St.Peter’s Basilica：The Largest Cathedral in th...

21.St.Peter’s Basilica：The Largest Cathedral in the World　圣彼得大教堂——全世界第一大教堂

The St. Peter's Basilica is the Central Church of the Roman Christian, the pilgrimage of European Catholics and the Holy See of the Vatican Pope.Located in Vatican, it is the world's first cathedral.

圣彼得大教堂是罗马基督教的中心教堂，欧洲天主教徒的朝圣地与梵蒂冈罗马教皇的教廷，位于梵蒂冈，是全世界第一大教堂。

●The General Situation fo the Building and the Origin of the Name　建筑的概况与名字的由来

The Saint Peter's Basilica is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.While it is neither the mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites.It has been described as"holding a unique position in the Christian world"and as"the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

In Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, was the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica.For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St Peter's since the Early Christian period.There has been a church on this site since the 4th century.Construction of the presentbasilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.

St Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo.As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.Saint Peter's is one of the four churches of Rome that hold the rank of Major Basilica.

圣彼得大教堂是一个坐落在梵蒂冈城的晚期文艺复兴风格的教堂。它是世界上内部空间最大的天主教教堂。它既不是罗马天主教的总教堂，也不是罗马主教的主教堂，但被公认为最神圣的天主教所在地。有人这样描述它：“在基督教世界占有独特的地位”，“基督教界最大的教堂”。

在罗马天主教传统中，圣彼得大教堂是埋葬耶稣十二门徒之一圣彼得之地，圣彼得也是传统的第一任罗马主教，也即第一位教皇继承人。传统和某些历史证据表明，圣彼得的陵墓就在大教堂祭坛的正下方。因为这个原因，早期基督教时期的许多教皇都被埋葬在此。自从4世纪以来，这个位置上就有一座教堂。这个教堂建筑在老君士坦丁大教堂正上方，于1506年4月8日开工，1626年11月18日竣工。

圣彼得大教堂是一座因其礼拜仪式功能与时代历史内涵而著名的朝圣之地。它与教皇、宗教改革以及以米开朗基罗为杰出代表的众多艺术家息息相关。作为一个建筑作品，它被视为那个时代最伟大的建筑。圣彼得大教堂是拥有特级圣殿之称的罗马四大教堂之一。

●The Story about Jesus and his Disciple Peter　耶稣与门徒彼得的故事

Peter's real name is Simon；He is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and also the first disciple that Jesus selected in person. At that time, Peter's younger brother Andrew was introduced to follow Jesus with another disciple by John.The St.Andrew immediately led his brother Simon to see Jesus.When the Lord saw him, he said："you are Simon, the son of John, you will be called Peter."It was the first time he met Jesus.

Before he was arrested, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. As a result, he denied Jesus three times as expected when Jesus was in the trial.Therefore, Peter always regretted.When he died later in the cause of justice in Rome, he demanded his executioners to hang him upside down on the cross, because he felt that he was not good enough for Jesus.And after the resurrection of Jesus, he asked Peter to feed his sheep（believers）three times in response, and predicted that he would be put to death in the future.After the martyrdom of Peter, he was buried in the underground chamber in the city of Rome.His tomb is located just under the altar of the Vatican small church today, with his picture drawn in accordance with the Roman habits on it.

彼得的本名是西门，是耶稣十二门徒之一，也是耶稣第一个亲选的门徒。当时，他的弟弟安德烈在约翰的介绍下，与另一个门徒跟从了耶稣。而圣安德烈立即又带领哥哥西门去见耶稣，当主看见他时便说：“你是约翰的儿子西门，你要称为彼得。”这是他第一次会见耶稣的经过。

耶稣曾在被捕之前预言，彼得会在鸡啼以前连续三次不肯承认认识他。结果，他在耶稣被审讯时因为害怕，果然三次不肯承认与耶稣的关系。为此，彼得一直都很后悔。后来当他在罗马殉道之时，他对行刑者要求把自己倒过来挂在十字架上，因为他自觉与耶稣不配。而耶稣在复活以后，作为响应，亦曾三次要求彼得喂养他的羊（信徒），并且预言将来他会被人处死。彼得殉道之后，被葬在罗马城的地下墓室里。他的墓室正好位于今日梵蒂冈小教堂的圣坛底下，墓室上有按照罗马人习惯绘画的容貌。

●The Attractions inside and outside of the Basilica　教堂内外景点介绍

The Saint Peter's Basilica is a great palace in art, and also a immortal gem of architectural art in the history of mankind. It was designed by the famous Renaissance architect Donato Bramante, and constructed by Rafael and Michelangelo.

