ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ

"In my first apology, no one supported me, everyone abandoned me. May it not be imputed to them... Demas left me... Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia... I sent Tychicus to Ephesus... now only Luke is with me..." (2nd Tim.) In his second and last imprisonment in Rome Paul was kept in the prison dug by the ancient king of the city Servius Tullius (6th century BC) and named after him, "Tullianum". Nero imprisoned him there and later ordered his beheading. Peter was also held in the same prison. It is said that in the spring of water running in the basement of the prison, the Apostle baptized many people, including two of his jailers, Martinianus and Processus, who were martyred after the crucifixion of Peter. In the photo, the interior of the Tullianum prison, which has been called "Mamertino" since the Middle Ages. The entrance to the lower cell was through a round hole in the floor, with no other ventilation or lighting, and no provision for...

The turtle dove is the bird that heralds the arrival of Spring. It loves the wilderness and is monogamic, if it loses its mate it does not mate again. In the hymnology of the birthday of John the Forerunner and Baptist of Christ, John is referred to as "the turtle dove of the desert" "the bearer of the ear". This beautiful image from nature inspired the great painter Angelos from Constantinople who was active in Crete in the 15th century to add a beautiful little bird pecking at a tree branch, a symbol of John's life in the desert, the prophetic announcement of the spring brought by Christ, but also his loving relationship with the divine. The little bird was painted completely naturalistically, a sample of Western influences on the work of Angelos, as the archaeologist Mrs. Myrtali Acheimastou-Potamianou notes. The large-scale icon (122.3 x 97.4) is today in the Byzantine Museum of Athens. +E. G . --------------------------------------------- Το τρυγώνι...

  In the ancient Greek city-colony of Mena in Sicily there is an ancient church in honor of the Roman woman Agrippina, who was martyred for Christ on June 23, 258 (or 262). The first church was sanctified according to local tradition in 312, by the Bishop of Catania, Severinus. The current configuration of the church was made in the 18th century. Agrippina's relics and personal belongings are kept there. Emperor Valerian began a harsh persecution against the Christian clergy in 257, and in 258 it was extended to all Christians. Roman ladies who were arrested as Christians had to be exiled, after their property was confiscated. Of course, this provision did not prevent the persecutors from murdering Christian women of the ruling class, such as Saint Eugenia and Saint Agrippina. Tradition has Agrippina as a young rich Roman matron with blond hair. The body of the martyr was taken by three Christian women to Sicily. In the photos the three-niche Basilica of the Martyr in Mineo, Sici...