UNKNOWN.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 29 May 1914, Page 2

UNKNOWN.

PROFESSOR i-'lXns TRACES OF SPRINGS USKI* BY ST. PETER.

Professor Marucchi, of Rome, who is considered the greatest livtug authority on Christian archaeology, has l;een studying for more than ten years the Ostrian cemetery on the Via Salaria, which dates from Apostolic times, and, according to tradition, was the place where St. Peter had his chair of throne and exercised his sacred office in time of dancer (\ D 49----■52). ■

The professor already has identified the centre of administration of the primitive church, where St. Peter fixed his chair, "Sedis übi

Pr us scdit sanctus I'etrus," in an ancient baptistery discovered in the Catacombs of St. Priscilla. He succeeded in explaining the name of this cemetery, namely Ostrian or Ostrianus, which so far had not been interpreted accurately. '

The name is mentioned for the first time in the acts of Pope Liberius, an apocryphal document of the fourth century, but of great topographical value. According to the "Ge:-;ta Liberii" this Pope, who resided at the third mile on the Via Salaria. in the cemetery of Novella, on Easter Day baptised the faithful in imitation of St. .Peter, who used to baptise in the neighbouring Ostrian cemetery.

In the acts of Pope Liberius the passage reads as follows : " Strictus said : ' One can baptise in running water and if necessary also in stagnant water.' Liberius replied: ' Yes, you are right. There was the Ostrian cemetery, where the Apostle Peter baptised.' " Professor Marucchi explains that the word " Ostrian" had some reference to stagnant water, and that it was intended for the word "haustorium," which means water reservoirs or cisterns. The letter "h" was dropped and the word became corrupted, and Professor Marucchi explained the paleographic reasons for the transformation of the word.

The Ostrian cemetery was explored recently very carefully, and traces of two springs and seven cisterns of water were discovered, ftc-nce tKe existence of stagnant waters in this cemetery is undoubted. The name "Ostrian" was merely adopted to recall that this cemetery had' water in it, and it was by no means intended as the designation of the ceme-t tery, which is the" same one of Santa Priscilla. This explains why the cemetery also was called, "Ad nym, has St. Petri übi baptizabat" —the stream where St. Peter baptised—and why the water was utilised by Christians later when they b;.!ilt a chapel in the cemetery, which is adorned by symbolic paintings representing the Sacrament of Baptism.

The results of Professor Maru'cchi's recent studies are of the utmost importance, since they afford another historical proof that St. Peter came to Rome.