A reading from Fonicus to all Christians of Rome gathered outside St. Peter’s Basilica in the 4th Century AD:
“Brothers and Sisters,
I Fonicus, a Christian of Rome, am here to tell the tale of Constantine the Great and how, with the monument to our faith, St. Peter’s Basilica, he changed Rome and enriched our future while stepping on the throat of the “great” classical era.
It began with the sign of Christ appearing to Constantine at the battle of Milvian Bridge and ended with the great emperor’s victory. For Christ told him in a dream, in this sign he will conquer, so Constantine put the cross on the shields of his men and his emblems. After his conversion to Christianity by Pope Sylvester I, he issued the great Edict of Milan allowing us to practice our faith without fear of persecution.
My Brothers and Sisters, before this law passed under Constantine we were running rampant and scared for many years as Christians. The height of our suffering resided with Emperor Nero, who, after allegedly setting fire to three quarters of Rome, blamed us for his wretched flames. He tortured our brothers until we too, turned on each other giving him the reason he needed to round us all up and martyr us within his circus of death. Oh, how we loathed that building. For Rome’s amusement he crucified us, tortured us, and murdered us. But Brothers and Sisters, no longer do we look at that building with horror, for in its place lies the center of our worship.
Yes, my friends, Constantine built our wonderful church over that wretched display of Christian bloodshed. For it was upon Vatican Hill, where our first Pope, St. Peter was buried after being crucified upside down at the Circus. Where there lay a shrine on a hill now stands this majestic church in all its glory.
So our great Emperor decided to build this basilica upon the grounds of Christian bloodshed and St. Peter’s shrine. Replacing the horrible history upon this hill with a new future of prosperity for our people, and commemorating the martyring of our Pope St. Peter and our Brothers and Sisters who reside with him in the kingdom of Heaven. But what of the design? Well, my friends, Constantine wished for our place of worship to be as majestic as the basilicas of the old pagan Rome. In fact, our Emperor designed this new haven of ours after the renowned Basilica Ulpia of Emperor Trajan. From the amazing marble courtyard to the tall walls of the hall leading to the temple, Constantine idealized this place after the grandest forum of Rome. In fact, many of you say the Courtyard of St. Peter’s is the most beautiful structure of the basilica. Likewise, our Emperor built the church with a long hall to hold our people, about 3000-4000 of us at a time. He also built it from materials of old pagan buildings using their columns and marbles. But most importantly, Constantine created these beautiful frescoes and mosaics to commemorate scenes from the BIble along the windows of our church.
But friends, Constantine had issues with framing this great place of worship after those pagan temples. Yes, indeed he had issues. For the pagan Romans practiced their worship outside the temples at altars. The inside of the temple was in fact used as a treasury and housed those ghastly and massive pagan statues. Can you imagine, Brothers and Sisters, this fantastic building built for the people, only for us to worship outside it? My friends, us Christians are much more dignified than that. Constantine built the temple of St. Peter’s inside where we celebrate Christ, our lord, for his worship cannot be held outside among the other people. Our rituals are too sacred for the eyes of those who once persecuted us.
For in response to the Edict of Milan, tensions with our great Emperor rose. The people of Rome did not share the same love for us as Constantine did, and he made the decision to abandon Rome to avoid controversy. But not in vain, my friends, for Constantine erected a new capital in the east. For he stood in Byzantium and declared it Constantinople, the new capital of Rome. From there he ruled with power and faith over our lands.
My Brothers and Sisters, now you know our history and struggle for this great building to be assembled. Now we stand in awe as our faith is strengthened by the freedom to worship in this beautiful church. For as Christ draws us together, so too does St. Peter’s Basilica as the center for our worship.
Now then, let us commence our service, and enter the Basilica of St. Peter. In this church, thou shalt conquer.”
This post was inspired by Lindsay Hess’s Post on Nebamun’s Tomb and it’s mysterious artists. Lindsay’s idea to produce a fake written account from unknown writers gave me the inspiration to write my post as a written speech format. I thought of writing the post as something similar to a Bible verse from the New Testament. So, I decided on a written account of a fake preacher at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Oliver Jones is a freshman at Colgate University. Currently undecided, he plans to major in Economics. Being Catholic, Oliver was drawn to the great churches of Rome, especially the original St. Peter’s Basilica and its intriguing story of how it came to be built. The current St. Peter’s Basilica is the most impressive church he has ever seen, and urges all of you to visit it in the Vatican if you get the chance.
