Dave Stotts travels to Rome, Italy continuing journey through history of Church in Southern Europe
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Drive Thru History: Ends of the Earth | How Christianity Changed Southern Europe | May 16, 2021
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave Stotts: Hi, I'm Dave Stotts, and I'm at St. Peter's
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- Basilica in Vatican City, the largest church building
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- in the world.
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- I've traveled here to Rome to continue our journey through
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- the history of the Christian church in Southern Europe.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Over 2.000 years ago, the man known as Jesus
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- of Nazareth was born in the small town of Bethlehem
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- in the land of Judea.
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- His extraordinary life, brutal execution, and miraculous
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- Resurrection from the dead, attest to the truth of his claim
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- to be the only Son of God.
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- This is the story of how Jesus, through the lives of his
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- faithful followers, has become known around the world,
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- impacting all of human history from the first century
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- until today.
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- This is "Drive Thru History: Ends of the Earth."
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: The story of the Gospel arriving in Southern Europe
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- begins, as so much of Christian history does, with a festival of
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- Pentecost in about 33 A.D.
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- According to the 2nd chapter of Acts, there were visitors
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- from Rome in Jerusalem that day.
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- Like Jewish people from other lands, this is when the Roman
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- Jews first learned about the Resurrection of Jesus
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- and witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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- After Pentecost, the new believers returned here to Rome,
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- thus launching Christian history in Southern Europe.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: This is my ride for this episode of
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- "Drive Thru History," an Italian classic, the Alpha Romeo.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: And this is Rome, the "Eternal City."
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Rome was established on the east bank of the Tiber River
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- in the eighth century B.C.
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- By the time of the early Christian church in the first
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- century A.D., Rome was the capital of an entire empire and
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- the largest city in the world.
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- At the beginning of the first century, Roman Emperor Augustus
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- vastly improved Rome, remarking that he had found it a city
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- of brick and left it a city of marble.
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- In addition to constructing an imperial palace, he built many
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- temples, including one to his stepdad, Julius Caesar.
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- Subsequent emperors added to the city.
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- By the time of the first Christians, Rome included the
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- Imperial Palace, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Circus Maximus,
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- and numerous other temples, theaters, vats,
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- gardens and aqueducts.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: The Pantheon was a massive temple dedicated
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- to all the mythological gods.
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- To this day, the Pantheon stands as one of the most
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- iconic buildings of ancient Rome.
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- Dave: The Roman Forum was the hub of everyday life in Rome.
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- This area was filled with government buildings, shops,
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- temples, and a large plaza in the middle.
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- This was one of the most-celebrated commercial
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- centers in the ancient world.
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- The iconic Roman Colosseum, still considered to be the
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- biggest amphitheater ever built, and the Circus Maximus,
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- the largest of all entertainment venues in the Roman Empire,
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- with a capacity of over 150.000 people, this place hosted
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- everything from chariot races to music festivals.
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- However, during the first couple of centuries after Jesus,
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- the Circus Maximus was also used to murder Christians
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- who were forced to fight wild beasts or endure
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- other horrific executions.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Meanwhile, in about 49 A.D., the apostle Paul
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- had a vision of a man from Macedonia, begging him
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- to quote, "come over to Macedonia and help us."
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- So Paul and his team traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony
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- and major city in Southern Europe.
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- It was there that Paul had his first convert on European soil.
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- Her name was Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.
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- Paul and his companions, Timothy, Silas, and Luke, then
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- continued through Macedonia and Greece, challenging the
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- mythologies of the region in cities like Thessalonica,
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- Berea, Athens, and Corinth.
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- First Century Christians then moved on through lands such as
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- Italy, Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Gaul, or what we now call
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- France; Hispania, or what we now call the Iberian Peninsula of
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- Spain; and in remote Roman regions,
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- which now form modern Austria.
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- Dave: Similar to the Eastern Mediterranean region, there were
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- constant confrontations between Christianity and paganism here
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- in Southern Europe.
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- Christians were arrested, tortured, and often killed,
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- inspiring others to courageously defend the faith
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- through martyrdom.
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- During the first century, the biggest names in Christian
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- martyrdom here in Rome were the apostles Peter, and Paul.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: We don't know the full circumstances, but about three
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- months after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D., the apostle
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- Peter was arrested and executed by Emperor Nero.
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- Eerily, Jesus had predicted the crucifixion of Peter
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- over 30 years earlier.
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- Dave: "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger,
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- you dressed yourself and went where you wanted, but when you
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- are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else
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- will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
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- Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death
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- by which Peter would glorify God.
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- "Then he said to him, 'Follow me,'" John 21:18 and 19.
