Rome and Assisi

Last updated on: June 5, 2005 at 6:58 am by Scot McKnight

Rome and Assisi 2005-06-05T06:58:00-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We couldn’t stay away from Assisi, the home of St Francis and St Clare. We planned to visit Assisi for one day, but found our way back two more times and, could we have justified not seeing other places (like Siena, Orvieto, Civita, Montefalco, Trevi, and Norcia), we may have spent our entire week peering into the history of what Paul Sabatier dubbed a reformation before the Reformation — namely, the Franciscan revival.

The difference between Rome’s ruins and Assisi’s continued legacy could not be more notable. Not that Roma lacks its own modern glory, but one need only walk among the ruins of the Via Sacra — the road that leads one from the Colisseum to the Capitoline — and then to walk through the Patriarchal Basilica of St Mary of the Angels and one is struck by a dead past and a living present.

The Forum excited my imagination beyond what I ever expected — I was walking where Cicero walked and speaking to Kris where Cicero spoke to the Roman elite. But I was walking next to broken pillars, faded monuments, shattered dreams, and crushed pillars. There was the ghostly and empty Palatine hill, where the emperors lived, and there was the Arch of Constantine — which, however majestic in its own right, is now but a monument to an age — it is sealed off so people can observe the splendor of an ancient glory. I could go on.

But if one descends the hill of Assisi to the plain where St Francis served the poor and met with the Brothers Minor, one comes upon the Basilica — wherein lies a powerful living history and an exceptional illustration. St Francis was greatly exercised at the sight of the (“Little Portion”) chapel in the plain, so he rebuilt it. Here’s the illustration: when one walks into the Basilica one is struck by the presence of the Portiuncula inside the Basilica, a kind of “church within a church” or a kind of “life within the Body”. That is, it is monument to a person’s own restoration surrounded by a community that has totally embraced St Francis and his vision. Little churches and little people become what they are meant to be in the context of an embracing community.

Which leads to the living history: Assisi is weighed down by tourists and by shopsellers who know what they can get out of tourists, so there is plenty of stuff to buy. But, one must be careful to discern that, though Assisi is filled with people, most of those are there as much as pilgrims as they are tourists. Assisi is entirely a religious city: it is dominated by three major churches: San Rufino (where Francis and Clare were baptized), the Church of St Clare (wherein one can see the cross that led to the stigmata of Francis), and the Basilica of San Francesco (Giotto’s painting of Francis preaching to the birds was my favorite fresco). There are other things to see, too, but the city is about St Francis and Clare. And they are religious figures connected to a revival of faith among common people. Tourists who are in Italy to see Italy and to taste wine and eat risotto cannot put up with Assisi very long. And the living history is that millions visit Assisi per year.

On the National Holiday we went to three places: Trevi, Montefalco and Assisi. Trevi was barren, closed down; Montefalco had a ristorante or two open; these two places were deserted. Assisi was packed — bottom to top. Tourists, perhaps, but more importantly, on Italy’s national holiday the people decided to visit Assisi, to listen to service after service in its churches, and I can’t be but grateful to see that sort of thing going on what amounts to Italy’s July Fourth.

This is not the place to get into a debate about Protestant theology and Roman Catholic theology. Someday, maybe. St Francis is for all of us. If you’d like to read up on him, try Paul Sabatier’s The Road to Assisi and L.S. Cunningham’s (slight rebuttal of Sabatier) Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life. They put together the history and the myths on top of the history, while Little Flowers had little concern with the former.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 29, 2005

Italy

Next Post

June 6, 2005 Orvieto and Rome

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What miraculous event saved Daniel's friends from execution by fire?

Select your answer to see how you score.

They were hidden in a cave They outran horses They turned invisible They were unharmed in a fiery furnace