eter the Illyrian was the architect of the church built over the remains of St. Sabine's house. Unfortunately very little is known of this truly inspired priest and architect from Greece. The work commenced under the reign of Pope Celestine I in 422. The church was consecrated by Pope Sixtus III in 432. Built on the traditional style of a Basilica or law court, it is a long building with a rounded section, the apse, at the far end. Unlike the traditional style of Basilica, Peter the Illyrian incorporated large windows on the upper level of the church. Since glass was almost as precious as gold at the time the church was built, the arched windows were made of very thinly cut marble-like stone, this gives a breathtaking quality of light to the building. The vast church seems to reach up to embrace the golds and ochres of the Roman sun. The building is orientated to the North so that the transparent arches catch both the morning and evening sun.

The church of Santa Sabina became an important place of pilgrimage and many popes added to the character of this ancient building. The first to undertake extensive renovations was Leo III who reigned from 795 to 816, by that time Santa Sabina also had the dignity of great antiquity. It was Leo who had the low marble screen (called a choir) installed. This separates the space where the clergy pray from the general body of the church. The screen has various Christian motifs carved in fine relief detail.

During his short pontificate Eugene II (824-827) undertook the construction of a screen between the sanctuary and the body of the church. This iconostasis was constructed of an ornamented white marble screen supported on six pillars.

In 1586 Sixtus V, successor to the the Dominican Pope and Saint, Pius V, undertook major alterations to Santa Sabina. The church was made the first station of the Lenten stations in Rome. This custom of a Lenten pilgrimage around the major churches of Rome was revived by John XXIII in the 1960's. The Pope celebrates the Ash Wednesday liturgy in the Basilica of Santa Sabina opening this solemn season of repentance in one of the most ancient churches in the city. The church was remodelled in the new fashion of the time of Sixtus V, the baroque. The layout was also changed to house the new liturgy of the council of Trent, which implied the destruction of the ancient plan. The choir of Leo III and the iconostasis of Eugene II were removed. The iconostasis was broken up and sold. The panels of the choir were preserved and set into the walls as decoration. The church also lost its windows at this time, which were broken out and bricked over.

The church suffered some damaged in the time of Napoleon when it was used as a stable. This damage lead to the restoration of as much of the ancient lines of the church as could be recovered in this century. The windows were reopened using the traditional material of thin, translucent, stone. The church you see now has been restored to the lines it had during the first 500 years of its history.