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These mosaics portray a number of people, some of whom are identified. The name of Pope Paschal I’s mother, Theodora, was written in the mosaics in this chapel by her portrait, followed by the title, episcopa. While an exact meaning cannot be determined, this title typically referred to the office of bishop.

In the fifth century, the priest Peter Illyria built the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome over a former house church. Above the door of the main entrance there is a mosaic portraying two women: one is identified as representing the church of the circumcised and the other as representing the church of the Gentiles.

The site, located in Salemi, on the west side of Sicily (Southern Italy), preserves the remains of one of the earliest known Christian churches and was first discovered by archaeologist Antonino Salinas in 1893.

In 2014 an archaeological team from Andrews University (Mich.) began excavating a fourth-century funerary basilica and its surrounding settlement known as San Miceli. The goal was to investigate the emergence of Christianity in late antiquity.