[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: We're in the church
of Sant'Apollinare in Classe just outside of Ravenna. This was once the port
for the Roman Empire in the early first century. SPEAKER 2: Right. There had once
been a large lagoon in between the two towns. That's long gone. This was actually the site
of an ancient Roman cemetery. And there is every possibility
that the first bishop of Ravenna, Saint
Apollinaris, was actually buried here on this site. SPEAKER 1: And we
see Saint Apollinaris right here in the
center of the apse. But before we get
to that, let's talk about the church for a second. We're in a basilica. And like so many
churches in Ravenna, it's been through many phases. And just like
Sant'Apollinare in Nuovo, there would have been
mosaics all along the nave, but those are gone. SPEAKER 2: What we do have is
an extraordinary apse mosaic. It's huge. SPEAKER 1: Let's start with
the archway around the apse. SPEAKER 2: That's known
as the triumphal arch. SPEAKER 1: And in
the top center, we see a bearded image
of God holding a book, and on either side of him
the symbols of the four Evangelists. SPEAKER 2: Right. John is an eagle. Matthew is the man. Mark is the lion. And Luke is the ox. SPEAKER 1: And they're
in a sky filled with blue and red clouds. Below them, we see on the
left the city of Jerusalem, on the right Bethlehem. And from those two very
symbolically represented cities, we see lambs emerging. SPEAKER 2: Walking
up a mountain, up towards the clouds,
up towards Heaven. SPEAKER 1: So clearly, a
purely symbolic representation, and that continues in
the apse mosaic itself. SPEAKER 2: Largest and most
central is a gold cross. In the center of
the cross you can see a small bust
of Jesus Christ. Surrounding it is a blue
field with 99 gold stars. SPEAKER 1: On either edge of
the short arm of the cross we see the Greek
letters alpha and omega, the idea that Christ
is the beginning and the end, that
Christ is all things. So what we have symbolically
represented here is the story we call the
Transfiguration, the moment when Christ revealed his
divine nature to three of his apostles,
Peter, James, and John. And they're shown here
as sheep in a field. Christ is symbolically
represented as the cross. SPEAKER 2: On either side,
we do see two human figures, half-length representations. One is Moses, and one is Elijah. SPEAKER 1: And in the story
of the Transfiguration, when Christ revealed
his divine nature and was filled with white
light, Moses and Elijah appeared with him. And God the Father
spoke and said, "This is my son whom I love,
with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." And so this is the moment
of divine revelation, this appearance of
Christ the man as God. SPEAKER 2: It's
so easy to imagine a sixth-century
worshipper sitting here, understanding that
this is a sort of extraordinary
opportunity to have these sacred truths revealed
to them as they sit before it. SPEAKER 1: The figures of Moses
and Elijah in a golden sky in the realm of the eternal,
below Sant'Apollinare in a more earthly realm, but one
represented very schematically and decoratively. SPEAKER 2: And of course
the sheep are wonderful, especially down at the bottom. There are 12 of them,
and it's clearly the reference to the apostles. SPEAKER 1: And Sant'Apollinare
himself stands frontal. We can see his name written
on either side of him, just in case we're going
to forget or be confused. SPEAKER 2: That's right. We can't do that. SPEAKER 1: And he's
got his arms raised in prayer, which is
actually a position we often see in early Christian imagery. SPEAKER 2: So in these
churches in Ravenna, we see here an apse. In another church, the
apse might be missing. But we have the mosaics
on the walls of the nave, and we can begin to fit together
what these churches would have looked like when they were new
in the fifth and sixth century. [MUSIC PLAYING]