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OLM
Parish Reporter in Rome!
San Clemente - 2nd, 4th and 12th Centuries
(click on tiny picture to view original)
A
fascinating adventure into the past began for us because a Dominican noticed
when some plaster fell from the walls of the present Basilica , in the
19th Century, that there were the tops of arches in the wall. A march to
the Church of San Clemente near St. John Lateran on Tuesday, November 3,
put us in touch with three centuries of history, archaeology and Faith.
The first level underneath
the present structure dates to the 2nd Century AD. It is a Mithraic temple
and adjoining Palace. During the excavations for the second level which
dates from the 4th Century AD this temple was found and is still being
uncovered along with the Palace.
The 4th Century Basilica
is larger than the present one. It also is slowly deteriorating though
it had been preserved for over 8 centuries by the fill used in the 12th
Century to construct the present Basilica.
Seeing the Apse Mosaic in St. Clement takes your
breath away. It is a vast array of golden tesserae making up the image
of Christ on the Cross which is central and putting it in the context of
the vine which is the Church, His Body, and all that composes it. The picture
does not do it justice but mainly shows its total impact.
In a chapel at the rear of the Church is a set of
frescos depicting the lives of a couple of saints. The one I photographed
poorly is of St. Catherine of Alexandria. In both the larger as well as
a close-up view we see Catherine with the instrument of her martyrdom which
is the wheel. Tnis was significant to me since one of our faceted glass
windows in the doors of the church at OLM is of her. It is nice to see
that a saint chosen which is a little out of the ordinary for us has significance
in this early Basilica.
Seeing a closer view of parts of the Apse mosaic
and the arch surrounding it point to another set of depictions in our sets
of doors at the Sanctuary end of the Church. Sts. Mark and Luke are shown
with their animal symbols of the lion and the ox. These evangelists are
done in an exquisite manner on the right and left side of the Apse.
Below them on either side are the two details shown
below of St. Paul and St. Lawrence and St. Clement and St. Peter, respectively.
These are shown to give some indication of the precision and detail as
well as the beauty of this whole mosaic which has to be seen in person
to be totally appreciated.
Finally, the two panels below show some of the
fanciful figures placed in this mosaic. The puti on the left is shown with
grapes and vegetation. The owl on the right depicts wisdom and they have
a somewhat fanciful, cartoon character to them which adds mirth to the
solemnity of this depiction of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God
as depicted in the Basilica.
In the cloister of the church there was an exhibit of
contemporary art of which I include a sample below photographed with the
shadow of one of the columns of the cloister cast upon the wall. Just a
little image of contrast of the old and the new in Rome and its art scene.
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