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- Dave: Church sources from the second and third centuries say
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- Peter was crucified upside down.
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- Some say that was his request since he saw himself unworthy
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- to be crucified in the same way as Jesus.
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- In the fourth century, Roman Emperor Constantine built a
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- church to commemorate the martyrdom of Peter.
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- At a burial site marked since the second century, this church
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- became known as the incredible Basilica of St. Peter,
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- now the centerpiece of Vatican City.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: The apostle Paul was also executed here in Rome
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- during the reign of Emperor Nero.
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- According to ancient sources, Paul was executed by beheading
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- in about 67 A.D., and his friends took his body
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- to the second-mile marker on the Ostian Way.
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- There, they buried him in a family tomb of a Roman woman
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- named Matrona Lucilla, and put up a grave marker near the road.
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- It was here in the fourth century that Emperor Constantine
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- built the first church commemorating Paul's martyrdom.
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- It was also during the fourth century that tradition tells us
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- Paul's remains were moved into a marble sarcophagus and buried
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- in the church's crypt.
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- That tombstone still reads, "Paulo Apostolo Mart,"
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- Latin for "Paul Apostle Martyr."
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- Between the fourth and fifth centuries, four other Roman
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- emperors expanded the site.
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- Today, the church is known as the "Basilica of Saint Paul
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- Outside the Walls," with the latest renovations completed
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- in about 1800.
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- Based on historical records, archaeology, and recent forensic
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- evidence, many scholars consider the Basilica of Saint Paul
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- Outside the Walls to be the authentic site of Paul's tomb.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: In the generations following Peter and Paul,
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- other Christian thinkers and evangelists made their way
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- to Southern Europe.
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- Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist, born in the
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- Roman province of Judea in about 180 A.D.
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- He was a prolific writer who ended up in Rome where he was
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- martyred alongside some of his students in about 165 A.D.
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- his first apology is probably his best-known work, where he
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- defended the morality of the Christian life and provided
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- arguments to convince the Roman Empire to stop its severe
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- persecution of Christians during the second century.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: This is the church of San Giovanni Battista in
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- Sacrofano, a small town about 20 minutes north of Rome.
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- The church was originally built in the 12th century, dedicated,
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- in part, to Justin Martyr.
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- During the 15th century, this bell tower was added, made of
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- rock from the extinct volcano that rises above the town.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Inside, we find a simple church similar to so many
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- in the old villages of Italy.
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- And here, at the front, we find this marble altar that holds
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- the bones of Justin Martyr.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: As part of his many writings, Justin Martyr was
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- famous for his apologetic of the "logos," a Greek word meaning,
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- well, "word."
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- Ancient thinkers used "logos," not only to mean the spoken
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- word, but also the unspoken word, the word still in the
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- mind, what we call "reason."
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- When applied to the universe, logos pointed to the divine
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- reason which governs all things.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Thus, the apostle John used a very special title to
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- introduce Jesus Christ.
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- "In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God,
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- and the Word was God.
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- He was with God in the beginning," John 1:1 and 2.
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- John was connecting the dots for the ancient world.
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- "Logos," "the Word," was Jesus Christ, himself.
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- "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
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- his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
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- full of grace and truth," John 1:14.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: This is the Piazza Navona.
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- Today, it's a beautiful city square in Rome, surrounded by
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- restaurants and terraces that create a lively atmosphere.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: The Piazza Navona is known for its three fountains,
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- commissioned by Pope Gregory VIII,
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- during the mid-17th century.
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- This one is known as the Fountain of the Four Rivers,
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- designed by Bernini, in 1651.
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- The four statues symbolize the most important rivers of the
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- continents where Christianity had spread to that point in
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- history: the Nile in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in
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- India, and the Rio de la Plata in South America.
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- In the middle is a 52-foot obelisk that was originally part
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- of a stadium along the Appian Way.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Until the mid-19th century, the trains of the three
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- fountains were blocked during August, and the center of the
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- square was flooded to make the lake of the Piazza Navona.
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- This was a favorite tradition for Roman locals
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- during the hot summers.
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- Dave: However, back in the late first century, the Piazza
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- Navona was the site of the Stadium of Domitian, place for
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- 20.000 Roman spectators to watch a variety of games
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- and gladiatorial contests.
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- Around the sides were arcades that housed brothels and other
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- establishments of general and assorted debauchery.
- 00:14:29.794 --> 00:14:33.965
- Roman Emperor Domitian was known as one of the greatest
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- persecutors of Christianity in history.
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- For the next two centuries, his namesake's stadium would be used
- 00:14:39.504 --> 00:14:44.175
- more and more for public executions of Christians.
