Heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate in the City of Rome

View of St. Peter's Square and the City of Rome

ROME 26 December 2019 (ORCNS) - The rich and diverse spiritual and temporal heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate naturally includes Roman heritage by virtue of being traditional Old Roman Catholic of the Anglican Rite. More than that, the Imperial Patriarchate is immensely proud of its direct patrimony within the very city of Rome. It is especially through that heritage that, although it enjoys special privilege of autonomy and independence of government outside the administrative structure of the modern the Roman Communion, the patriarchate remains forever tied to the eternal See of Rome.

As a sign of divine grace and favour,
a beam extends to the top of the dome
of St. Peter's Basilica during a visit of the 
Florentine Archfather.

First to be mentioned is Pope Leo X. The Imperial Patriarchate is the ecclesiastical successor to the temporal patrimony of Leo X in Rome, Florence, and England. This includes the heritage of the Imperial Kingdom of Italy, the crowned Vice-Kingship of which passed to the papacy and then to the Imperial Patriarchate from the ancient House of Canossa-Tuscany. Due to this special succession, the Imperial Patriarchate maintains a special place in Roman history and remains a modern living symbol of the Renaissance and Baroque Roman Church and State. Also, the Apartments of Leo X in the Vatican, also commonly known as the Rafael Rooms, which had also previously been the apartments of Pope Julius II, are considered the official titular residence of the Archprince and Imperial Patriarch in Rome. The apartment is part of the Vatican Museums today and no longer serves as an apartment or an office. Yet, the frescoes by Rafael detail significant parts of the heritage of Imperial Catholicism that the modern patriarchate perpetuates today.

A fresco in the Apartments of Leo X
in the Vatican. Pope Leo
is featured in this fresco.

Ancient Frescoes in the Church
of Santa Maria Antiqua,
located within the Roman
Forum. The Florentine
Archfather is by
his office the Cardinal
Deacon of Santa Maria Antiqua. 

Another element of heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate in Rome stretches back to the early church. Outside of the Vatican, located in the Roman Forum, stands a church that has been called the "Sistine Chapel of the Early Church." The church, Santa Maria Antiqua, was destroyed by an earthquake and eventually lay buried until excavations in the 20th century re-discovered it. A World Monuments Foundation project recently restored it. The Florentine Archfather as Archprince-Bishop of St. Stephen and Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch holds by virtue of his ecclesiastical office the title of Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria Antiqua. Earlier this year, the Archprince formally took symbolic possession of the church. That was delayed by approximately nine years due to the renovation projects. Today the physical building of the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua, as part of the Roman Forum, is owned by the City of Rome. 

Chapel of Pope St. John Paul II in
the Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican

Within the Basilica of St. Peter is located to the Chapel of Pope St. John Paul II. This is a particularly important Chapel related to the heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate since it was under the blessing of St. John Paul that the Legion of the Eagle was reestablished. The Legion of the Eagle not only is the senior -most religious and dynastic order within the Imperial Patriarchate, but itself provides another important link to the city of Rome, for the original Legion, the IX Spanish Legion, was founded by Julius Caesar, founder of the Roman Empire.

These three gems of the cherished history of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate forever tie it to the City of Rome and the Roman church and state. While also maintaining its special privilege of autonomy and independence of government outside the administrative structure of the modern the Roman Communion, these historical elements are jealously guarded, revered, and devotedly maintained as a matter of spiritual duty.