Today, November 9th is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, Italy. The Basilica of St. John Lateran, as it is commonly known, is the oldest church in the West and the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Thus, it ranks as the highest of the 4 major basilicas in Rome and above all other churches in the Catholic Church, including St. Peters Basilica. For this reason it holds the title of Archbasilica. The Laterani palace, which had belonged to a rich Roman senator whom Nero put to death as an accomplice in a conspiracy, was donated to the Pope by Constantine, the first Roman Emperor who became a Christian. The palace was transformed into the first church, dedicated in honor of Christ the Savior and consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324 AD. Later the Basilica was also dedicated to St. John the Baptist by Pope Sergius III in the 10th century and to Saint John the Evangelist by Pope Lucius II in the 10th century. However, St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist are regarded as co-patrons of the Cathedral, the chief patron being Christ the Savior himself, as the inscription on the the façade, which was reconstructed and completed in 1735, reads Pope Clement XII ... dedicated this building to Christ the Savior, in honor of Saints John the Baptist and Evangelist. Some of history of the Catholic Church is reflected in the history of this ancient building. With the palace attached to it, the Lateran Basilica as the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome was the residency of every pope from Pope Miltiades (papacy 311-314, the 32nd pope) to until the French Pope Clement V (papacy 1305-1314, the 195th pope) who in 1309 decided to transfer the official seat of the Catholic Church to Avignon, France. During the time the popes resided in France, destructive fires ravaged the Lateran Basilica, in 1307 and 1361 and though reconstructed and maintained it lost its former splendor. When Pope Gregory XI (papacy 1370-78, the 201st pope) returned the papacy to Rome after 7 successive popes had resided in Avignon, France, the Lateran Basilica and palace was deemed inadequate due to the accumulated damage. The popes took up residency at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and later at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Eventually, the Palace of the Vatican was built adjacent to the Basilica of St. Peter, that already existed at the Vatican since the time of Constantine and the papal residency remains there today. After several attempts of reconstruction of the Lateran palace , it became Pope Sixtus Vs definitive project (papacy 1585-90, the 227th pope) The original Lateran Palace beside the Basilica was torn down and replaced with a new building. The largest standing obelisk in the world, now known as the Lateran Obelisk, weighing estimated at 455 tons, was was located, buried under the Circus Maximus, dug up and erected on a new pedestal in the square in front of the Lateran Palace. The obelisk originally was commissioned by a pharaoh and erected before the Karnak, an largest ancient Egyptian temple precinct in the world, located on the east bank of the Nile River in Thebes (modern-day Luxor), Egypt. Constantine I intended to ship it to Constantinople, but it shipped instead to Rome, where it was re-erected in the Circus Maximus in 357 AD, where at some time it broke and was buried under the Circus. Pope Innocent X (papacy 1644-55, 236th pope) commissioned in 1646 the renovation of the interior of the Lateran Basilica with its 12 niches being filled by 1718 with statues of the 12 Apostles by various prominent sculptors of Rome. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds St. Peter himself celebrated Mass. Pope Clement XII (papacy 1730-40, 246th pope) had the exterior façade of the Latern Basilica renovated and completed by 1735. One of Rome’s most imposing churches, the Lateran’s towering facade is crowned with 15 colossal statues of Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and 12 doctors of the Church. The Lateran Basilica has been the site of 5 Ecumenical councils, the Lateran Councils I-V (1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, 1512-1517). The purpose of such gatherings of the College of Bishops including the Pope as Bishop of Rome is to discuss and discern matters of the Catholic Church doctrine and practice. The inscription on the Basilica façade reads, Holy Lateran Church the mother and head of all churches of the city and of the earth. Thus, the world-wide Catholic Church celebrates this feast because the Basilica of St. John Lateran is the principal and mother of all churches of the world. Let us pray. O God, who from living and chosen stones prepare an eternal dwelling for Your majesty, increase in Your Church the grace You have bestowed, so that by new growth Your faithful people may build up the heavenly Jerusalem. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. From a sermon by Saint Caesarius of Arles, bishop We have all been made temples of God through baptism My fellow Christians, today is the birthday of this church, an occasion for celebration and rejoicing. We, however, ought to be the true and living temple of God. Nevertheless, Christians rightly commemorate this feast of the church, their mother, for they know that through her they were reborn in the spirit. At our first birth, we were vessels of God’s wrath; reborn, we became vessels of his mercy. Our first birth brought death to us, but our second restored us to life. Indeed, before our baptism we were sanctuaries of the devil; but after our baptism we merited the privilege of being temples of Christ. And if we think more carefully about the meaning of our salvation, we shall realize that we are indeed living and true temples of God. God does not dwell only in structures fashioned by human hands, in homes of wood and stone, but rather he dwells principally in the soul made according to his own image and fashioned by his own hand. Therefore, the apostle Paul says: The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple. When Christ came, he banished the devil from our hearts, in order to build in them a temple for himself. Let us therefore do what we can with his help, so that our evil deeds will not deface that temple. For whoever does evil, does injury to Christ. As I said earlier, before Christ redeemed us, we were the house of the devil, but afterward, we merited the privilege of being the house of God. God himself in his loving mercy saw fit to make of us his own home. My fellow Christians, do we wish to celebrate joyfully the birth of this temple? Then let us not destroy the living temples of God in ourselves by works of evil. I shall speak clearly, so that all can understand. Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us, so that he who dwells in the heavens will be glorified. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul, for he promised: I shall live in them, and I shall walk the corridors of their hearts.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:21:03 +0000