Paul and Jesus

Just before Christmas in 2006, Vatican archaeologists announced that they had unearthed an ancient stone sarcophagus, dated to the fourth century A.D., just below the central altar of the basilica and containing what they believed to be the skeletal remains of Paul.⁷ It was inscribed Paulo Apostolo Mart, Latin for “to Paul Apostle Martyr.” Tradition says that Paul was beheaded during the reign of the emperor Nero at the spot now identified as Tre Fontane, at the end of the Via Laurentina.

⁸ He was then buried two miles to the north, along the Ostian Way, the ancient road from Rome to the port of Ostia on the Mediterranean Sea. A necropolis just outside the basilica, dating from the first century B.C. to the fourth century A.D., has been partially excavated, indicating that the basilica was built over an ancient cemetery. There are references to this cemetery in the second century A.D.⁹ In A.D. 324 the emperor Constantine built a small basilica at the site to receive pilgrims visiting Paul’s tomb. On June 29, 2009, marking the traditional anniversary of Paul’s death, Pope Benedict XVI announced that carbon-14 dating tests had been conducted on the skeletal remains inside the sarcophagus.¹⁰

Vatican scientists had carried out their clandestine mission during the night to avoid arousing public attention. They drilled a small hole into the sarcophagus, allowing a tiny probe to be inserted to retrieve some small bone samples as well as fabric. The tests on the bones confirmed a date from the late first or early second century A.D.¹¹

As an academic historian and scholar of Christian origins, I would not normally be drawn to a traditional Catholic site marking the tomb or relics of one of the saints, since the vast majority lack any historical authenticity. But this tomb of Paul seems different. It does indeed appear possible that these skeletal remains are those of Paul. For me that possibility cast this particular holy place in an entirely different light.

My visit to the tomb of Paul late that May afternoon was profoundly meaningful to me. I exited the B-line at the metro stop marked “Basilica San Paolo” and walked down the Via Ostiense, the modern street that traces the route of the ancient Roman road, with ancient ruins along the way visible between parks and modern apartment buildings. As I neared the cathedral grounds I felt an emotional quickening inside. A towering stone sculpture of Paul is at the main entrance. In his right hand is a sword and in his left a book. The cathedral is magnificent, absolutely breathtaking in its artistic and architectural beauty. A late afternoon Mass was in progress and the strains of Gregorian chants mixed with Latin prayers could not have been more appropriate for the setting. I stood briefly before the towering sculptures of Peter and Paul that guarded the way to the central altar, and gazed at the paintings and frescoes all around, but my focus was the area behind the central altar, now prepared for visitors to descend down a flight of steps, four and a half feet below the present floor level. There one can see the sides of the stone sarcophagus behind a modern brass grating, resting in its ancient crypt that had remained hidden from view for the past seventeen hundred years. Kneeling there in front of the tomb, surrounded by devoted pilgrims and curious visitors snapping photos, I was deeply moved. Somehow that physical proximity to what might likely be Paul’s earthly remains marked a milestone to my forty-five-year search for the historical Paul. I felt I had come full circle. What follows are the startling but enlightening results of that quest.

May 31, 2010

Rome

INTRODUCTION

PAUL AND JESUS