What is the world’s smallest country? Here is a clue: It serves as the spiritual center of the Roman Catholic Church and is surrounded by the city of Rome.
The answer: Vatican1 City. This tiny nation occupies a mere 109 acres. Its 820 residents could fit comfortably into a large apartment building in New York City.
The Pope, Benedict XVI, presides over Vatican City—and the world’s largest body of Christians.
The Vatican’s Christian history goes back almost 2,000 years. In 64 A.D., Roman Emperor Nero had many Christians put to death on Rome’s Vatican Hill. According to tradition, one of those martyrs2 was Peter, an apostle3 of Jesus. Catholic belief holds that the Pope is Peter’s successor4 as head of the church.
Persecution5 continued sporadically6 for about two centuries. Then, in 313, Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius legalized Christianity. Constantine, the first Emperor to convert to Christianity, built the original St. Peter’s Basilica7, thought to be on the site of Peter’s tomb.
Mini-state
Although Italy’s history dates to ancient times, it was not united as one nation until 1870. Before then, the Catholic Church had ruled the Papal States for more than 1,000 years. But in the 1860s, the Italian Army conquered the Papal States, taking Rome in 1870.
For the next 60 years, Italy and the Vatican were at odds8. This ended in 1929, when the Lateran Treaty recognized Vatican City as a mini-state (small independent nation) and the pope as its sovereign9.
Because it is such a small country, however, Vatican City shares government functions with Rome and Italy. Vatican City has its own coins, for instance, but they are minted10 in Rome. It has its own police force, but depends on the Italian Army for its military defense. There is a small jail, but“to my knowledge, it has never been used,” says Robert, a professor of church history at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
Residents of Vatican City include the pope and his staff; several Cardinals11, who are the Church’s highest-ranking officials; and the Swiss Guard, a corps of soldiers that has guarded the Pope since 1506.
Among his many responsibilities, the Pope oversees the Church’s 3,000-plus districts worldwide. He appears in public twice a week to deliver blessings.
However, his life is not all work. Pope John XXIII (1958—1963) had a bowling alley12 built at the Vatican, and Pope John Paul II (1978-2005), an avid13 sportsman, loved to swim and ski.
The few children who live in Vatican City go to school in Rome. But there is a boarding school for the altar boys14 who serve at Vatican Masses15.
Tourists and Pilgrims16
Each year, about 4 million people—both religious pilgrims and tourists—flock to Vatican City. Most tourists come to see the art, especially the frescoes17 painted by Michelangelo. A great Renaissance artist, Michelangelo spent four years completing the frescoes. He recalled being twisted into uncomfortable positions on a scaffold18, noting that the paint dripping onto his face turned it “into a rich mosaic.”
In addition to its art, the Vatican maintains vast archives19. The collection includes love letters from English King Henry VIII to his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The king’s desire to divorce his first wife caused him to split from the Catholic Church and create the Church of England.
The museums and St. Peter’s Basilica are open to the public. But the rest of Vatican City is not. Admission is limited to those who have appointments to meet church officials or study in the archives.“You can’t just wander in,” says Robert.“Otherwise, the city would be flooded [with people].”
If you do go to Vatican City, you’ll have to watch what you wear. The dress code20 for visitors to St. Peter’s calls for clothing that is “modest” and“appropriate.” This means no shorts, sleeveless shirts, or skirts above the knee. For anyone who arrives with insufficient covering, however, vendors21 on the plaza sell paper clothing.