- 00:14:44.208 --> 00:14:47.712
- ♪♪♪
- 00:14:47.745 --> 00:14:49.914
- Dave: Then, in the early fourth century, came the Roman
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- Emperor Diocletian.
- 00:14:52.417 --> 00:14:54.319
- Between 303 and 312, Diocletian ushered in the largest and
- 00:14:54.352 --> 00:14:59.257
- bloodiest official persecution of Christianity in the history
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- of the Roman Empire.
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- During the reign of Diocletian, Agnes was a beautiful young girl
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- of Roman nobility.
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- When she became a Christian and would not give in to the sexual
- 00:15:12.170 --> 00:15:15.907
- pressures of the city's high-ranking men, she was turned
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- over to the authorities.
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- She was martyred for her faith here, in the Stadium
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- of Domitian, in 304 A.D.
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- She was only 13 years old.
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- Agnes was later venerated as a saint, in a number of church
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- traditions, for her resolute devotion to her purity
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- as a follower of Jesus.
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- The church here, at the Piazza Navona, was built in
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- the 17th century to honor the memory of Saint Agnes.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Then, just as the greatest systematic persecution
- 00:15:50.141 --> 00:15:53.211
- of Christians began, it was over, and Diocletian was out.
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- Things in the Roman Empire we're about to change.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: I'm about 20 miles east of Rome in the beautiful
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- countryside of Tivoli.
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- This ancient village is home to a number of villas, estates, and
- 00:16:10.661 --> 00:16:14.499
- gardens, including the famous Hundred Fountains of Tivoli.
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:16:19.103 --> 00:16:22.006
- Dave: This is Hadrian's Villa, here in Tivoli, first
- 00:16:22.040 --> 00:16:25.510
- built by Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early second century.
- 00:16:25.543 --> 00:16:29.914
- Now, over the years, a number of Roman rulers used this villa as
- 00:16:29.947 --> 00:16:34.352
- a way to escape the pressures of Rome.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: In about 312 A.D., a Roman ruler named Constantine
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- was facing major pressures entrenched in a bloody civil war
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- for the control of the Roman Empire.
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- According to tradition, he saw a vision in the sky of the Greek
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- letters "Chi" and "Rho," the first two letters of the name
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- "Christ" in Greek.
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- It's also said that he saw a message in Latin, which
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- translated says, "with this sign you shall win."
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- History records the Constantine had the Chi-Rho symbol painted
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- on the shields of his soldiers, who went on to win a major
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- victory the following day.
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- As a result, Constantine became the undisputed emperor
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- of the entire Roman Empire.
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- A year later, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan,
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- which made tolerance of Christianity
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- the law of the land.
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- He went on to establish his capital in Byzantium, renaming
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- it Constantinople, and by 325, he called the first worldwide
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- council of Christian leaders at Nicaea, which resulted in the
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- first universal Christian creed.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Despite generations of persecution, churches were
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- planted, bishops were appointed, and, in time, a vibrant
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- Christianity began to replace the decaying culture
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- of the Roman Empire.
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- Schools, orphanages, medical clinics, and feeding centers
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- sprang to life, modeling the compassion of Jesus Christ
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- in a harsh, dog-eat-dog world.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Within 350 years of Jesus Christ, Christianity went
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- from a tiny, persecuted minority to the dominant,
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- majority faith in Southern Europe.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: With the rise of Muslim invasions in the seventh
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- century, the Christian centers at Antioch, Alexandria, and
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- Jerusalem, where all but shut down, leaving Constantinople
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- and Rome as the two remaining hubs of Christianity.
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:18:56.394 --> 00:19:00.398
- Dave: Over time, a major divide grew between East
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- and West.
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- Now, I'm not gonna attempt to delve into the theological and
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- ritualistic complexities that led to this continental division
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- of Christianity, but let's just say that the Christian church
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- simply couldn't continue with two centers of authority,
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- one in Constantinople, and one in Rome.
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- This set the stage for another significant event that shaped
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- Christianity in Europe, the division of the church into two
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- branches, Eastern and Western, culminating with the so-called
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- Great Schism of 1054.
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- In the end, the churches in the lands to the East, including
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- present-day Russia, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Macedonia,
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- Bulgaria, and Cyprus, aligned with various branches of the
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- Eastern Orthodox Church, including Greek Orthodox and
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- Russian Orthodox traditions, while the churches in the lands
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- to the West, including present-day Portugal, Spain,
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- France, Austria, and Italy, remained with the Roman Catholic
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- Church and its authority centered in Rome.
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- Dave: After the collapse of the Roman Empire,
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- Italy broke up into smaller domains and city states.
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- This left many Italian coastal cities and villages vulnerable
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- to attack by Islamic raiders.
