The Basilica of San Clemente is a complex of buildings in Rome centered around a 12th century Roman Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I. The site is notable as being an archeological record of Roman architectural, political and religious history from the early Christian era to the Middle Ages. Jump to: navigation, search City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Catholic Church, known also as the Roman Catholic Church, is the Christian Church whose visible head is the Pope, Benedict XVI. It teaches that it is the one holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ, and that the sole Church of Christ which... Saint Clement I, the bishop of Rome also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, was either the third or fourth pope, before or after Anacletus. ... Jump to: navigation, search As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

History

This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home that was the site of clandestine Christian worship in the 1st century to a grand public basilica by the 6th century, reflecting the emerging Roman Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power. (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100. ... This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century. ...

Roman buildings

The house was originally owned by Roman consul and martyr Titus Flavius Clemens who was one of the first among the Roman nobility to convert to Christianity. He allowed his house to be used as a secret gathering place for fellow Christians, the religion being outlawed at the time. For modern diplomatic consuls, see Consulate general. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ...

There is evidence of pagan worship on the site as well. In the 2nd century members of a Mithraic cult built a small temple dedicated to their bull-god Mithras in an insula, or apartment complex, on the site. This temple, used for initiation rituals, lasted until sometime in the 3rd century, by which time Christianity had largely supplanted pagan worship in Rome. Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... // Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mithraism was an ancient mystery religion prominent from the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. It was based on worship of the god Mithras and derives from the Persian and Indic god Mithra and other Zoroastrian deities. ... Mithra and the Bull: fresco from Dura Europos late 2nd–early 3rd century Mithras was the central savior god of Mithraism, a syncretic Hellenistic mystery religion of male initiates that developed in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and was practiced in the Roman Empire from... // Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ...

The first basilica

By the 4th century, after Christianity became the state religion of Rome, the small church underwent expansion, acquiring the adjoining insula and other nearby buildings. Architects began work on the complex of rooms and courtyards, building a central nave over the early church site, and an apse over the former Mithraic temple. The new church was dedicated to Pope Clement I, a 1st century Christian convert and a contemporary of Titus Flavius Clemens. (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis. ... Saint Clement I, the bishop of Rome also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, was either the third or fourth pope, before or after Anacletus. ...

Over the next several centuries, San Clemente became a beacon for church artists and sculptors, benefitting from Imperial largesse. Today, it is considered one of the most richly adorned churches in Rome. Jump to: navigation, search The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ...

The second basilica

The current basilica was built in 1108 after the original church was burned to the ground during the Norman sack of the city in 1084. Events May - Battle of Ucles Consecration of Chichester cathedral Saint Magnus becomes the first earl of Orkney In Pistoia, Italy, Cathedral of San Zeno burned to the ground. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Normans (adapted from the name Northmen or Norsemen) were a mixture of the indigenous Gauls of France and the Viking invaders under the leadership of Rollo (Gange Rolf). ... Events Saint Bruno founds the Carthusian Order of monks Kyanzittha begins his reign in Myanmar. ...

Irish Dominicans have been the caretakers of San Clemente since 1667, when Britain outlawed the Irish Catholic Church and expelled the entire clergy. They were given refuge at San Clemente, where they have remained, running a residence for priests studying and teaching in Rome. The Dominicans themselves conducted the excavations in the fifties of the twentieth century in collaboration with Italian archaeology students. // Events January 20 - Poland cedes Kyiv, Smolensk, and eastern Ukraine to Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo that put a final end to the Deluge, and Poland lost its status as a Central European power. ...

On one wall in the courtyard there is a plaque signed by Pope Clement XI that praises San Clemente, declaring, "This ancient church has withstood the ravages of the centuries." Clement XI, né Giovanni Francesco Albani (July 23, 1649 - March 19, 1721) was pope from 1700 to 1721. ...

On one lateral chappel there is a shrine with the body rests of Saint Cyrillus and Saint Metodius. The chappel portrays a "Madonna" by the Sassoferrato, and it is said that Pope John Paul II used to pray there sometimes for Poland and the Slavish countries.

Current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Clementi is Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis, the archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Cardinal Priests are the most numerous of the three orders of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis was born in Lisse on November 26, 1931, in the diocese of Rotterdam, Holland. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... Utrecht refers to various cities and areas: A province of the Netherlands A city in the Netherlands, and capital of the province of the same name A (historic) bishopric of the Netherlands An agglomeration in the Netherlands that includes the city of Utrecht A city in South Africa, in the...