圣彼得大教堂是一座伟大的艺术殿堂，是人类历史上不朽的建筑艺术瑰宝，由文艺复兴时代的建筑名师布拉曼特设计，由拉斐尔和米开朗基罗主持工程。

The Interior of the Church　教堂之内部景象

The interior of the church shows the shape of a cross, and the cross intersection is in the center of the church. In the center, the Peter's tomb is under the ground and the papal altar is on the ground.There is a perfectly splendid canopy above the altar.Above the canopy, there is a dome on the top of the church.The dome is covered with beautiful patterns and reliefs.The most interesting one is the statue of two angles holding the holy water vat.Considering their appearance, they are only one year old, but the statue is 2.5 meters high.

教堂的内部呈十字架的形状，在十字架交叉点处是教堂的中心，中心点的地下是圣彼得的陵墓，地上是教皇的祭坛，祭坛上方是金碧辉煌的华盖，华盖的上方是教堂顶部的圆穹，圆穹布满美丽的图案和浮雕。最有趣的是大门入口处的两个小天使捧圣水缸的雕塑，从形象上看，小天使只有一岁的样子，然而雕像的实际高度有2.5米。

La Pieta：Michelangelo's Sculpture　《圣母哀痛》——米开朗基罗的雕塑作品

This is Michelangelo's sculpture at the age of 24. The pain of embracing the dead and the obedience to the God were depicted the most incisively in the works.The sorrow showed here was quite different from Michelangelo's later works.This is Michelangelo's only signed sculpture.The name was engraved on the ribbon before Maria's chest.In 1971，a madman broke her face, so it is now glass-topped.

《圣母哀痛》是米开朗基罗24岁时雕塑的作品。圣母怀抱死去的儿子的悲痛感和对上帝意旨的顺从感在作品中刻画得淋漓尽致。这里所表现的圣母痛苦状与米开朗基罗以后的作品迥然不同。这是米开朗基罗唯一署名雕刻，名字刻在玛利亚胸前的绶带上。1971年有个疯子敲坏了圣母面部，所以现在罩上了玻璃罩。

Saint Angelo Bridge　附近的圣天使桥

The Saint Angelo Bridge is the most beautiful bridge in the city of Rome. There are twelve angel statues on the bridge and each angel holds a torture for Jesus in the hand.The twelve statues were made by Bernin.

The Saint Angelo Bridge, once the Aelian Bridge, is completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian, to span the Tiber, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the towering Castel Sant'Angelo. The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with three arches.The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a photogenic vista of the Castel Sant'Angelo.In times past, pilgrims used this bridge to reach St Peter's Basilica, hence it was known also with the name of"bridge of Saint Peter".During the 1450 jubilee, balustrades of the bridge yielded, due to the great crowds of the pilgrims, and many drowned in the river.In response, some houses at the head of the bridge as well as a Roman triumphal arch were pulled down in order to widen the route for pilgrims.

圣天使桥是罗马城中最美的桥梁，桥上有十二尊天使的雕像，每个天使手上都拿着一样耶稣受刑的刑具，这十二尊天使都出自贝尔尼尼之手。

圣天使桥又名哈德良桥，公元134年由罗马皇帝哈德良兴建，跨台伯河，连接市中心与他新建的陵墓，即今日的圣天使城堡。这座桥表面用大理石铺砌，有三个桥拱。这座桥是目前仅供行人步行，提供了圣天使城堡上相的前景。在过去的时代，朝圣者经过此桥前往圣彼得大教堂，因此它也被称为“圣彼得大桥”。在1450年的大赦年，由于大量朝圣者的到来，许多人落在河里淹死。为了避免这样的事情再次发生，人们拆除了桥头的房屋以及一个罗马凯旋门，以便拓宽朝圣的通道。