San Teodoro (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for "Saint Theodore"), informally known as San Toto, is an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

dedicated to the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

and warrior saint

Theodore of Amasea : ''For another Saint Theodore, see: Theodore Stratelates or Saint Theodore (disambiguation)''. Saint Theodore (Άγιος Θεοδώρος), distinguished as Theodore of Amasea, Theodore the Recruit (Θεοδώρος ό Τήρων), and by o ...

. Its use was given to the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

community of Rome by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 2004.

History

Antiquity

The church is located at the northwest foot of the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

along the ancient road between Rome's main forum and the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, ) was the cattle market or '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome () ...

. It may have been erected over the ruins of the granaries of Agrippa or repurposed a former

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

of Juno Sospita in the area. The latter is suggested by its unusual round shape, which resembles the well-preserved nymphaeum once identified as the Temple of Minerva Medica. An ancient

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was located in the atrium before the church.

Catholic church

The

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

of St Theodore was prominent and widespread by the end of the 4th century and a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

including Theodore was erected at SS Cosmas and Damian . San Teodoro may have been built as early as the 6th century as well."Chiesa di San Teodoro al Palatino", Religiana
/ref> Its apsis mosaic dates to the 6th century and shows Christ in a black robe with gold lati clavi, which on Roman garments indicated high rank, seated on an orb representing the heavens and flanked by

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

and by the two martyrs Theodore (a later addition, from

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

's restoration) and Cleonicus. The church is also traditionally one of the seven original

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

ries in Rome, being assigned to a deacon by Pope Agatho (), though the first titular deacon known by name was Roberto, who lived around 1073 and died before 1099. There is no definitive evidence of the church's existence before the 9th century. As the dedication to an eastern saint suggests, this places it in a period of strong Byzantine influence in Rome. It was rebuilt under

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a Cardinal (Catholic Chu ...

, had its long-held

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

status suppressed by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus 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, where h ...

, was renovated by Francesco Barberini in 1643, and rebuilt by architect

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714) was an Italian people, Italian"Carlo Fontana."
''Encyclopæ ...

in 1703–1705 for

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

who gave it to the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Its titulus was reestablished on 2 December 1959 by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

, with William Theodore Heard (1959–1970, pro hac vice presbyterial titular 1970–1973). The last titular of the church was Vincenzo Fagiolo, who died on 22 September 2000.

Orthodox church

announced in November 2000 that he was granting the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

and the

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

community in Rome use of the church, with the official inauguration taking place on 1 July 2004, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople."San Teodoro al Palatino", Turismo Roma
/ref>

Interior

At the back of the atrium, outside the church, is an

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

with stacked skulls and bones, visible through a grille. The

Capitoline Wolf The Capitoline Wolf (Italian language, Italian: ''Lupa Capitolina'') is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a She-wolf (Roman mythology), she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders ...

was kept in this church until the 16th century. As a Greek Orthodox church, it now has an iconostasis, or icon screen, that separates the sanctuary from the main body of the church.

List of Titular Cardinals

* Benedict (January - September 972) - later Pope Benedict VI *Robert (around 1073 - 1099) *Bobone (1099 - around 1117) *Errico, O.S.B. (around 1117-?) *Gualtiero (1120- end 1121 or in all cases before 1125) *Ugo Hieramea (or Geremei) (1125 - around 1129) *Matteo (1129- about 1130) *Alberto Teodoli (1130 - around 1155) *Ardicio Rivoltella (1155-1186) *Ugo Geremei (1186 - about 1188) *Giovanni Malabranca (1188 - 1192) * Bobo of San Teodoro, 1193 - 1199 * Gregorio Crescenzi (1205 - 1230) *''Vacant'', 1230 - 1316 * Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (17 December 1316 - 27 August 1335) *''Vacant'', 1335 - 1468 * Teodoro Paleologo di Montferrato (27 April 1468 - 21 January 1484) *''Vacant'', 1484 - 1492 * Federico di Sanseverino (26 July 1492 - 1 May 1510, in commendation 1 May 1510 - 17 May 1511) * Alfonso Petrucci (17 May 1511 - 22 June 1517) * Francesco Pisani (22 October 1518 - 3 May 1527) * Niccolò Gaddi (3 May 1527 - 9 January 1545) * Andrea Cornaro (9 January 1545 - 27 June 1550) * Luigi Cornaro (4 December 1551 - 26 February 1561), titre pro illa vice 26 February 1561 - 21 June 1564) * Tolomeo Gallio, pro illa vice (15 May 1565 - 7 September 1565) * Stanislaus Hosius, pro illa vice (7 September 1565 - 10 February 1570) * Giulio Acquaviva of Aragon (6 September 1570 - 21 July 1574) *Deaconry suppressed (1587-1959) * William Theodore Heard (17 December 1959 - 18 May 1970); pro illa vice (18 May 1970 - 16 September 1973) *''Vacant'' (1973-1979) * Ernesto Civardi (30 June 1979 - 28 November 1989) *''Vacant'' (1989-1994) * Vincenzo Fagiolo (26 November 1994 - 22 September 2000) *''Vacant'' (2000-2004) *Deaconry suppressed in 2004

References

Citations

Sources

* * . * . * .

External links

*GCatholic
''Cardinal Deaconry S. Teodoro (Suppressed)''
retrieved: 4 February 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Teodoro Round churches National churches in Rome Titular churches Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Italy 6th-century churches Byzantine church buildings in Italy Teodoro