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The catacombs were originally built by the Romans as mines. When no longer productive, they were taken over by the followers of Mithraism, who worshipped the sun god, Mithras, underground. By the third century, a new sun god, Sol Invictus, was in the ascendant among the Romans, and the worship of Mithras was in decline. The Christians were able to appropriate the catacombs from the Mithraists and used them as burial places, possibly to show their contempt for Mithras.

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Why are the catacombs considered the authentic archive of the primitive church?

A:It is widely assumed that the early Christians faced constant and widespread persecution and that, faced with constant danger, they had to live an underground existence in the catacombs. In fact, the catacombs were only used as burial places, and to a large extent only after the decline of Mithraism in the third century.The catacombs of Rome began as mines and quarries. Many of them were taken over by the followers of Mithras, a Roman sun god who paradoxically was worshipped underground. As Mithraism weakened, the Christians were able to force its adherents out and take over the catacombs for Christian burials. At this stage, Christians preferred to place their dead in ossaries and bury them in caves, just as the first-century Jews had done. The catacombs are so extensive that there are numerous underground Christian burials in Rome and elsewhere, providing a rich source of material on early Christianity. Catholics even believe that Peter and Paul were buried in the Roman catacombs, although this has never been proved.


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