Laymen, clerks, martyrs and the subterranean cemeteries of Rome in the 3rd century

Abstract

The article asks for the role of laymen and clerics in the creation and genesis of catacombs in the 3rd century. Clearly, the interest in collective burial is a need of the faithful. It is an option, but not at all obligatory. The nuclei of 3rd-century catacombs show the presence of different groups of persons, which frequently do not allow drawing conclusions on their religious affiliation. The absence of Christian elements does not mean that the commissioners of the burial rooms were pagan; Christians may not have felt the need to express their faith. The intentions the commissioners determine the choice of epigraphic formulary and figural decoration. During the 3rd century, it seems that mostly laymen organizing them, women played a particular role in organizing relics and corpses of martyrs. Laymen also kept the memory of martyrs alive. The choice of a certain catacomb for the own interment was determined by personal relations.