed, if only the petition be a just one. For if he desires to carry away with him some blessed memorial, he throws within a little handkerchief that has been carefully weighed, and then watching and fasting, he prays most fervently that the Apostle may give an effectual answer to his devotion. Wonderful to say, if the faith of the man prevails, the handkerchief when it is raised from the tomb, is so filled with divine virtue that it weighs much more than it did before, and then he who has raised it knows that he has obtained the favour which he sought.

“Many also make golden keys to unlock the gates of the blessed sepulchre, and then they take away those which were used before, as a sacred treasure, and by these keys the infirmities of the afflicted are cured. For true faith can do all things.”

Mgr. Barnes in his work on S. Peter’s tomb gives a detailed explanation of the above report of Agiulphus to S. Gregory of Tours.

“The actual sepulchre, the subterranean chamber in which the sarcophagus (of S. Peter) was placed, was scarcely ever opened, and was not, even at that early date (late in the sixth century), accessible to ordinary worshippers. The most that they could hope for, was to visit the Confession under the Altar ... the pilgrim passes on, throws himself with his body prostrate within the recess, raises the little window or grating which closed the aperture in the floor, and so puts himself in communication, not indeed with the tomb itself, but with the space which intervened between the Confession and the vault, which space had once formed the lowest part of the old upper chamber or ‘Memoria’ of Anacletus.”

From the vault and the actual sepulchre he was still shut off by a second grating or cataract--which was unlocked for him.

Through these two gratings, when opened, the handkerchief or other object was lowered so as to touch the tomb, and this could be carried away as a precious relic.

* * * * *

By the early Popes and Bishops of Rome, and other illustrious persons, notably by Pelagius II, A.D. 579-590; S. Gregory, A.D. 590-604; Sergius, A.D. 687-701; S. Gregory III, A.D. 731-741; Paul I, A.D. 757-768; Hadrian I, A.D. 772-795; and S. Leo III--Hadrian’s successor--were magnificent and costly offerings bestowed upon the sacred shrine. These decorated with unexampled magnificence the Confession, the Altar and the canopy above.

In the reign of Paul I, King Pepin of France was also a munificent donor to this famous shrine.

These gifts consisted in gold and silver coverings for the canopy of the altar--in costly mosaics--in precious marble columns--in pavements of silver--in railings and gates of gold--in superb candelabra. Many of these costly gifts are chronicled with much care and detail in entries in the _Liber Pontificalis_.

A specially interesting entry in the _Liber Pontificalis_ tells us how Charlemagne, accompanied by Pope Hadrian, was permitted to enter the vault of the tomb--the only visit to the sepulchre itself that is recorded. The few words which tell of this, perhaps solitary, visit of the great Frankish sovereign and the Pope are memorable--

“Descendentes pariter ad Corpus beati Petri.”

* * * * *

In the time of Pope Sergius II, we read of another imperial visit to Rome. The Emperor Louis II, A.D. 845, was received with the same ceremonial respect as his great predecessor Charlemagne. He, too, prayed before the Confession, but there is no allusion to any visit to the body of S. Peter. The sacred vault indeed seems to have been, even in these far-back centuries, very rarely if ever entered. Charlemagne’s visit was probably never repeated.

Only two years after Louis II’s visit occurred the destructive raid of the Saracens. For several years these Mahommedan invaders, who had taken possession of Sicily, had ravaged the Italian coasts. They had plundered the great Monastery of Monte Cassino, and in A.D. 847 appeared before Rome. This raid was not unexpected, for some of the treasures seem hastily to have been removed to a more secure home within the walls of the city.

No attempt to move the great bronze-covered sarcophagus was evidently thought of, but the entrance to the vault was concealed by pouring down stones and rubble through the upper opening below the Confession, completely filling up the space between the two cataracts or gratings, which thus escaped the notice of the plundering invaders, who, however, carried off many of the treasures, the gifts of the Popes and other distinguished persons to which we have alluded above, which adorned the shrine.

