The area of Pope Gaius and Pope Eusebius

The Crypt of Pope Gaius

Pope Gaius is from Dalmatia, Eastern Europe. Consecrated Pope on 17 December 283 and died on the 22nd of April 296. Most probably he was not martyred but died as "confessor of faith". He came from a noble Roman family and probably had any family relation with emperor Diocletian.

The Crypt of St. Gaius had a special consideration in this catacomb for its exceptional proportions. This crypt can contained more than 60 persons. In fact this was projected to favor Christian community meetings. Probably most of the community gatherings and Eucharistic celebrations were held here. Through the skylight situated in nearby gallery assures light and ventilation.

In 1856 when De Rossi discovered this crypt it was partly destroyed and collapse. Grand part of the crypt was restored then and even today it is used as underground church to host many pilgrims who intend to celebrate the holy Eucharist in honor of the martyrs. During the period of barbaric invasion this crypt was also desecrated, destroyed and looted like others.

The Crypt of Pope Eusebius

According to the book Liber Pontificalis, Pope Eusebius was originally from Greek and son of a doctor. Probably he had a very short pontificate from 18 April - 17 August 309 or 310. According to Depositio Episcoporum, St. Eusebius was buried in the catacomb of St. Callixtus on 26 September but with no precise year. According to his biographical data, during his pastoral ministry he faced hard moment in the history of the Church in order to solve the critical question of Lapsi. Eusebius was exiled to Sicily at Siracusa. He undergone physical hard work and heroically defended the Christian faith (Cf. Antonio Baruffa, Le Catecombe di San Callisto, 94-95).

Lapsi

Toward the end of the Pontificate of Pope Cornelius (253) the Church had to face the crucial problem of Lapsi. Who are Lapsi? They were Christians who denied their faith in order to avoid martyrdom or any form of persecution from the part of the emperor. The denial of their faith consisted of burning incense to the gods of the emperor, offered sacrifices to the pagan idols and by sign a certificate called libellus for having obeyed the decreed of the emperor. They were also called libellatici. This practice was introduce fist time during the reign of Decius (249-251). Later on they made easier the denial of faith by just signing the libellus without burning incense or offering sacrifices to the gods. Unfortunately many Christians took this easy way to deny their Christian faith and signed the letter in order to avoid the martyrdom. The Church considered these Christians who denied their faith as apostati.

When the persecution ended, many of them decided to returned and be accepted back into Church. This situation brought great conflict and division from within the Church. Few members of the hierarchy of the Church did allow them back within the Mother Church without any long period of penitence while the hardliners imposed long and hard period of penitence. This situation created a big conflict inside the heart of the Church in Rome and in the East (Le Catecombe di San Callisto, 98-99).

The area of Pope Miltiades

Pope Miltiade (2 July 311 - 11 January 314) was the last Pope buried in the catacomb of St. Callixtus in the 4th century. According to De Rossi and don Baruffa (Le catecombe di San Callisto, 88) although his tomb so far is not yet identified, however all the documents agreed that he was buried in this catacomb. Pope Miltiade was the successor of St. Eusebius. He was elected Pope in 2nd of July 311, after a period of "sede vacante". Originally he was from Africa. During his pontificate Emperor Maxentius (c. 278 – 28 October 312) reinstated all the belongings of the Church confiscated during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian (303). After the "Edict of Milan" (313) where Christianity was given the freedom of cult by the Emperor Constantine, the Church at last enjoyed its golden era and started to build the churches and basilicas inside the city of Rome and in it's surrounding. He was the first Pope to built the first pontifical basilica here in Rome: the basilica of St. John Lateran in 314. It was the first official residence of the Pope. Even today Pope as the Bishop of Rome, the cathedral or the ecclesiastical seat of the Pope is St. John Lateran. It is also considered as the Ecumenical Mother Church of the Christian Roman Catholic world.

The Christian Funeral

For the burial practice Christianity adopted the Roman funerals with very strict, ancient and hygienic-sanitary rules, however with different vision. While the Roman had the notion that the dead will go to a dark kingdom, the Christians believe that death is not the end but the beginning of a new life, therefore it's the real dies natalis where their decease brethren in Christ finds joy and hope in the resurrection and eternal life.

During the burial ceremony members of the family were present and the rites was officiated by a deacon or "a presbiterious". In the case of distinguished members of the Church such as the hierarchy of the Church or martyrs, the funerals were officiated by the Bishops or the Pope himself. Generally after the prayers, hymns and rituals, the deceased will be accompanied with hymns and songs during the procession towards the tomb prepared beforehand. The deceased was carefully wrapped in a shroud like that of Jesus, without the coffin and sprinkled with balsamic substances before the burial. After the deceased was laid inside the tomb, it will be closed with a marble slab or with a cutting stone or clay. The tomb then sealed with white cement and finally the inscription of the names, dedications and Christian symbols.

In the two side of the tomb there will be a small holes where the oil lamps will be collocated.

Cubiculum

Inside the cubiculum we will find "loculo" and "Arcosolium". The arcosolium is the main chamber were important peoples were buried. Usually these tombs are reserved to the well-off families, hierarchy of the Church or Martyrs.

Inside the arcosolium sometimes we find "sarcophagus". Generally were beautifully decorated with Christian’s symbols or even pagan symbols. The chamber will be closed with a marble slab and sealed with white cement and lastly names of the of the dead were coined.

Inside the Cubiculum, often we find more than one "loculo", these were the slaves or liberti (those set free). The conversion of the rich family to Christianity changed the attitude of these newly converted family towards the slaves. They allowed these slaves to be buried in the family tombs because they considered them as their brethren in Christ and allowed many more Christians to be buried underground.

As part of the tradition, every year members of the family shall visit the tombs to celebrate the death anniversary of the deceased parents or the martyrs, it is called dies natalis. Generally they will celebrate the Holy Eucharist or offer hymns and prayers. After the prayers members of the family will gather and had the family banquet (refrigerium).

Refrigerium

Refrigerium was an old practice done by the pagans, because they are afraid that if they don't feed the dead people every year, they will come out and disturb the living people. In necropolis we often find a small hole left opened right on top of the head of the dead person to make sure that the food will reach the mouth of the deceased.

The Christians continued this same tradition but interpreted it with a Christian principle. The Christians believe that one day the body will be resurrected and all will be raised from the death and saved by Christ to eternal life. All will be in communion in the presence of God and there will be the Celestial banquet in heaven for all.

This practice was then prohibited by St. Ambrosius of Milan and later the Church declared 2nd of November as the souls day, to remember all the saints and those who have died. The "mass intentions" practice nowadays by the Church might have originated from this tradition too.

Galleries

The original soil where the tombs were excavated is called tufa, a volcanic origin. It is easy to excavate the tomb because tufa is soft and when it has contact with the air became solid and strong. 

The workers who were working underground were called fossores, diggers of the tomb. They were professional people working underground directed and administered by the hierarchy of the Church, usually by a Deacon. The Church paid them, because it was part of Church's cooperation to help the poor people. It is part of the ministry of the Church. There were three types of ministry of the Church: The ministry of the word of God, ministry of Liturgy and ministry of Charity.

All the remains in the second floor were transferred to third and fourth floor in the 20th century before it was reopen again to the public by Pope Pius XI (1930).