The great bridge builder

ROME, JAN. 21, 2010.- by Elizabeth Lev. When Benedict XVI crossed the Tiber last Sunday to visit the Synagogue of Rome, it wasn’t to make a political sally or glean a little attention from the world press. He was living up to the age-old priestly title of Pontifex Maximus, meaning the great bridge builder. Unfortunately, this Roman nuance was lost on many during the visit.

In the ancient city, dominated by the powerful Tiber river, the bridges linking the two halves of Rome had a sacred character and were attended to by priests. The Roman Pontifex Maximus grew to be the highest religious authority in the pagan city, linking man and gods as well as the heterogeneous citizens under a common worship.

Although the first use of the term applied to the popes is unclear, (some say Tertullian used it for Pope Callistus in 220, while others claim it was first assumed by Leo the Great), the role of the pope as bridge builder has been clear from the beginning. The papacy bridged the Imperial transition from polytheism to monotheism, as well as the fall of the Empire to the birth of the European nation states. One of Christianity’s watershed moments took place on a bridge, when Constantine defeated Maxentius on the Milvian bridge in 312, bringing peace between the Pope and the Roman emperor.

Pope Benedict XVI’s many qualities include a strong historical memory, often not shared by his interlocutors. His visit to the synagogue is best viewed through the lens of history and tradition rather than the distorted prism of scandal and controversy.

Pope John Paul II made history when he became the first Pope to visit the great synagogue of Rome in April of 1986. Now Benedict XVI, with this visit, has formed a tradition to be followed by future Popes.

Chief Rabbi Di Segni laid solid planks of dialogue by inviting Benedict in 2006. For his part, Pope Benedict extended an unprecedented invitation to Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen of Haifa to speak at the October 2008 synod on the Word of God. Increasing frequency of invitations and visits is as concrete a bridge building process as laying bricks and cement.

In the four years of his pontificate, Benedict has visited three synagogues, the Holy Land as well as the concentration camp of Auschwitz in 2006. Constantly critiqued for “not criticizing anti-Semitism enough” at Auschwitz and “not looking sad enough” at Vad Yashem, Pope Benedict nevertheless keeps reaching across the divide.

Last Sunday, the Bishop of Rome found the denizens of the Eternal City ready to thank him for his efforts as thousands lined the Tiber embankments cheering for him as he entered the synagogue. Italian political leaders and the mayor of Rome turned out to participate in the historic event.

The Jewish community has been in Rome longer than the Christians. They first arrived in the second century B.C. in the era of the Maccabee’s war against the Persians. The destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 by the Emperor Titus brought more Jews to Rome as slaves, although many were purchased and freed by Rome’s Jewish citizens.

The rich history of the Jews is Rome is portrayed in the renovated Jewish Museum of the Synagogue, one of the stops during the Pope’s visit last Sunday. As the first pope to visit a Jewish Museum, Benedict’s interest in the cultural history of the Roman Jews invites others to do the same.

Respect for tradition, culture and history are important stepping stones on the path to sustainable dialogue; and in his visit to the Rome Synagogue, Pope Benedict again showed himself to be a true Pontifex Maximus.


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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University’s Italian campus and University of St. Thomas’ Catholic Studies program. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org

reprinted from Zenit