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Marking 1,700 years, Rome’s cathedral and first public church testify to Christianity’s perseverance

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Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, papal vicar of Rome, sit in front of the main altar in Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran during a meeting with priests and deacons working in the Diocese of Rome Jan. 13, 2024. Nov. 9 marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome and the “Mother and Head of all the Churches in the City and the World.” (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

9 November marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Dedication of St John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome and the “Mother and Head of all the Churches in the City and the World.”

The date is both a historical milestone and a required liturgical celebration on the Roman liturgical calendar.

In each diocese, the anniversary of its cathedral’s dedication is observed as a feast day, so with St John Lateran, that observance is extended to the universal church, said Father John Wauck, a literature and communications professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

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The importance the church places in its sacred buildings connects to Jesus’ ministry, he said. “What he came to do was a construction project,” Father Wauck said.

“He tells Peter, ‘On you, on this rock, I’m going to build my church. … He doesn’t say, ‘I’m going to write a book.’

“He doesn’t leave any books. He leaves followers to form what he calls a church, and he says he’s going to build it. … The physical church is like the incarnation of the spiritual thing that is a church.”

As the first legally built public church in the world, it marks the legalisation of Christianity and the advent of public Christian worship, said art historian Elizabeth Lev.

“That church is built on the witness of 250 years of people willing to die for Christ,” she said. “It’s a reminder that we have this incredible privilege of being able to go out and proclaim our faith.”

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