Rosary Workshop: Rosary - Rosary Of The Basilica

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ROSARY of the BASILICA
BASILICA: A MEETING OR GATHERING PLACE

Upon this rock I will build my church

RBW - BASILICA WINDOWS
(for more rosaries, information scroll down)

WHAT IS A BASILICA?
Basilica (Stoa basilike, or basileios).The term Basilica is an ancient term coming from the Romans. During the time of Constantine, Christianity became the legal religion of the Roman Empire. Architectural changes were made so the new churches did not look like the Roman public buildings. The 4 Major Basilicas were built during this time. St Peters Basilica (below) was replaced during the 16th and 17th c.

(image of the original 4c St Peter's in Rome)

DEDICATED TO THE BASILICAS OF ROME
Everyone SHOULD go to Rome once in their life. But all Roman Catholics NEED to make a pilgrimage to Rome! The 4 major basilicas of Rome each contain great art - masterpieces along with treasures and relics which tell the story of Our Lord, Jesus. These visual reminders help us to understand how involved God actually is and has been over 2000 years of our daily lives as Christians. Many with great statues and art whose purpose was to visually aid those who could not read to understand the history of their faith and know more about its saints.
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The following Basilicas have inspired us to make rosaries in honor of them as they help share a remarkable 2000 year old path broken by early Christians. We were all called to make a pilgrimage during a Jubilee but not all are able. We hope there is a bit of a pilgrimage for you here as we tour six of the Basilicas in Rome and dedicate some of our loveliest rosaries to them.

ROSARIES - BASILICAS AND CATHEDRALS
EARLY PILGRIMAGES - ABOUT PRESSED BEADS
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~ ROSARIES ~

click on small image for details and pricing
available in (b) bronze and (s) sterling

	S. Pietro in Vatican (Major Basilica) ST PETERS BASILICA III - RBW.2910 crystal / topaz / moss -Peter was buried in this spot next to Nero's Circus in AD 67. In 324 Constantine built the first basilica over the tomb - giving life to 'Upon this rock I will build my church!" - chaplet available. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	Basilica of San Clemente ST CLEMENT II - RBW.2420 jet / iris - *Visit this 1st c house of Clement where there was a room set aside for Eucharistic celebration - and tradition shares - celebrated by Peter and by Paul .* FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	Santa Maria Maggiore (Major Basilica) ST MARY MAJOR II - RBW.2430 blue / topaz - in honor of Mary, 'Our Lady of the Snows' - *the largest church dedicated to Mary in the world. The Eucarist has been continuously celebrated here since the 5th century. Chaplet available* FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	S. Giovanni in Laterano (Major Basilica) ST JOHN LATERAN II - RBW.2440 jet / bronze - 'The mother of all churches' - this is the church of the bishop of Rome, John Paul II. No one may celebrate mass at this main altar except the Pope. Some of the mosaics date to the 5th century. Chaplet available. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	Santa Croce in Gerusalemme HOLY CROSS in JERUSALEM II - *RBW.2450* ruby / granite - Relics of the true cross, a nail, thorns, title board - all remind us of what Christ did for us - are contained in this church actually built on earth brought *from Jerusalem by Constantines mother, St Helen.* FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	S. Paolo Fuori le Mura (Major Basilica) ST PAUL'S OUTSIDE the WALLS II *- RBW.2060* deep amethyst / granite - in 330, Construction begun under Constantine who built a church on the site of Paul's tomb. It was completed in 395. A major fire destroyed it in 1823 and donations came from around the world to rebuild. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON
	San Sebastiano fuori le Mura ST SEBASTIAN'S - RBW.2470 moss green / lt blue - *This ancient basilica was dedicated to St Sebastian (3rd century martyr). The first church (4th century) was built over several pagan tombs outside the walls of Rome near one of the Catacombs .* FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK ICON

~inspired scripture~
4 One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD’S house all the days of my life, To gaze on the LORD’S beauty, to visit his temple. 5 For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, Will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock. 6 Even now my head is held high above my enemies on every side! I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praise to the LORD.
Psalm 27:3-6

~ BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS ~

ARCHITECTURAL AND CANONICAL
The Basilica was a natural transition used as a designator for early churches of special beauty and importance. It can indicate either the architectural style of a church, or its canonical status. Architecturally, many of the early Basilicas had two rows of colonnades which divided the church into 3 parts.

