The basilica of Constantine
The number of Ostian inscriptions that can be dated accurately to the first four decades of the 4th century is surprisingly small. We ended our discussion of the later 3rd century with one of the few that has survived, an inscription on the base of an equestrian statue of Manilius Rusticianus, praefectus annonae, on the forum (EDR072926). It belongs to the years 307-310 AD, so the period when Maxentius was in power in Rome. One important intervention by Constantine is documented: the endowment of a Christian basilica dedicated to Peter, Paul and John the Baptist. The Liber Pontificalis provides the details:
(xxviii) Eodem tempore fecit Constantinus Augustus basilicam in civitate Hostia, iuxta portum urbis Romae, beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli et Iohannis Baptistae, ubi et dona obtulit haec:
patenam argentam, pens.lib. XXX;
calices argentos X, pens.sing.lib. II;
amas argenteas II, pens.sing.lib. X;
fara cantara argentea XXX, pens.sing.lib. quinas;
scyphos argenteos II, pens.sing.lib. VIII;
patenam argenteam chrismalem singularem, pens.lib. X;
pelvem ex argento ad baptismum, pens.lib. XX;
insulam quae dicitur Assis, quod est inter Portum et Hostia;
possessiones omnes maritimas usque ad Digitum Solis, praest.sol. DCLV;
possessio Grecorum, in territurio Ardeatino, praest.sol. LXXX;
possessio Quirinis, territurio Hostense, praest.sol. CCCXI;
possessio Balneolum, territurio Hostense, praest.sol. XLII;
possessio Nymfulas, praest.sol. XXX.
(xxix) Item dona quae obtulit Galicanus basilicae suprascriptae sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli et Iohannis Baptistae; obtulit hoc:
coronam argenteam cum delfinos, pens.lib. XX;
calicem argenteum anaglyfum, pens.lib XV;
amam argenteam, pens.lib. XVIII;
massam territurio Sabinense Mallianum, praest.sol. CXV et tremissium;
fundum Picturas, territurio Velliterno, praest.sol. XLIII;
fundum Surorum, via Claudia, territurio Vegentano, praest.sol. LVI;
massa Gargiliana, territurio Suessano, praest.sol. DCLV.(xxviii) Then the emperor Constantine built in the city of Ostia close to Portus Romanus the basilica of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul and of John the Baptist, where he presented the following gifts:
a silver paten [the plate for holding the eucharistic bread] weighing 30 lb;
10 silver chalices each weighing 2 lb;
2 silver amae [vessels to receive the wine] each weighing 10 lb;
30 silver chandeliers each weighing 5 lb;
2 silver scyphi each weighing 8 lb;
a single silver chrism-paten [the dish containing the oil of chrism] weighing 10 lb;
a silver basin for baptism, weighing 20 lb;
the island called Assis between Portus and Ostia;
all the coastal properties as far as Digitus Solis, revenue 300 solidi;
the property of the Greeks, territory of Ardea, revenue 80 solidi;
the property Quiriti, territory of Ostia, revenue 311 solidi;
the property Balneolum, territory of Ostia, revenue 42 solidi;
the property Nymfulas, revenue 30 solidi.
(xxix) Also what Gallicanus presented to the above basilica of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and of John the Baptist; he presented the following:
a silver crown with dolphins, weighing 20 lb;
a silver chalice decorated in relief, weighing 15 lb;
a silver ama weighing 18 lb;
the estate Mallianum, Sabine territory, revenue 115 solidi, 1 tremiss [one third of a solidus];
the farm Picturas, territory of Velitrae, revenue 43 solidi;
the farm of the Suri on the Via Claudia, territory of Veii, revenue 56 solidi;
the estate Gargiliana, territory of Suessa, revenue 655 solidi.Liber Pontificalis XXXIII (Silvester - 314-335 AD), xxviii-xxix. Translation R. Davis, The Book of Pontiffs, Liverpool 1989. The second part of the text lists donations by a certain Gallicanus. We encounter the same man, a close associate of Constantine, in the Acts of the Saints:
[6] Quinque milia servorum liberos civesque Romanos fecit; quibus praedia domosque donavit: cunctasque facultates suas, excepto iure filiarum, distrahi ac donari pauperibus iussit; ac se in Ostiensi urbe manentem sancto viro cuidam Hilarino nomine sociavit; cuius habitaculum ampliari fecit ad peregrinorum susceptionem, quam ipse plurimis impendebat.
