his sarcophagus, from around 330-350 AD is proclaiming the Christian faith and hope in an extraordinarily powerful manner. In catechesis it can best be used, perhaps, for demonstrating that the Christians of the fourth century lived and believed the very same faith we teach today. In the fourth century they could finally proclaim freely and openly what had been lived and believed during the first centuries of persecution.
In this piece of carving one can see faith in the Trinity, in the Incarnation, in Jesus as God the Son, in resurrection from the dead, in new life in Baptism, in the Eucharist, and in the Church led by St Peter. The carved front uses symmetry to display its beliefs, using the upper tier and the lower tier together in its proclamation.
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