世界上最小的国家在何处？给你个提示：它是罗马天主教会的宗教中心，位于罗马城内。
答案是：梵蒂冈。这个小国仅占地109英亩。纽约的一个大公寓就能把它的820名居民舒舒服服安顿下来。
教皇本尼迪克特十六世主宰着梵蒂冈——以及世界上最大的基督教徒机构。
梵蒂冈的基督教历史可以追溯到差不多2,000年前。公元64年，罗马皇帝尼禄在罗马梵蒂冈山上处死了很多基督教徒。传说其中的殉道者之一就是耶稣的信徒彼得。天主教认为教皇就是彼得的继任者，是天主教的领袖。
这样的迫害断断续续持续了约两个世纪。313年，罗马皇帝君士坦丁一世和李锡尼将基督教合法化。君士坦丁是第一位改信基督教的皇帝，他建造了圣彼得大教堂——相传坐落在彼得墓址之上。
袖珍型国家
尽管意大利的历史源远流长，但是直到1870年其才获统一。在此之前，天主教会统治教皇国达1,000多年。19世纪60年代，意大利军队占领了教皇国，并于1870年接管罗马。
在接下来的60年里，意大利和梵蒂冈一直纠纷不断。1929年，这一局面得以终结，《拉特兰条约》承认梵蒂冈城为一个迷你小国（即一个独立的小国家），并承认教皇为其最高统治者。
但是，由于这个国家太小，要与罗马和意大利共同行使政府职能。例如，梵蒂冈城有本国货币，但货币却在罗马铸造；有自己的警察机关，但军事防御却要依靠意大利军队。梵蒂冈有个小监狱，但是新泽西西东大学的教会历史学教授罗伯特说：“据我所知，那个监狱从来没用过。”
梵蒂冈城的居民包括教皇和他的职员；几位红衣主教，他们是教会的最高级别官员；还有瑞士侍卫兵，这组士兵自1506年起就在保卫教皇。
教皇的诸多责任中包括监管全世界3,000多个教区。他每星期在公共场合出现两次，赐福于教民。
但是，工作并不是他生活的全部。教皇约翰二十三世(1958—1963)在梵蒂冈建造了一条保龄球道，教皇约翰·保罗二世(1978—2005)是个运动迷，喜欢游泳和滑雪。
梵蒂冈城中为数不多的孩子在罗马学校上学。但是对于在梵蒂冈弥撒仪式中帮忙的祭台助手，城中有一个为他们准备的寄宿学校。
游客和朝圣者
每年，大约有400万人——既有朝圣者也有游客——络绎不绝地前往梵蒂冈城。大部分游客是去观赏艺术，尤其是米开朗琪罗的壁画。米开朗琪罗是文艺复兴时期一位伟大的艺术家，他花了四年时间才完成那些壁画。他回忆道：当时在脚手架上整个人都扭曲着，姿势很不舒服，颜料还滴下来，把脸变成“一幅色彩浓艳的马赛克”。
除了艺术作品，梵蒂冈还保存了大量的档案，其中包括英国国王亨利八世写给第二任妻子安妮·博林的情书。这位国王要和第一任妻子离婚，这导致了他和天主教会决裂，自己创立了英国国教。
梵蒂冈城只有博物馆和圣彼得大教堂向公众开放。只有事先约定和教堂官员见面或者要在档案馆学习研究的人才能进入。“你不能随随便便就晃进去，” 罗伯特说，“否则整个城就挤满人了。”
如果你要去梵蒂冈城，就必须注意穿着。参观圣彼得大教堂的游客衣着要“朴素”，还要“得体”。这就是说短裤、无袖衬衫或膝盖以上的裙子都不能穿。不过对于那些没有准备合适衣物的游客，广场上有小贩出售纸制衣服。
1. Vatican n. 梵蒂冈
2. martyr n. 殉道者
3. apostle n. 信徒，传道者
4. successor n. 继任者
5. persecution n. 迫害
6. sporadically adv. 偶发地；零星地
7. basilica n. 基督教堂
8. at odds 不和，争吵
9. sovereign n. 最高统治者
10. mint v. 铸造
11. cardinal n. 红衣主教
12. alley n. 球道
13. avid adj. 迷恋的，热衷的
14. altar boy 祭台助手
15. mass 弥撒，罗马天主教教堂和一些新教教堂举行的领取圣餐的公共庆祝活动。
16. pilgrim n. 朝圣者
17. fresco n. 壁画
18. scaffold n. 脚手架
19. archive n. 档案文件
20. dress code 着装规范
21. vendor n. 小贩