[7] Huic adhaeserunt multi ex servis, quos liberos fecit, et divulgata est fama eius per totum orbem; ita ut ab Oriente et Occidente venientes viderent virum ex Patritio et Consule, qui erat amicissimus Augustorum, lavantem pedes, ponentem mensam, aquam manibus affundentem, languentibus solicite ministrantem, exhibentem sanctae virtutis officia. Hic primus in Ostiensi urbe extruxit Ecclesiam, et dedicavit officia Clericorum. Huic se sanctus levita Laurentius revelavit, adhortans eum, ut in eius nomine ecclesiam fabricaret in porta, quae nunc usque Laurentia nuncupatur. Rogatus autem ut ibi levaretur Episcopus, non consensit; sed ex sua voluntate ipse qui ordinaretur elegit; tantamque ei gratiam contulit Deus, ut daemonibus pleni, mox ut visi fuissent ab oculis eius, protinus mundarentur; multaque in eo erant sanitatum insignia.
[8] Sed cum a Constantio Iulianus Caesar tactus esset, dedit legem ut Christiani nihil in hoc seculo possiderent. Tunc Gallicanus habens in Ostiensi pago quatuor casas, quarum pensiones his operibus quibus diximus ministrabant, ita Deum habere meruit defensorem, ut quicumque ingrediebatur in eas malitiose ut poneret titulos fisci, aut exigeret pensiones, statim a diabolo repleretur; et quicumque actorum eius esset exactor, leprosus fiebat. Tunc interrogata daemonia dederunt responsum, quodsi sacrificare coactus fuisset Gallicanus, exactores redituum eius ista pericula evitarent. Et quoniam nullus audebat convenire de hoc scelere Gallicanum; mandavit ei Iulianus Caesar: Aut sacrifica diis, aut discede a finibus Italiae. Statim autem relictis omnibus petiit Alexandriam: et ibi iunctus est Confessoribus Christi per continuum annum; post etiam secessit in eremum; ibique a Rautiano Comite templorum, cum cogeretur sacrificare et contemneret, percussus gladio in corpore, Christi Martyr effectus est; atque ita perrexit ad dominum gaudens cum triumpho; cui statim basilicam sui nominis construxerunt, in qua exuberant beneficia Martyris ex eo tempore et nunc, usque in secula seculorum. Amen. Hilarinus autem, qui quondam Gallicanum in Ostiensi urbe susceperat, cum cogeretur a persecutoribus fidei Christianae sacrificare, et nollet, fustibus caesus martyrium sumpsit cuius corpus Christiani venerabiliter sepelierunt in Ostia.[6] Gallicanus manumitted slaves as free Roman citizens to the number of five thousand; he granted them estates and houses, and ordered that all his possessions be divided and distributed to the poor, excepting that which belonged by right to his daughters. Then he made himself the companion of a certain holy man named Hilarinus who was dwelling in Ostia; he had his dwelling-place extended in order to receive pilgrims, as he had himself been.
[7] And many of his slaves whom he had freed remained with him. And his renown was broadcast through the entire city, such that people coming from east and west could see a man, who had been a senator and a consul, and a companion of the emperors, washing feet (of pilgrims), setting table, pouring out water for hand-washing, attentively attending to the ill, and performing all the duties of holy service. He first built a church in Ostia and endowed ministries of clerics. The holy deacon Laurence appeared to him in a dream, urging him to arrange to have a church built in his name at the gate which up to the present time is called 'Laurentia'. Asked if he was willing to be elevated to the bishopric, he did not give his consent, but at his own wish chose who (else) was to be ordained. God bestowed such grace on him that those who were possessed by demons, as soon as they had been seen by him, were straightway cleansed; and there were many other signs of holiness in him.
