Catacombs, meaning a hollowed place; the name not used earlier than the third century A.D. There were Catacombs found in Egypt, Rome, Naples, Syracuse, and Malta etc. The Roman Catacombs were originally quarries, of which some antedating the traditional date of the founding of Rome. They were subsequently extended so that all of the Seven Hills of Rome were touched by them.
Described as low dark corridors or vaulted halls, excavated in soft volcanic rock, the lateral walls of which apertures were made for the reception of the dead. How many are there, some say about forty. These were networks of galleries, usually intersecting one another at right angels, and most radiated from a common center. The average height was eight feet, width three to five feet. More than 500 miles in total length it has been estimated to have contained over 6 million bodies. The most celebrated of the Catacombs are those of the Via Appia, they being a short distance from Rome.
The bodies of the departed in many cases were wrapped in cloth, and after the consecrated bread had been placed upon the breast, various other ornaments and memorials were added. Earthen lamps were frequently set by the slabs which closed the niches.
These dreary crypts were used by the early Christians for several reasons; first to gather together, and celebrate their worship services; secondly in times of persecution, they being a safe place, and thirdly to bury the bodies of those passing saints and martyrs of the church.
The burial places were constructed by hollowing out a portion of the rock, at the side of the gallery, large enough to contain a body. The entrance was then built up with stones on which usually the letters D.M. (Deo Maximo), or XP., the first two letter of the Greek name of Christ were inscribed. Other inscriptions and marks, such as the cross, have also been found.
The Catacombs were used extensively during the various persecutions that followed and harassed the Christian Church, this at the intervals from the time of Nero to that of Diocletian.
Art had found its way into the Catacombs at a very early period. Fresco remains are yet to be seen in them. The Christian embellishment of the Catacombs adhered to the decorative forms handed down by their ancestors in design, choice of color, grouping of figures, and the manner in which a subject was treated. This early art sheds a great deal of light upon the development of the early Christian art. Many first and second century paintings had in their subjects, symbolism representing the hopes of Christianity, the Resurrection being a favorite theme. Also the Good Shepherd, the Miracles, Daniel in the den of lions, the Hebrews in the fiery furnace, and the sign of the fish, by a kind of acrostic; meaning, a composition usually in verse in which sets of letters taken in order form a word or phrases, these occurring with a great deal of frequency.
Acrosticha or Acrostics was a popular art form among the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, and Christians. One of the most remarkable acrostics found in the Catacombs around Rome and Naples is the sign of a fish. I suppose we have all seen this, but do you know what it represented? One of the most celebrated of these Acrostics written in the Greek contained the words , (Iesous christos ou ov soter. The initial first letter of which spell ichthus, meaning (Fish.) And to this Greek word “ichthus” a mystical meaning was attached by the early Christian in the form of a fish, that being “Iesous christos ou ov soter .” Translated, Jesus Christ, God’s Son Saviour.
The Catacombs of Naples cut in the Capo di Monte resemble those at Rome, and were used for the same purposes, being in many parts literally covered with Christian symbols. In one of the larger vaulted chambers, there are paintings which have retained an unusual freshness considering the influences of time and dampness. Found in many of the paintings are palm-trees, these being a memorial to Judea.
At irregular intervals, galleries had been expanded into wide and lofty vaulted chambers, in which the service of the church were no doubt celebrated, and which still have the appearance of churches. When Rome was besieged by the Lombard’s in the 8th century, many of the Catacombs were destroyed. In later years, the Popes caused the remains of many of the saints and martyrs to be removed then buried the vaults of various churches.
Philip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com