What is St. Peter's Basilica anyway? Why is it a holy place? Around the World by Takahiro Ueda, a Buddhist Priest - Vatican City, Italy (5)
Previous ArticleSt. Peter's Basilica, the main temple of Roman Catholicism - overwhelmed by beauty beyond imagination, Vatican, Italy (4)In the following section, I introduced St. Peter's Basilica to everyone.
This St. Peter's Basilica is so famous as a holy place of pilgrimage and as a tourist attraction.
However, it may be difficult for many people to quickly answer the question of what St. Peter's Basilica is for in the first place.
It is the headquarters of Roman Catholicism, and its center is St. Peter's Basilica."
Yes, that is not wrong, but why then did there have to be a Christian sanctuary here in the Vatican?
Why not in Israel? Was it not in other places?
Was there a particular reason why it had to be here in Rome?
-The answer is yes.
This land was absolutely necessary for the development of Christianity.
To know the origins of St. Peter's Basilica is to know the foundation of Roman Catholicism.
In this article, I would like to talk about what St. Peter's Basilica is all about.
Now, let's see what would happen if we translate this St. Peter's Basilica into Japanese.
Some of you may be wondering what I am going to say out of the blue, but in fact, if you do this, the story will become surprisingly clear.
San Pietro.
The word "san" means "saint," or "holy."
The name "Pietro" refers to the personal name "Peter."
Yes, "St. Peter's Basilica" is the "Basilica of St. Peter.
When it is said to be the Cathedral of St. Peter, it is somewhat easier to imagine.
When you go to Europe, there are many buildings with names prefixed with "San" such as Castel Sant'Angelo and Basilica of San Nicolas.
Most of them mean saints.
Castel Sant'Angelo also means St. Angelo, and St. Nicholas means St. Nicholas.
If you know how this works, you will see the meaning of the buildings you see while walking around town differently.
Now, back to the Cathedral of St. Peter. I can guess that it is probably the cathedral that St. Peter is associated with.
Now, we've come this far. Now it's time to get to the heart of the matter.
Here in St. Peter's Basilica, the cathedral was built over the tomb of St. Peter.
In other words, the most sacred human resting place in the world.
That is why this cathedral is the most holy of holy places, filled with the most sacred power that cannot be replaced by any other in the world.
St. Peter. Who in the world is he? What does it mean to be the most holy man in the world?
St. Peter is the figure kneeling in the center receiving the keys from Jesus.
This is a critically important scene in Roman Catholicism.
First of all, going back to this story, Jesus had a close circle of disciples called the 12 Apostles. (In Buddhism, the Buddha also had ten great disciples, competent direct disciples. The parallels are interesting.)
St. Peter was the first of Jesus' 12 apostles to become a disciple, and he remained close to Jesus as the first of his disciples.
Then one day Jesus appointed St. Peter as his successor and gave him the keys of heaven.
The key to heaven is the power of the holy miracle itself.
St. Peter became the only person who received it directly from Jesus.
Herein lies the decisive significance.
St. Peter is the only person who received holy power directly from Jesus, the Son of God.
That is why we can say that we are the most holy people in the world.
And later Jesus was crucified and died in Jerusalem.
But amazingly, Jesus resurrects three days later and appears to St. Peter and the other disciples.
St. Peter and others were again convinced that Jesus was the Son of God.
He then set out on an evangelistic mission to spread the word of God throughout the world.
This is the beginning of Christianity. The birth of Jesus is not the beginning.
The resurrection of Jesus, and the birth of a man who believed that he was the Son of God and Savior, was the start of Christianity.
But the road was a hard one.
Jesus died around 30 A.D.
As mentioned in the following article in the Israel section, the Roman Empire, which ruled the world at that time, had severely suppressed Judaism.
From the Roman Empire's point of view, Judaism and Christianity were no different. Christianity was considered part of Judaism.
In his later years, St. Peter went to Rome to continue his mission as the first bishop (pope) of Rome, but was oppressed by the Roman authorities and martyred in Rome in 64 AD.
And it was in the Vatican, where St. Peter's Basilica now stands, that the body was buried.
The Vatican is now well maintained, but surprisingly, it was once a hot, damp, malaria-ridden swamp.
In short, it was an inhospitable land.
But even in such a land, the significance of the presence of St. Peter's tomb did not waver one bit.
It is believed that the first cathedral was built here around 319-350 during the reign of Emperor Constantine, who was the first to officially recognize Christianity in the Roman Empire.
If this is called the Old Cathedral, the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica we see today can be called the New Cathedral.
Construction of this new cathedral began in 1506 and was completed in 1615.
In fact, this majestic cathedral was built over a period of more than 100 years.
The period from 1506 to 1626 is the time when Japan entered the Warring States period following the Onin War that broke out in 1467, and the period of Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa before entering the Edo period.
In such an era, the Vatican had built such an overwhelming cathedral.
This is nothing short of amazing.
Now that we have told the story of who St. Peter was and that St. Peter's Basilica is a cathedral built over his tomb.
St. Peter is the only person to whom Jesus gave the keys to heaven.
And the keys are still being passed down from generation to generation by Roman Catholic popes.
Roman Catholicism began with St. Peter, the first pope.
The fact that the cathedral is located directly above the tomb of St. Peter was of decisive importance to Roman Catholics.
The only human being who was given holy power by Jesus. His body is nothing short of holy to the highest level.
Even in death, the holy power continues to shine there.
Let me say it plainly. A grain of wheat remains a grain of wheat unless it falls to the ground and dies. But if it dies, it bears much fruit" (The New Testament, John 12).
The words of Jesus in the New Testament are rooted right here in the Vatican.
Jesus' death on the cross bore the fruit of Christianity, and St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome became the foundation of Roman Catholicism, which continues to this day.
The symbol of the connection between the holy power of Jesus and St. Peter is indeed St. Peter's Basilica.
This is the reason why pilgrims from all over the world come here.
It is not simply because it is the main temple of Roman Catholicism.
In fact, this is the holy place where St. Peter rests.
That is why people set out on pilgrimages, even risking their lives to reach this place, a long way from home.
The fact that St. Peter's tomb is located there.
This is why St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican are important holy places.
In the following article, I would like to describe the interior of St. Peter's Basilica and its architectural marvels with the help of documents.
I hope that I have been able to convey what is wonderful about St. Peter's Basilica and what makes it different from other architectural structures.
be unbroken
*Please visit this category page for recommended books to learn about Rome and Italy.
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, the Vatican, and Roman Catholicism."
The Italian Renaissance and the Revolution in Knowledge."
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