IN considering the early history of the church, we must not omit to mention the catacombs. These were formed at various places, but those at Rome were the most extensive. The name is supposed to have been derived from two Greek words kata, kumbos, a hollow or recess, In the neighborhood of Rome there are entrances to a number of long passages underground. These extend for many miles in various directions. It was generally believed that these passages were originally formed by the removal of stone and sand for the building of the city of Rome.
A good deal of the stone was called tufa litoide, sufficiently hard for building purposes. Large blocks of this were easily cut out by the miners, and as they proceeded they formed the miles of passages which exist in the catacombs.
There was also a species of rough sand, called pozzolana puma, which made a very enduring cement, when crushed and mixed in water with pounded shells or lime. This was also valuable for building purposes.
As the miners worked gradually downwards they would, by an inclined plane, get below the passage they had already formed, and then by turning to right or left (guided perhaps by the seams of stone or sand they were seeking for) they would work their way underneath the first passage they had made. In places they would again descend until a third passage was formed.
This, for a long time, was thought to be the origin of the catacombs; but modern researches seem to show that, while in a few places old quarries were used for burial places, the principal part of the catacombs was the sole work of the Christians themselves. This seems evident by the different formation of the galleries, and by most of them being cut in a third description of material, tufa granolare, unfit for building purposes; though, on the other hand, it is difficult to see how such an immense amount of material could have been disposed of if not used in building. Some of these galleries made by the Christians were near those made by the miners, and this was often of great use to the Christians. They blocked up the entrance to their own, and made a way into those of the miners, so that they could enter without arousing suspicion; and the entrances being at various distances from the city, persons, by appearing to journey into the country, could take food to those who had taken shelter therein.
In some places the Christians cut away the walls of the passages, and made a crypt or vault. Here underground they could hold their meetings for worship unmolested.
The principal use made of the catacombs was for the burial of the dead. A hole was dug in the wall, and the body placed therein, as on a shelf; slabs of stone covered the entrance, while a tablet told who was buried there.
In later times, long after persecution had ceased, the catacombs seem to have been for gotten. The Christians no longer needed to hide themselves, nor to bury their dead there. Some of the entrances got blocked up by the earth falling, and all interest in them died out. Thus for some six hundred years the catacombs remained undisturbed and indeed unknown.
But in the year 1578, considerable excitement was caused by the discovery of the catacombs, and they began to be explored, and interest was taken in everything found in them. The tablets on the tombs were cut from the walls and brought to light. Some of them were secured by private persons, but a great number were preserved, and are exhibited to this day in a long gallery in the Vatican at Rome.
It is very strange that the Roman Catholics do not see that these early memorials, though silent, are a strong witness against themselves. In those simple memorials there is no mention of prayers for the dead, and no mention of the Virgin Mary. But instead of this there is a constant mention of Christ, and of Him alone as Savior or Patron. Those who are buried are said to "sleep in Christ," "they rest in peace," "in peace and in Christ," &c.
A monogram very commonly found on the tablets taken from the catacombs, is meant to point out the name of Christ. It is formed of the first two letters of the name in Greek, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. The above symbol was supposed to have been first used by Constantine about A.D. 312; but as it is often found on the tablets from the catacombs, it is doubtful whether it did not exist long before, and he simply adopted it.
Many other symbols and monograms were found on the tablets. Perhaps one of the most curious is the symbol of A FISH. It is thus explained. In Greek the word would be ΙΧΘϒΣ, and this word is supposed to represent (by containing the initials of) Ιησους Χοιοτος θεου ϒιος Σωτηο: Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Savior. It was thought that such a symbol would never be understood by their persecutors. Believers could use it while they lived as a symbol that they were Christians, and have it engraved on their tombs when they died.
The dates, when there are any, are determined by the names of the consuls of Rome: thus an inscription runs thus, "Aurelia, our sweetest daughter, who departed from the world, Severus and Quintinus being consuls. She lived fifteen years and four months." This would mark the date to be A.D. 235. The dates fixed by this means for these Christian burials, extend from A.D. 98 to A.D. 400, though there may have been some earlier than A.D. 98, for numbers of tombs bear no dates. During these years there would be buried in the catacombs many thousands of Christians. The catacombs, though robbed of their tablets, have excited the curiosity of modern travelers.
The Catacombs
One gives the following description: "These entrances are mostly low and dark: beyond them you see one or more long, low, dark aisles, the great length of which is concealed in the obscurity which envelops every object at the distance of a few paces from the torches and lanterns which you and your guides may carry. Nothing can well be more solemn than this subterranean gloom, and the effect produced by the objects brought to light as you advance. The yawning tombs on either side of you, and before and behind you-skulls, skeletons, crosses! Nothing is here but speaks of persecution or death. The entire length of few of these aisles is known; for, as a measure of precaution, many have been closed by stone walls; while others are so blocked up by rubbish and fallen blocks of pozzolana, that the boldest explorer is compelled to halt. At irregular distances, and usually on both sides of the main aisles, narrow passages branch off, leading to other crypts. Mostly these passages strike off at right angles, but they seldom run far in a right line, while many of them become very tortuous. Many of these passages are now wholly blocked up, while others are so encumbered with rubbish that in order to get through them, the explorer must crawl on his hands and knees ... . The difficulty of finding one's way in such a labyrinth, without a guide, may be easily comprehended ... . In most of the catacombs there are crypts, galleries, or passages underneath those which you first enter.... an involuntary descent is sometimes obtained by careless travelers through holes which have been made by the falling in of the tufo flooring.... The awful silence of these deep cavities more than ever adds horror to the darkness ... .There is nothing down here that has life—not so much as a fly, or the minutest insect is to be found. If there exist any objects at all, they are mournful mementos of man's mortality—skulls, bones, broken epitaphs, or graves closed up with slabs, bearing the symbols of death and of martyrdom, or empty and open, and, as it were, yawning for fresh tenants."
Thus the catacombs form an interesting chapter of early Christianity; places where they could bury their dead without any of the heathen ceremonies, and to which they could fly for temporary safety when violent persecution broke out. Many prayers must have ascended to heaven from those dark passages, and much precious dust lies buried there, waiting for that glad morn when the voice of the archangel and the trump of God shall call the sleeping saints to rise, and, with those who shall be alive at that time, to meet their Lord, and be with Him and like Him forever!