Equals-to-the-ApostlesEmperor Constantine and his Mother Helen
May 21st
It was a moment of destiny – a moment that would truly change the history of the entire world.
It happened in the Year of Our Lord 312, not far from the Eternal City of Rome, when one of the greatest saints of the Holy Christian Church looked up from his horse and saw an amazing apparition taking its shape in the midday sky.
Suddenly, the great Emperor (272-337 A.D.) St. Constantine was gazing upon an immense cross of white-hot fire! Yanking on the bridle of his war-horse, he pulled the animal to a stop. Behind him, the vast army of Roman soldiers that had been marching toward a battle that would decide the future of the largest empire in the history of the world slowed to a crawl and then stopped moving. Surrounded by his anxious lieutenants, the Western Emperor of Rome could hardly believe what he was seeing. What was the meaning of this blazing cross, which now seemed to fill the entire horizon, sending beams of radiance as far as the eye could follow? As he studied the miraculous phenomenon, five history-making words slowly glimmered into view beneath the blazing cross:
By this you shall conquer.
Dumbfounded by the apparition, the Emperor and his officers spent the rest of the day and half the night asking each other what it might mean. How could a giant cross of fire guarantee them success in the battle against the two rebel generals of the Roman Empire – Maxentius and Maximinus – who were about to engage him in the battle that would decide the destiny of the world?
As puzzled as he had ever been in his life, the youthful Emperor finally managed to drift off to sleep. It was after midnight by now, and the campfires were guttering low, as the exhausted soldiers rested for the titanic struggle that they knew lay ahead.
After sleeping for a while, Constantine began to dream.
A radiant figure made of spiraling light – a curve of bending luminescence – stood shimmering and flickering before him! And a Voice spoke – not to his outer ear, but to his inner spirit. The Voice was kind and gentle, but also as strong as iron. Slowly and calmly, the Voice explained the meaning of the burning Cross and its immense power. Under that glorious symbol, the Emperor would be able to accomplish anything! Nor need he fear the great armies of Maxentius and Maximinus, or the battle that would shortly ensue.
When the Emperor awoke at dawn, he felt refreshed and full of new energy. Without pausing for breakfast, he called in his aides and ordered them to craft a “labarum” (a huge military banner) in the shape of an immense Cross. Beneath the symbol, they were to inscribe the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Once the banner was prepared, the Army of Constantine set off. Marching in disciplined ranks, the thousands of infantrymen and horse-borne warriors raced across the Italian landscape, full of confidence and full of hope. They did not have long to wait. Only a few days later, on the 28th of October in the year 312, the great collision took place. The struggle unfolded along the banks of the surging Tiber River, and the outcome was decisive.
After several hours of clashing swords and splintering shields, thousands of warriors lay dead or dying upon the Italian plain – and the great army of the rebel Maxentius was in headlong flight. So rapid and chaotic was the retreat of his forces, in fact, that the general himself drowned helplessly in the roaring waters as he tried to escape.
It was over, at least for the moment.
Full of thanks and full of jubilation, the victorious Constantine crossed the river at another point and entered Rome in triumph. They were shouting his name in the streets now, and they were throwing flowers. The Roman Senate rose to applaud him – and promptly named him Emperor for life of the Western Empire, while confirming that the powerful Licinius would continue to rule the East.
Within a year, the great Constantine would join the same Licinius in promulgating a new rule that would change our world. Known as the Edict of Milan (313), this document guaranteed freedom of religious expression for everyone who lived within the Roman Empire, both East and West.
Almost overnight, the continuing persecutions against the Holy Church were ended, and Christianity began to flourish. Meanwhile, the triumphant new ruler was busy laying the foundations of the great new city of Constantinople, named for himself, at Byzantium – which would be known henceforth as the “New Rome.” Inaugurated by the Emperor in May of the year 330, the new city would eventually become the most important metropolis in the entire civilized world.
Still, the Christian struggle with the pagans wasn’t over yet. All too soon, the treacherous Licinius had resumed his persecution of the followers of Jesus in his part of the Empire. Soon the two leaders were engaged in yet another internecine war that would determine the ultimate spiritual direction of the known world. At last, after winning two huge military battles against his rival, Constantine prevailed when his last major enemy was killed in furious battle.
