In 130 BC, Roman Emperor Hadrian embarked on a rampage of destruction, defiling various Judeo-Christian landmarks in an attempt to reduce the influence of Christianity in the empire. He changed the names of the cities of Judea and Jerusalem to Syria Palaestina and Aelia Capitolina, leveled the tops of Mount Calvary as well as the site of Jesus’ tomb, and replaced them with temples honoring Roman gods Venus and Jupiter. Little did he know that less than two hundred years later, Emperor Constantine I would not only legalize but embrace Christianity in the realm, aided by none other than his very own mother.
Flavia Julia Helena was born to a plebeian family around 248 AD in modern-day Turkey and was described in her youth as a “good stable-maid” by St. Ambrose. Due to the low status of her birth, many scholars suggest that she was the prostitute of future Roman Emperor Constantius I Chlorus. Whatever the official status of their relationship, the pair had one son, Constantine, whom Constantius made his sole heir, in spite of the child’s questionable legitimacy.
When Helena was around forty years old, Constantius left her to pursue a political alliance with Emperor Maximillian through marriage to his step-daughter, Theodora. Constantius was later appointed as a member of the Tetrarchy, the new four-emperor government of Rome, as a result of this union. Following the separation, Helena largely disappears from the historical records. It was widely known at the time, however, that Constantine held great affection and reverence for his mother, and maintained close contact with her through the years.
Upon Constantius’ death in 306, Constantine welcomed Helena back to court. He honored her with the title of Augusta Imperatrix, or Dowager Empress, and minted coins in her image. Some historians believe that Helena was raised a Christian and shaped Constantine’s lifelong support and preference for the faith. Another theory posits that before that, before a crucial battle, Constantine prayed to God and received a vision of a cross in the sky, on which was inscribed the words “by this sign, you will conquer.” The following day, he won a decisive victory. It was to this encounter that various scholars and theologians attribute Constantine’s official conversion to Christianity and his subsequent protection and promotion of the Christian religion throughout the realm.
Following a family tragedy in 326, Helena was granted full access to the royal treasury in order to locate various relics significant to Christianity. She embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, building churches and ornamenting them richly, distributing alms to the poor, and initiating other charity work.
The most famous story pertaining to Helena, though, is her discovery of the cross of Jesus Christ. It was said that she ordered Emperor Hadrian’s temple of Venus near Calvary to be destroyed, beneath which three crosses were excavated. In order to discern which one Christ had been crucified on, she brought splinters from each one into the presence of a woman who was near death due to illness. The first two splinters had no effect on her health, but upon coming in contact with the third one, the woman was instantly healed. Taking this supernatural occurrence as a sign, Helena was convinced that she had found the cross on which Jesus had died. She then ordered the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the site of the discovery, which is still visible to this day.
Helena is credited with the construction of many churches on holy sites including the Church of the Nativity, and monuments in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Rome are associated with her sojourn. She is also reported to have found pieces of rope with which Jesus was tied, parts of his robe, and the nails that were in his hands and feet, all relics which were preserved by various churches and cathedrals across the Middle East and beyond. An elderly woman by this time, Helena passed away in around 330 after just a few years on pilgrimage.
Constantine I is often praised for being the first Christian Roman emperor, ending years of persecution under Roman rule. His ratification of the Edict of Milan and his oversight of the Councils of Arles and Nicea were major contributions to the establishment of Christian presence in the empire and legitimization of theological doctrine still recognized today.
It was his mother’s devotion to the faith, however, that was instrumental in the restoration and preservation of Christianity within the Roman empire. Helena of Constantinople was posthumously venerated as a saint, and is recognized by Catholic and Orthodox churches for her example as a woman of great piety and faith. Her rise from common beginnings to both temporal and ecclesiastical heights, as well as her stewardship of the wealth and power which came with them, highlight her perseverance and servant’s heart.
Still celebrated today, St. Helena’s feast day is August 18th, and she is the patron saint of converts, difficult marriages, divorced people, and archeologists.
