St Peter's, Rome

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | 648 words | Copyright

St Peter's, Rome. The present 16th-cent. building replaced an older basilican structure, erected by Constantine (d. 337) on the supposed site of St Peter's crucifixion. Nicholas V (1447–55) planned to replace it by a new church in the form of a Latin cross. Work, begun under Julius II in 1506, was continued by a succession of architects, who all made changes in the design. The building was finished in 1614 and consecrated in 1626.

The traditional burial-place of St Peter is the confessio under the high altar. Excavations carried out since 1940 have revealed the existence of a Christian shrine dating from the 3rd cent., if not earlier.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "St Peter's, Rome." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "St Peter's, Rome." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-StPetersRome.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "St Peter's, Rome." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-StPetersRome.html

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