The Sancta Sanctorum ( it, Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum) is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
chapel entered via the ''
Scala Sancta
The ( en, Holy Stairs, it, Scala Santa) are a set of 28 white marble steps that are Roman Catholic relics located in an edifice on extraterritorial property of the Holy See in Rome, Italy proximate to the Archbasilica of Saint John in Lateran ...
'' (Holy Staircase) of the
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. It was the original private chapel of the papacy before it moved to
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
, and later to the
Vatican Palace
The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...
. The chapel is the only building from the old Lateran Palace that was not destroyed during its reconstruction.
Name
The chapel acquired the ''Sancta Sanctorum'' sometime in the ninth century.
["The Sancta Sanctorum", Scala Santa di Roma]
/ref> The spelling is ''Sancta'', the neuter plural form of the Latin adjective "holy": this is a reference to the multiple relics preserved there (i.e. "the most holy things") and to the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem, traditionally called in Latin both ''sanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...
'' (the singular form) or ''sancta sanctorum''.
History
The founder of the chapel is unknown. It was originally dedicated to Saint Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...
, and served as the pope's private oratory until the Renaissance. It is located at the top of the Scala Sancta
The ( en, Holy Stairs, it, Scala Santa) are a set of 28 white marble steps that are Roman Catholic relics located in an edifice on extraterritorial property of the Holy See in Rome, Italy proximate to the Archbasilica of Saint John in Lateran ...
, ("Holy Stairs"). The first mention of the chapel is found in the ''Liber Pontificalis'', during the tenure of Pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III ( la, Stephanus III; died 1 February 772) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 7 August 768 to his death. Stephen was a Benedictine monk who worked in the Lateran Palace during the reign of Pope Zachary. I ...
(†772). The antiquarian Marangoni along with Onofrio Panvino quote documents that cite the acquisition in 583 by Pope Gregory of relics from Constantinople, including an arm of St Lawrence, that were housed in the church of St Lawrence in Lateran palace.
It formed part of the Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. ...
, headquarters of the public offices of the papal court throughout the Middle Ages. Gregory IV (†844) had a private apartment built near the chapel to allow him to pray there.[ Later Pope Alexander III is mentioned as presiding here over the ceremony of the washing of the feet. It later became part of the Palace and Holy Steps complex commissioned by ]Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
in 1586.["New Display of Sacred Objects from the Sancta Sanctorum", Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, September 1, 2015]
/ref>
Artwork
The chapel is relatively small and rectangular, with a nave seven meters long and an apse nearly 6 meters wide. rectangular apse measuring 2.73 by 5.85 metres.
The main altar contains a cypress wood reliquary box, placed under the altar by Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...
(†816). It supposedly houses the bones of at least 13 saints (whereof the chapel derives the name "holy of holies"). The reliquary box itself is taken to represent the Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...
in Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
.
Over the course of time, other relics were added, including the cloisonné enameled cross commissioned by Paschal I
Pope Paschal I ( la, Paschalis I; died 824) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824.
Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. ...
(†824).[
The '']opus sectile
''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...
'' floor dates from 1278. This style of intarsiated pavement was created in the 12th century by the Cosmati family of stonecutters and widely copied throughout Rome in the 13th century.
The chapel also houses the ''Uronica'' or ''Acheiropoieta Lateranese'' icon of Christ Pantocrator
In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator ( grc-gre, Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) is a specific depiction of Christ. ''Pantocrator'' or ''Pantokrator'', literally ''ruler of all'', but usually translated as "Almighty" or "all-po ...
, known as the ''Veronica'', that was supposedly begun by Saint Luke
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
and finished as an acheiropoieta
''Acheiropoieta'' (Medieval Greek: , "made without hand"; singular ''acheiropoieton'') — also called icons made without hands (and variants) — are Christian icons which are said to have come into existence miraculously; not created by a huma ...
(which translates to "images not made by human hands") since finished by an angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
. Other ''acheiropoieta'' include the image of Christ’s face that miraculously imprinted itself on the ''sudarium'' of Veronica.
References
{{coord, 41.8876, N, 12.5070, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Latin words and phrases
Roman Catholic churches in Rome
Sancta Sanctorum
The Sancta Sanctorum ( it, Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum) is a Roman Catholic chapel entered via the ''Scala Sancta'' (Holy Staircase) of the Lateran Palace in Rome. It was the original private chapel of the papacy before it ...