The Saracens only stayed in the vicinity of S. Peter’s for some eight days, and then retreated. There is little doubt but that the “earthing up” the narrow passage which led to the sacred vault where the sarcophagus lay, the filling it up with the stones and rubbish which _still_ effectually blocks up all access to the tomb itself, must be dated from the period of this raid of the Saracens in A.D. 847.

Much was done by S. Leo IV, A.D. 847-855, and his successors in the Papacy, to restore the damage done and the havoc wrought by the Saracenic raiders; but the passage to the tomb itself was never again opened. Many beautiful and costly gifts were often made to the shrine, and especially to the Confession, by various Popes and illustrious visitors and pilgrims, among whom the Anglo-Saxon Ethelwolf, the father of Alfred, must be included. But in spite of these efforts and gifts the shrine never again reached anything like the glory and magnificence which it possessed before the terrible incursion of the Saracen invaders in A.D. 847.

For more than a thousand years there has been no access to the vault of the tomb; and no serious attempt, for various reasons, has ever been made to restore the original communication which once evidently existed between the floor of the Confession and the sacred chamber which held, and no doubt holds still, the bronze-covered sarcophagus of S. Peter.

We possess no accurate contemporary details of this disastrous Saracenic raid, as the manuscripts of the _Liber Pontificalis_ are deficient here.

* * * * *

A story of surpassing interest is told by Bonanni (_Templi Vaticani historia_), the authenticity of which is accepted by Marucchi, Lanciani, Barnes and other scholars and experts.

In the spring of A.D. 1594, when the works connected with the new S. Peter’s were going on, Giacomo della Porta, the architect in charge, reported to Pope Clement VIII that a portion of the ground in the vicinity of the tomb had given way, and through an aperture thus uncovered the interior of the chamber of the tomb could be seen.

The Pope, accompanied with three Cardinals, at once visited the spot, and with the aid of a lighted torch the sarcophagus was visible, with the great golden cross of Constantine lying upon it. Clement VIII, after viewing the strange sight, immediately ordered the aperture to be closed with cement in his presence. The names of the Cardinals, who were well known, were Bellarmine, Antoniano and Sfondriato.

* * * * *

The building of the new S. Peter’s was slowly drawing to its completion, when in A.D. 1607 Pope Paul V planned to bring the ancient Confession of S. Peter into sight. In the new planning of the church, this Confession was concealed in the Crypt, and any access to it was almost impossible.

Maderno, the artist and architect, designed and carried out the present arrangement of the great church, which provided for the worshippers an approach to the old Confession--the recess under the high altar. In these works of Maderno, the workmen employed came upon the forgotten cemetery of the Vatican, arranged in the first century by Bishop Anacletus. The “find” was one of extraordinary interest. Torrigio, a “beneficiato” of the basilica, was present when the discovery of this most ancient cemetery was made, and has left us an account of what he saw. Accompanying his description was a plan drawn by Benedetto Drei, the clerk of Maderno’s works.

Of the rare plan in question, a rough drawing has been preserved, and has been of the greatest use in elucidating the more detailed and accurate description of the sacred spot, which description was made a few years later, _circa_ A.D. 1626, when under Urban VIII (Cardinal Barberini), Pope from A.D. 1623-1644, it became necessary to strengthen the foundations of the new mighty bronze Baldachino of Bernini, and elaborate and careful work was undertaken in this sacred spot.

What was then discovered in the ancient cemetery of Anacletus has been told us by Ubaldi, a Canon of S. Peter’s. Ubaldi saw with his own eyes the wonderful things then discovered, and his account is of the greatest value to the historian of the very early days of Christianity in Rome. These precious memoranda of Ubaldi were deposited in the Vatican archives and were only found in quite late days by Palmieri, one of the keepers of these archives; the well-known scholar Armellini has since published them.

We will give a few specially interesting particulars from Ubaldi’s memoranda. The story of these excavations is as follows--