Paradox of a persecuted religion
A carved ivory box from the fifth century freezes in time the transition from pagan to Christian Rome, writes Eamon Duffy in our continuing series inspired by the exhibition of medieval reliquaries at the British Museum
It’s not a relic, it’s not even included in the catalogue, but one of the most evocative objects in the “Treasures of Heaven” exhibition highlights the para- doxes of the cult of the martyrs and their relics at the origins of Latin Christendom. It is a small ivory box, whose four deeply carved panels, meas- uring just 7.5cms by 10cms, form probably the earliest surviving Passion sequence in Christian art (and are here reassembled and displayed as a box for the first time). In the first of the panels, Pilate washes his hands as Christ is led away carrying his cross. Peter, seated by a brazier, recoils from his master in shame, while a miniature cockerel crows above his head. In the second panel, a haloed Christ, every inch the Johannine Lord of Glory, reigns tranquil and open-eyed upon his cross. On his right stand Mary and John, on his left the centurion who confesses his divinity. At Christ’s far right, Judas, his money bag burst open under his feet perhaps as a surrogate for his spilled entrails, hangs from a tree. His weight drags the branch towards the cross: among its leaves, a bird feeds its young in the nest, an emblem of life in the middle of death. In the third panel two holy women med-
itate as soldiers sleep on either side of Christ’s tomb, a domed building modelled on the aedicule Constantine had raised over the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. On the sepul- chre door is carved the raising of Lazarus. It stands ajar to reveal the empty grave slab. In the final panel, the risen Christ commis- sions his disciples to preach to all nations. This is an inescapably Roman object. The
style of the figures is borrowed from late Roman sculpture, and Rome’s apostle, Peter, features prominently (if unflatteringly) in
Government is now trying to address this issue and promised the construction of over 100 shallow water wells and water reservoirs in the rural areas.” More wells means shorter journeys for the herds, and fewer livestock deaths. The thriving civil society sector – another outcome of stable government – is also making a difference. Working with Candlelight, a charity that supports environ- mental work, Progressio development worker Lemma Belay is training families in sustain- able agriculture, soil and water conservation. She recently reported: “There are now more underground cisterns and dams constructed and rehabilitated. This mainly focuses on the drought-affected areas.”
Somaliland is not immune from the drought, but it has a government and civil
Both Augustine and Jerome had
been professional expositors of the pagan classics, but Jerome came to denounce Rome’s literary patrimony, Virgil and Horace and Ovid, as “the literature of the damned”. In The City of God, Augustine attempted to come to terms with the meaning of pagan Rome, and its demise. He and his con- temporaries struggled to reconcile the triumphant Christianity of the present with the fading greatness of the anti- Christian past, whose monuments were everywhere around them. Our box takes us to the heart of that unease. It was very likely made to hold the relics of Roman martyrs, and the
The Crucifixion of Christ, a panel from a late-Roman ivory casket, c. AD 420-30. Probably made in Rome. British Museum
the first panel: maybe the box once held some of his relics. The carver of this box was a con- temporary of St Augustine of Hippo and St Jerome. The empire had been Christian for a century. But it had not yet fully come to terms with its pagan past, and that unease was at its most intense in the cult of the mar- tyrs, which was so central to the early Church. As the carver worked in the 420s or early 430s, the future Pope Leo the Great was still a young deacon. It was Pope Leo who would declare Peter and Paul the new founding twins of Christian Rome, as Romulus and Remus had been of ancient Rome. But pagan Rome had crucified Jesus, the pattern of martyrdom, and then had executed Peter and Paul, Agnes and Cecilia. The saints whose names were (and still are) recited in the canon of the Mass were simultaneously Rome’s glory and its reproach, for they had been murdered by the very state that now imposed the Christian Gospel.
society that is committed and prepared, and far fewer of its citizens are likely to reach the edge of the hunger cliff. Good governance saves lives.
But if stability is so important, then why are the communities around Marsabit in northern Kenya so under pressure? “Kenya stops at Isiolo” is the response of many, refer- ring to the clear lack of investment and interest in the region from central government. It’s not enough to have peace – your government needs to be interested. What does the future hold for these com-
munities? Years like this encourage them to leave their herds in search of other work, but I suspect that “alternative livelihoods” could well turn out to be eking out a living in a city slum.
serene Christ in the Crucifixion panel mir- rored both the fate of his first disciples and the tranquillity that was thought to be the gift of God to the martyrs in their extremity. We don’t know for whom the box was made. But it embodies the paradox of a persecuted religion as it came to terms with establish- ment. A Church watered by the blood of the mar-
tyrs had become the beneficiary of empire, and would soon become the ideology of an emergent Christian Europe. The bones of the martyred followers of the Son of Man, who had nowhere to lay his head, were now lapped in ivory, a source of prestige and reas- surance to the rich and powerful. We can only speculate about whether or not the men and women who first venerated the relics in this box felt the force of that contradiction.
■Eamon Duffy is professor of the history of Christianity and fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. The exhibition, “Treasures of Heaven: saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe”, is at the British Museum, London, until 9 October.
But Somaliland’s experience shows us that there are ways for pastoralists to be supported in tough times if civil society and governments both play their part. A message from Marsabit is of the need for more equitable distribution of investment. In Somalia, preventing hunger means working for peace. And the experience of the whole region should re-energise us to act on climate change. These are all very tough, long-term chal- lenges. They can also be met, if we want to meet them. In the meantime, will supporting efforts in the region save lives? The answer is “yes”.
■Tim Aldred is head of policy and communications at Progressio. For more information go to
www.progressio.org.uk
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