Abstract: Formally speaking, a titular church is a church in the diocese of Rome allocated to a cardinal priest. In the Early Christian period, titular churches were private dwellings in Rome where the sacraments of baptism and penitence could be administered. This network of churches became the parish system of the Roman diocese. Most tituli originated from private donations – the Roman legal term literally referring to ownership. Other tituli originated at places connected to the martyrdom or burial of an Early Christian saint. Early modern treatises...
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