The oldest church in Western Europe

Germanus was a Christian bishop in Syracuse in the early 4th century CE when his religion wasn’t yet accepted by the emperor of Rome. About fifty years before it did, he is said to have asked his followers to build a church in the island of Ortigia in Syracuse. When it began to be used in 326 CE, the situation must have been, well, complicated. By many accounts this is the oldest extant church in Western Europe. We followed a maze of lanes to find the Church of San Pietro Apostolo in the middle of the island. It had been used as a venue for music concerts for a while, but apparently it is back to being used as a church.

In a building so ancient, it was not hard to find the remnants of many ages. The barrel vaulted ceiling over the space which is currently used as an Orthodox place of worship could well have been one of the oldest features of this church. The marble arch over a doorway was likely to be Aragonese, and therefore from much later. Before that would have come the carved capital we saw at some place, a Norman remnant. Elsewhere bits of polychrome murals were visible; clearly Byzantine. I looked at the material used in the construction. Some of the columns and walls were rubble filled. At other places I could see well dressed stone. Elsewhere there were Roman bricks, or less well cut stone.

The space was quiet. The two of us were the only tourists for a while. Then, as we got up to look around, another small group of tourists came by. From outside the building looks rectangular. The cruciform layout had to be imagined through the arches which divided the space into three aisles. What would have been the main door was now shut, and entry was from the side.

As we left we took a photo of the young men who look after the church. They were enthusiastic about their job.