Original scientific paper
The reliquary of St. Anastasius from the mausoleum of Honorius at Marusinac in Salona
Jasna Jeličić Radonić
Abstract
An early Christian reliquary has recently been discovered in a cabinet within the chapter hall of the Convent of St. Clare in Split. It had been transferred from the Cathedral of Split, where it had previously been housed in the altar of St. Anastasius. Given that the object in question is a stone casket in the form of an early Christian sarcophagus, the author investigates its origins within the broader context of Salona’s early Christian heritage. The martyr Anastasius is attested not only in hagiographic sources but also through archaeological finds at the cemetery complex of Marusinac. Based on the findings of numerous scholars who investigated this early Christian necropolis, as well as on the results of revision excavations, E. Dyggve produced a reconstruction of its appearance, dating the construction of the elaborate architectural complex to the first half of the 5th century and identifying an earlier mausoleum from the 4th century. However, an analysis of the elements of the basilica’s interior spatial organization, church furnishings and floor mosaics indicates unambiguously that the church was constructed during the time of Justinian. In this regard, particular consideration must be given to the objections raised by certain scholars against Dyggve’s proposed reconstruction of the mausoleum’s appearance. The mausoleum was evidently erected during the episcopate of the highly active Archbishop Honorius, the principal renovator of Salonitan ecclesiastical buildings and the initiator of the new episcopal cemetery at Marusinac. At that time, a reliquary containing the martyr’s relics was placed in the apse of the crypt, in front of the bishop’s
sarcophagus. After the fall of Salona, Abbot Martin removed the relic of Anastasius from this site and, acting on papal instructions, brought it to Rome; yet the veneration of the martyr’s cult nevertheless continued within the remodelled mausoleum. With the arrival of John of Ravenna and the establishment of the ecclesiastical organisation of Split, the relics
of the Salonitan martyrs Domnius and Anastasius were translated to the Cathedral of Split. On that occasion, the early Christian reliquary was also transferred to the altar of St. Anastasius.
Keywords
reliquary of St. Anastasius; cemetery complex at Marusinac; mausoleum of Honorius at Marusinac; John of Ravenna; translation of the reliquary of St. Anastasius to the Cathedral of Split
Hrčak ID:
353283
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2025.
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