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- By the late 15th century, Italy faced a full-scale invasion by
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- Ottoman forces looking to spread Islam through all of Europe.
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- Dave: The year was 1480.
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- Twenty-seven years earlier, Mehmed the Conqueror raised
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- minarets at the magnificent Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
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- Now he was ready to take Rome and raise minarets upon the
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- incredible Basilica of St. Peter, but then, the Christian
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- men of Otranto stepped into history.
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- Otranto is a small fishing village on the west coast of the
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- heel of Italy's boot, which juts into the Mediterranean Sea.
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- In the summer of 1480, the village found itself surrounded
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- by a large Islamic invasion force.
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- Mehmed the Conqueror wanted a beachhead on the Italian coast,
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- with a view toward conquering all of Italy and,
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- ultimately, all of Europe.
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- In a scene eerily similar to one that has played out in Christian
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- villages of North Africa and the Middle East in recent years,
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- Muslim forces gathered all 813 men of Otranto and marched them
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- to a rise outside the city, the Hill of the Minerva.
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- There, they were given the ultimatum countless other
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- Christians have faced over the last 14 centuries:
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- Submit to Islam or die.
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- The first man refused, and the others watched him beheaded.
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- The next man, now a witness to the consequences,
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- was given the same choice.
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- He too stood firm in his faith and was beheaded.
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- One by one, all 813 men of Otranto died on August 14, 1480.
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- Thereafter, the hill took on a new name,
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- the Hill of the Martyrs.
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- The man-by-man resistance of the little town of Otranto, slowed
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- the progress of the Ottoman armies, just enough to allow the
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- city states of Italy and the kingdoms of France and Hungary
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- to mount a counteroffensive.
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- Within a year, the Ottoman forces at Otranto were driven
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- back into the sea.
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- From that time, forward, Ottoman invasions of Europe
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- would only come by land.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: For the next 200 years, the Islamic Ottoman Empire
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- continued to press westward from Istanbul.
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- By 1683, the sultan's armies reached the Danube River
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- and laid siege to the city of Vienna.
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- The Fall of Vienna would have opened the door to the Muslim
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- conquest of all of Central Europe.
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- At the last moment, a coalition of Christian nations,
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- both Protestant and Catholic, showed up to defend Vienna
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- and drive back the Muslim invasion.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: After the Muslim armies retreated in defeat, the
- 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.602
- victorious soldiers and the Viennese survivors rummaged
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- through their abandoned camps.
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- Most of the rummagers were looking for gold, weapons, or
- 00:23:37.541 --> 00:23:40.177
- other valuables, but a Polish soldier named Georg Kolschitzky,
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- one of 18.000 courageous Poles who have rallied to the defense
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- of the Christian West, took possession of something everyone
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- else assumed was simply worthless camel feed.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Ah, grazie.
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- What turns out, Georg knew what the camel food really
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- was--500 pounds of green coffee beans.
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- You see, Georg had spent some time in the East, and he knew
- 00:24:08.739 --> 00:24:11.742
- the virtues of roasting, grinding, and boiling the stuff.
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- Using this initial supply, Georg opened the first coffee house
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- in Vienna, known as the Blue Bottle.
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- At first, he had very few customers because locals found
- 00:24:22.052 --> 00:24:24.788
- the drink too bitter.
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- However, Georg had the idea of using milk and sugar to make his
- 00:24:26.457 --> 00:24:30.361
- brew, well, more yummy.
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- To you, Georg.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Oh, it's hot. That's hot, really, very hot.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:24:50.014 --> 00:24:51.315
- Dave: By the 20th century, Christianity in Southern Europe
- 00:24:51.348 --> 00:24:54.318
- started suffering again.
- 00:24:54.351 --> 00:24:56.353
- This time, it wasn't military conflict as much as modernity.
- 00:24:56.387 --> 00:25:00.724
- The so-called "enlightened philosophies" and revolutionary
- 00:25:00.758 --> 00:25:03.994
- ideas of modern Europe mocked traditional Christianity and
- 00:25:04.028 --> 00:25:08.532
- pushed Christian principles out of the schools,
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- media, and institutions.
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- By the beginning of the 21st century, Southern Europe was
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- looking more and more, well, post-Christian.
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:19.910 --> 00:25:23.814
- Dave: Today, I see some exciting pockets of Christian
- 00:25:23.847 --> 00:25:26.650
- tradition, revival, and outreach here in Italy.
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- I pray for a greater return to the Christian faith that landed
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- here in Europe nearly two millennia ago, a foundation of
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- faith that helped spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:54.712 --> 00:26:04.622
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:04.655 --> 00:26:14.632
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:14.665 --> 00:26:24.642
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:24.675 --> 00:26:29.680