The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome
Enter into the shadows of the Roman catacombs where early Christians attended Mass and hid in fear from Roman soldiers seeking their death for refusing to renounce the Christian Faith.

You'll read dramatic acts of faith and courage as Fr. James Spencer Northcote, the world-renowned 19th-century expert on the catacombs, relates the intense belowground life of the catacombs.

For over three centuries, Christians buried their dead in often elaborate crypts hollowed out for them underground by fossors — designated diggers whose status was just below that of deacons and priests.

With scores of maps and illustrations in these pages, you'll see that the architecture of many crypts was as elaborate as buildings above-ground, creating under the streets and fields of Rome a second-city—indeed, a Christian city in the very heart of pagan Rome—graced with broad underground tunnels and large rooms where assemblies could be held.

In good times and in bad, during peace and during persecutions, the catacombs were central to the vibrant life of the early Church, whose history is here retold from its creation to its eventual decline, loss, and then, hundreds of years later, its rediscovery.

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The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome
Enter into the shadows of the Roman catacombs where early Christians attended Mass and hid in fear from Roman soldiers seeking their death for refusing to renounce the Christian Faith.

You'll read dramatic acts of faith and courage as Fr. James Spencer Northcote, the world-renowned 19th-century expert on the catacombs, relates the intense belowground life of the catacombs.

For over three centuries, Christians buried their dead in often elaborate crypts hollowed out for them underground by fossors — designated diggers whose status was just below that of deacons and priests.

With scores of maps and illustrations in these pages, you'll see that the architecture of many crypts was as elaborate as buildings above-ground, creating under the streets and fields of Rome a second-city—indeed, a Christian city in the very heart of pagan Rome—graced with broad underground tunnels and large rooms where assemblies could be held.

In good times and in bad, during peace and during persecutions, the catacombs were central to the vibrant life of the early Church, whose history is here retold from its creation to its eventual decline, loss, and then, hundreds of years later, its rediscovery.

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The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome

The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome

by James Spencer Northcote
The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome

The Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome

by James Spencer Northcote

Paperback(Reprint)

$14.95 
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Overview

Enter into the shadows of the Roman catacombs where early Christians attended Mass and hid in fear from Roman soldiers seeking their death for refusing to renounce the Christian Faith.

You'll read dramatic acts of faith and courage as Fr. James Spencer Northcote, the world-renowned 19th-century expert on the catacombs, relates the intense belowground life of the catacombs.

For over three centuries, Christians buried their dead in often elaborate crypts hollowed out for them underground by fossors — designated diggers whose status was just below that of deacons and priests.

With scores of maps and illustrations in these pages, you'll see that the architecture of many crypts was as elaborate as buildings above-ground, creating under the streets and fields of Rome a second-city—indeed, a Christian city in the very heart of pagan Rome—graced with broad underground tunnels and large rooms where assemblies could be held.

In good times and in bad, during peace and during persecutions, the catacombs were central to the vibrant life of the early Church, whose history is here retold from its creation to its eventual decline, loss, and then, hundreds of years later, its rediscovery.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781622823796
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Publication date: 02/07/2017
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 160
Sales rank: 555,465
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Rev. James Spencer Northcote (1821-1907) was an English Catholic priest who wrote Roman Catacombs: A History of the Christian City Beneath Pagan Rome

Table of Contents

Part 1

1 The Origin of the Catacombs 5

2 The History of the Catacombs during the Ages of Persecution 27

3 The History of the Catacombs from 310 to 850 41

4 The Loss and Recovery of the Catacombs 51

5 The Paintings and Sculptures of the Catacombs 59

6 The Inscriptions in the Catacombs 99

Part 2

7 The Papal Crypt 115

8 The Crypt of St. Cecilia 127

9 The Crypt of St. Eusebius 137

10 The Tomb of St. Cornelius 143

Biographical Note: James Spencer Northcote 151

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