Scala Sancta

And the things that we all go through, times of depression, times of anxiety, times of fear.

You mentioned him going to Rome and Often when I'm telling that story, I talk about his going to the Scala Sancta and going up the steps one at a time and kissing the steps and getting to the top and saying, how do I know this did anything? I forget exactly the quote, but how do I know this is true, I think is what he said.

What were some other things that happened to Luther in Rome that maybe in your research you found interesting that... that that further solidified that that the church had taken a very wrong turn?

Yeah, I think, you know, Luther was a very black and white thinker.

He visited the cemeteries of 80,000 martyrs' bones.

And one thing that Luther absolutely had to do that all good Catholics monks did when they visited Rome, uh, was he had to visit a place called the Scala Sancta, which means holy stairs in Latin, of course.

And, um, according to tradition.

these Scala Sancta are the very steps that led to the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his passion and his trial.

And tradition says that the stairs were brought to Rome by St. Helena in the fourth century.

They consisted of 28 white marble steps encased now by wood.

And So Luther goes to the Scala Sancta, and the Catholic Church taught that ascending the steps on your knees in an appropriate fashion, if you do so, that you can buy an indulgence for someone in purgatory.

If you ascend each step reciting the Our Father, the Pater Noster, you know, the Lord's Prayer, that you could release a soul from purgatory.

A kilometer past the Colosseum, two-thirds of a mile, is an interesting building.

Inside this little building is what's known as the Scala Santa, the Holy Staircase.

It's believed that this staircase is the actual staircase on which Jesus walked when he appeared before Pontius Pilate.

It's made of marble, although the steps have been covered with wood, one would think to protect them from constant use.

Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written.

In Rome, Italy, it seems as though everywhere you turn, there are museums and historical artifacts and ruins.

And for many years, one of the stops on the itinerary of many of the faithful who come here to Rome has been the Scala Santa, said to be the staircase on which Jesus walked when He appeared before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Of course, there's absolutely no proof that Jesus was ever anywhere near these stairs, or that the drops of blood on the stairs are Jesus' blood or, or for that matter, anybody else's blood.