The ancient world had changed forever; Christianity would now become its driving spiritual force. But what was this new creed exactly, and upon what theological and dogmatic principles was it based? To answer those questions once and for all, the great Constantine convened all of the Christian bishops for the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, in the year 325. At this supremely important conference, the Holy Church would permanently establish the Orthodox faith – by proclaiming the Son of God “consubstantial” with his Father – meaning, in essence, that there had never been a time in all of eternity when Christ the Son did not exist.
This crucially important ruling established the basic form of Christianity as it is practiced in the world today – by defeating a dangerous heresy of the Fourth Century, “Arianism,” which insisted that Christ the Son had appeared at some point in the history of the world. With this hugely difficult dispute out of the way, the Holy Church was now free to begin realizing its destiny as the Word of Almighty God on earth.
Born in 272 A.D., Constantine was the son of Constantius Chlorus – the ruler of the western lands of Rome – and the great Empress St. Helen, a Christian of humble birth. Superbly educated and well versed in the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church by his pious mother, the young sovereign would show a keen interest in the spiritual side of life, along with enormous ability as a military commander and a politically gifted administrator of the realm.
What transpired in the years that followed was nothing less than the arrival of Christianity in the West, thanks to the ceaseless labors of the Emperor Constantine.
When his long years of war and his administrative struggles had finally come to an end, Constantine would fall near Nicomedia, according to most historians of the period. Sensing that his end was near, he called for the sacrament of Holy Baptism – and he died soon after receiving the sacrament, probably on May 22 of the Year of Our Lord 337. He was 65 years old at that point, and he had lived a life of astounding historical significance. His remains would be interred at the revered Church of the Holy Apostles, which he had built himself.
Like her son, the great St. Helen would have an immense impact on the future of the Christian faith. After his great victory over the pagan armies, she would journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem and there manage to locate the Holy Cross on which the Savior had expired more than three centuries before. Zealous and eager to praise the Son of God, she would also build some of the most revered churches in Christendom – including sacred houses of worship at the site of the Crucifixion in Jerusalem; at the cave in Palestine where the Christ Child had been born, and at the Mt. of Olives where He had ascended to Heaven after His Holy Resurrection.
At last, after her long labors for Christ and her Church had ended, she returned to Constantinople and died peacefully there in the year 327, according to most historians of the period. She remains a powerfully affecting figure for Christians everywhere – and especially for mothers, who see in her devotion to her son and to the Holy Church a reflection of the love that the Blessed Virgin also felt for her Holy Son. It was from this great love that the forces of history emerged to make Christianity such a major force in our modern world.
The lives of the great St. Constantine and his holy mother, St. Helen, were of paramount importance in shaping the Christian world today. More than anything else, they illustrate for Christians everywhere the immense power and majesty of God’s Holy Providence. When the young Emperor saw the flaming Cross in the sky above the Italian battlefield – and the history-making words beneath it (By this you shall conquer!), he was witnessing the Hand of God at work in the world. And because he owned enough faith to obey, that Providence was carried out – with results that affect everyone living in the world today!
Helena must have raised her son to be a good man because he was chosen by his troops to be the Caesar, and later the emperor of Rome. She came from poor surroundings and it would have been natural, when she had wealth at her disposal, to seek those material goods that the poor must do without. St. Helen could have indulged and satisfied her own dreams and desires, but she chose instead to use that wealth to provide for the destitute and those in need.
Apolytikion in the Eighth Tone
Having seen the image of Thy Cross in Heaven, and like Paul, having received the call not from men, Thine apostle among kings entrusted the commonwealth to Thy hand, O Lord. Keep us always in peace, by the intercessions of the Theotokos, O only Friend of man.
Kontakion in the Third Tone
On this day Saint Constantine and blessed Helen, his mother, have revealed the Cross, the Wood worthy of all veneration. For the Jews, it is dishonour; but faithful rulers have it as a weapon vanquishing their opponents. For our sakes hath it been shown forth as a great ensign, dread and most awesome in war.
