The height of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is 119 meters, and its diameter is 42 meters, which is only 2 meters less than the famous dome of the Pantheon.
Along the frieze of the drum runs a mosaic inscription in Latin: «You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven».
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Inside, the dome is richly decorated with mosaics, angels, apostles, seraphim, and cherubim, in a word, with practically all the inhabitants of heaven. At the very center is God the Father. Around Him is a dedicatory inscription in Latin: «To the glory of St. Peter. Pope Sixtus V in the year 1590. The fifth year of the pontificate».
If you look lower, in the «pendentives» - the spaces connecting the dome and the piers, you will see the four Evangelists. The Apostle Matthew with the angel who guided his hand in writing the Gospel, Mark with the lion, Luke with the ox, and John with the eagle. These are the canonical symbols of the Evangelists that you will encounter in practically any church in the world.