[8] But when Julian had been made Caesar by Constantius, he promulgated a law that Christians were to own nothing in this world. Then Gallicanus, who owned four houses in the vicinity of Ostia, whose rents he used for those good works which I mentioned, had God as his protector to such a degree that whosoever entered them either to lay claim to their revenues or to collect rents, was immediately filled with the devil; and whosoever was the tax-gatherer (for these properties) became afflicted with leprosy. When these demons had been interrogated about the matter, they gave the reply that unless Gallicanus was compelled to sacrifice, those persons collecting his taxes could not avoid such dangers. And because no one dared to summon Gallicanus in respect of this crime, Julian the Caesar sent an order, saying: 'Either sacrifice to the gods, or leave Italy'. Straightway abandoning all his properties, he sought Alexandria, and he joined a Christian community for a whole year. Afterwards he even went to the desert; and there, when he was compelled to sacrifice and refused to do so, he was killed by a sword to the heart by Raucianus, the custodian of the temples, and thus became a Christian martyr. And so he proceeded to the Lord rejoicing in triumph. They immediately built a basilica in his name in which the martyr's blessing abound. [since that time and now, until eternity. Amen.] But Hilarinus, the man of God who had received Gallicanus at Ostia, when he was compelled by the persecutors of the Christian faith to sacrifice, and refused, was beaten to death with staves and received the palm of martyrdom. The Christians buried his body reverently in Ostia.Acta Sanctorum, June, V, p. 38-39. Translation M. Lapidge, The Roman Martyrs, Oxford 2018, 373-374. Both texts provide much detailed information, but raise many questions also - and the story in the Acts of the Saints should be treated with caution. The dedication to John the Baptist and the basin for baptism provided by Constantine imply that his church was the episcopal church, of the bishop. In 313 AD a bishop of Ostia called Maximus was one of the participants in a council in Rome. The Liber Pontificalis states that from 336 AD the bishop of Ostia consecrated the pope:
Hic constituit ut episcopus Hostiae qui consecrat episcopum palleum uteretur et ab eodem episcopus urbis Romae consecraretur. He decreed that the bishop of Ostia, who consecrates the bishop, should use the pallium [a kind of toga], and that the bishop of Rome should be consecrated by him. Liber Pontificalis XXXV (Marcus - 336 AD). Translation R. Davis, The Book of Pontiffs, Liverpool 1989. The gifts of Gallicanus for Constantine's church might mean that it was built on property owned by Gallicanus. This man is either Ovinius Gallicanus, consul in 317 AD, or Flavius Gallicanus, consul in 330 AD. Edward Champlin opts for the former, partly because he can link him to property in Suessa in Campania, while the Liber Pontificalis speaks of "the estate Gargiliana, territory of Suessa".
At the end of the 20th century a Christian basilica was located in the south part of Ostia by Michael Heinzelmann. It is documented through geophysical research and a number of (filled-up) trenches, but has not been fully excavated. There are some good reasons to think that this was Constantine's church. The stratigraphical investigations have led to a date of c. 320-340 AD. Around 400 AD an apsidal structure was set against the south wall of the basilica with a round baptismal basin in the centre. Another argument has been found in the Acts of the Saints. These state that Gallicanus was the sole builder of a church of the deacon Lawrence, martyred in 258. Most archaeologists assume that it is the same as the church of Constantine. According to the Acts the church of Gallicanus is near a city gate called Porta Laurentia after Saint Laurentius. The link with the saint would then be fiction, the dedication to Laurentius an erroneous deduction from the real ancient name of a gate: Porta Laurentina (with an 'n'), a gate leading to the Vicus Augustanus Laurentium to the south of Ostia. The Christian basilica discovered by Heinzelmann is near a city gate (number 11 on the plan below). This then would be the ancient Porta Laurentina, not to be confused with a gate further to the west that the early excavators have called Porta Laurentina.
Plan of the basilica. Numbers indicate trenches.
Image: Michael Heinzelmann.
The baptismal basin in the apsidal structure set against the basilica.
Photo: Michael Heinzelmann.Douglas Boin has expressed some doubts here. Are the two buildings truly identical? Gallicanus may indeed have built a church dedicated to Saint Lawrence, distinct from the Constantinian basilica. Mention must be made here of an important find from the House of the Porch. In a drainage channel in this house a Christian glass vessel was found in fragments. It was made at the end of the fourth century, during the reign of Theodosius. A figure with a nimbus, long hair, and wearing a mantle was incised. He is carrying a long cross with what might be the monogram of Christ. In his other hand is an open book. Next to his head is the chi-rho monogram or a star. To his right is a palmtree, a reference to the martyr's victory over death and to paradise. To his left is a basket with bread, a reference to the holy communion, or a chest for holding gospel scrolls. Maria Floriani Squarciapino recognizes Christ (Christus Victor), Beat Brenk, adducing a parallel in Ravenna, proposes Saint Lawrence. So did Laurentius enjoy popularity in Ostia?
Cast of a vessel of green clear glass (diameter 0.18, depth 0.056), found in a drainage channel in the House of the Porch.
Photo: ICCD E030017.
A parallel for the figure: Saint Lawrence next to the gridiron on which he was roasted.
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. Photo: Wikimedia, Mattis.
