The Secret Gallery Beneath Rome

Beneath the streets of Rome, early Christians carved miles of tunnels — the catacombs — where they buried their dead and gathered in secret during waves of imperial persecution. What is remarkable is not just that they hid underground, but what they painted on the walls while they were there.

You will not find images of Roman oppression on those catacomb walls. No angry depictions of emperors or scenes of martyrdom. Instead, the walls are covered with anchors, peacocks, grape vines, and shepherds carrying lambs on their shoulders. The Christians who painted in the dark chose to depict heaven, not earth.

One chamber beneath the Via Appia shows a woman standing with arms raised in prayer — the ancient orans posture — surrounded by birds and flowers, as if she were already standing in paradise. Her earthly reality was persecution. Her painted reality was glory.

These believers understood what Paul meant. Their lives were quite literally hidden — tucked beneath the surface of a hostile empire. Yet in that hiddenness, they set their minds on things above. They did not decorate their secret world with grievances or fears. They filled it with the imagery of resurrection.

Paul told the Colossians, "Your life is hidden with Christ in God." Those early Christians lived that truth in stone and pigment. Their bodies were underground, but their hearts had already ascended. And they trusted that when Christ appeared, they too would appear with Him in glory — stepping at last from the catacombs into the light.