From ages past the city of Rome has been one of the original cultural melting pots of the world. It remains so today with, for example, Nigerian Catholics resident in Rome regularly using the church of Sant’Ambrogio here for their Sunday Mass.
Another nearby church, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, is a small but beautiful minor basilica, originally built in the 8th century, now the main place of worship for Greek Catholics living in the city of Rome. In the 8th century Greek monks lived at Santa Maria in Cosmedin and did some of the first decorating of the church. Benedictine monks occupied the property for some centuries also, but as mentioned, today it is used by Greek Catholics, in communion with Rome, who celebrate the Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) there every Sunday morning.
Santa Maria in Cosmedin is perhaps most famous for its “Bocca di Verita,” (literally “Mouth of Truth”), a large disc-shaped marble sculpture of a fierce face with an open mouth. The mouth is some twelve inches wide and several inches tall. The “Bocca” as it is popularly called, is located in the portico (covered porch) at the entrance to Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Usually described as originally having been a drain cover in ancient times, in fact no one seems to know for sure the origin of the bocca sculpture. The shape and “open mouth” easily point to a drain cover, albeit an elaborate one, that has now become a huge tourist attraction.
Legend holds (perhaps those reading this already know this fanciful tale) that if a person places a hand—either left or right, but not both—inside the bocca and happens to be a liar, then the mouth will close and sever the liar’s hand. So far such a fate does not seem to have happened, but you might guess otherwise to see the hoards of tourists (especially married couples) lining up every day, all day, to place a hand in the bocca.
The lines to reach the bocca, and fewer into the church itself, are now much better organized than in the 1980’s. This is mostly accomplished by minimal airport-style ropes and some signs. The porch is not very large for accommodating many, but the present organization of lines seems to function well.
A notable feature of Santa Maria in Cosmedin’s church is the graceful bell tower, the tallest medieval belfry in Rome. In the 1980’s a elderly Eastern-rite priest ran the little giftshop in the lovely old sacristy at Santa Maria in Cosmedin. He had an excellent selection of icons, books on Eastern Christian spirituality, prayer ropes, incense, etc. I dropped by again on a recent afternoon walk, knowing that the priest had likely gone to his eternal reward, and saw that everything in the giftshop is geared completely now to the tourist market, “Roman wares,” as I sometimes call them, and nothing to write home about, though here I am doing so.
The next time you watch “Roman Holiday,” released in 1953, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, take note of the fairly short scene filmed at the Bocca della Verita at Santa Maria in Cosmedin. After putting a hand into the bocca, Gregory Peck pretends to have lost his hand, having pulled his coat sleeve over his hand, and “Princess Anya” (Hepburn) expresses shock, until Peck shows that in fact he still has his hand. She then bursts into laughter and as I recall makes attempts to “punch” at Gregory Peck’s character for his antics.
According to William Wilder, director and producer of the Roman Holiday, the “hand up the sleeve” was completely Peck’s idea, done without warning or rehearsal, when the actual filming was taking place, and Audrey Hepburn’s shocked reaction was for real, not acted, and so the scene only took one take. It was perfect from the director’s point of view and the film is a gem of “Hollywood on the Tiber,” as the genre is sometimes called.
Another important Greek Catholic enclave in Rome is the church of Sant’Atanasio very near the Spanish Steps. The church and adjoining building (the two joined by a covered bridge) are where Greek Catholic seminarians reside and receive formation for ordination and ministering to Greek Catholics, especially in Italy, but for other parts of the world as well. Today some twenty seminarians are there as well as their formation team. The official name is the “Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius.” Keep in mind that the word “college” (collegio) in Rome refers to a place of residence and spiritual formation, rather a more formal academic institution. The resident students enroll in one or other of the Roman Catholic universities of the city.
Each Sunday at 10:30 am the Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) of Saint John Chrysostom is celebrated at Sant’Atanasio, chanted in Greek and Italian. Some of the seminarians and priests of the “Greek College” as it is usually called, form the choir, along with some laity as well. It is a church I like to go to sometimes on Sundays (after our earlier Mass at Sant’Ambrogio), only a twenty minute walk from where I live. There is usually thirty or forty faithful at the Sant’Atanasio Mass on Sundays, the majority, I presume, members of various Eastern Catholic Rites living or visiting in Rome or simply those interested in Eastern Catholic liturgy and spirituality, like myself.
The Greek College church building is definitely not a tourist destination, as it is a fairly modest structure (by Roman standards), built between 1580 and 1583, in the Baroque style. It does not have much notable art in it either. During Sunday Mass there is rarely a visit from the outside, with only the people having already come to the Divine Liturgy at 10:30 am present.
On the other hand, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, as a very popular tourist and pilgrim destination, has people entering and leaving the church all during Sunday Mass. In a sense there is really no way to stop it. Also, the small choir section where the faithful are seated, is quite cramped, so the more spacious and quiet Sant’Antanasio is a more conductive place (at least for me) to pray during the Sunday liturgy. Hence, if time and energy permit, I go to Sant’Ananasio instead of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, though to the latter sometimes for a visit during the week just to enjoy the beautiful little basilica.