(Floor plan of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine)
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Each Major Basilica has a throne for the pope and an altar that is specially for the pope to celebrate mass. No-one else can use that altar without the pope's permission. All the other basilicas are called "Minor Basilicas".
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CATHEDRALS AND BASILICAS
But Canonically, A Cathedral, (Lat. cathedra,"seat", Greek kathedra , seat, bench, chair) is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. A Cathedral, can also be a Basilica, (but out ranks them.) There is 1 Cathedral in a diocese for the seat of the bishop while there may be many Basilicas in a city or diocese such as Rome.

WHAT IS A DOMUS ECCLESIA?
When we were in Rome, we visited St Clement Basilica. The upper level was built in the 12c and below that was another church with a baptismal pool and lovely frescos on the wall. We went down a 3rd level to visit what was believed to be the home of St Clement, the third pope. The guide explained that during his time there were house churches, or DOMUS ECCLESIA especially during the times of persecution.
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These were the first churches in Rome and where Christians met. They were the homes of Roman Citizens who hosted the meetings of Christians and were called DOMUS ECCLESIA or house church. They still carry the person's name who held the property. Eucharist was celebrated in these house churches before the first churches were built when Constantine declared Christianity the faith of the Roman Empire. This included 4 still active churches' known and honored as the 4 Major Basilicas of Rome.
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A few of the earliest Domus Ecclesia are in association with the life of Jesus as in Jerusalem including what is believed to be the first house church, the home of Peter in Capernaum where Jesus stayed and ministered. See link below.
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The house churches carry a plaque or a Titulus (title) to set them aside from other churches and are collectively called Tituli and are situated throughout Rome. There are about 25 of these original parish churches, or tituli still functioning as churches today. Many are still preserved under these church buildings. A wonderful part of the history of our faith! Today, they are under the care of Cardinals from all over the world.

~ EARLY PILGRIMAGES ~

OLD ST PETERS IN ROME
Above is an engraving of the old St Peters in Rome (ca mid 15c) originally established by Constantine along with 3 other Major Basilicas.

THEY SANG, PRAYED AND ATE ABUNDANTLY
The pilgrimage of the seven churches in Rome is a very very old tradition and there are may works of art that picture this event. The pilgrimage starts at St. Peter and proceeds to Santa Maria Maggiore by way of S. Apollo four El URA, S. Sebastian on the Via Apia, S. Giovanni in Latrine, Santa Crook in Jerusalem and S. Lorenz four El URA. In the 16th century, St. Philip Near brought about a new awareness of this old tradition. On Shrove Tuesday he walked with a large crowd of people who, it is said, 'sang, prayed and ate abundantly in celebration' before the poverty of the coming season of Lent.

~ HOW PRESSED BEADS are FORMED ~

FROM 15TH CENTURY MURANO
This technique of making beads was recorded in Murano from as early as the 15th century. First, the glass blower would take a blob of molten glass from the furnace. It had a bubble of air caught inside. He would then draw or pull the hot glass into long strips about 20 meters long. This took great patience as sometimes these rods were drawn to 1mm in thickness to make seed beads - called 'drawn beads'. The glass had to be of the highest quality to sustain such refinement so the glass maker had to be a master at his craft.
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TO BOHEMIA, TO NEU GABLONZ
The bubble of air became a long thin line as it was drawn or stretched along with the glass and just as if planned by a higher power, became the threading hole. After the glass had cooled, it was then broken into workable 'cane' lengths which are roughly 3 feet long. The glass cane was then re-softened and used as the fill for a two part mold which was basically a pair of tongs. If one was to go into the work area of an old bead maker, he might see these tongs lined up on the wall as each produced a different pattern or bead design. This beadmaking process became very popular because of the variety of beads it produced. It became a standard technique in pre war Bohemia (Gablonz) and then in Germany (Neu Gablonz) according to
'The History of Beads' by Lois Sherr Dubin.

ROSARY WORKSHOP MISSION STATEMENT
Our vision is to provide the finest handmade rosaries, chaplets and other fine religious art forms for personal worship we can make using the best supplies available. The Guild believes the work of our hands should give visual Glory to God, therefore for us, the best for you is very, very important.

CAPHARNAUM - PETER'S HOUSE
FOR MORE ABOUT BASILICAS
DOMUS ECCLESIA

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