STRONG SISTERS IN ROMAN ANTIQUITY: SAINTS PUDENTIANA AND PRAEXEDE, DAUGHTERS OF SENATOR PUDENS
STRONG SISTERS IN ROMAN ANTIQUITY: SAINTS PUDENTIANA AND PRAEXEDE, DAUGHTERS OF SENATOR PUDENS
Author(s): Inocent-Mária V. Szaniszló O.P.Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History of Church(es), Ancient World, Theology and Religion
Published by: Asociaţiunea Transilvană pentru Literatura Română şi Cultura Poporului Român - ASTRA
Keywords: women; Rome; Senator Pudente; persecution; symbol;
Summary/Abstract: The contribution intends to present some figures of strong women in the time of the Antiquity Saints Pudentiana and Praexedes, daughters of Senator Pudente whom the tradition identifies among the first people converted in Rome by the apostle Paul. Pudente owned a villa whose remains are nine meters below the current basilica (for centuries it was believed that this was the oldest Christian church in Rome) in which the persecuted Christians hid, according to some sources even the apostle Peter. When Pudente suffered martyrdom, Praxedes and Pudentiana, with the consent of Pope Pius I, built in 142/145 c.a. a baptistery to baptize new Christians. Praxedes and Pudentiana also suffered martyrdom during the persecutions of Antonino Pio. When Pudentiana died, Praxedes used her family's patrimony to build a church "sub titulo Praxedes". She hid many persecuted Christians, when they were discovered and martyred, she collected her bodies to bury them in the cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria, where she too was buried together with her sister and her father. In our opinion, the proximity of the Basilica of Santa Pudentiana and one of the Roman synagogues (Oratorio Castro) as a symbol of the coexistence of religions is important for our project of strong women in times of crisis, which we will try to demonstrate with our research.
Journal: Astra Salvensis - revista de istorie si cultura
- Issue Year: X/2022
- Issue No: 19
- Page Range: 777-796
- Page Count: 20
- Language: English