Helena Augusta

The Life of
ST. HELENA EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES

By HELENA KONTZEVICH


HELENA AUGUSTA
Portrait on a gold coin of the 4th century


THE EMPRESS ST. HELENA was not of noble background, being the daughter of an innkeeper. Being fair not only in appearance, but also in mind and in her rare beauty of soul, she conquered the heart of the well-known warrior, Constantius Chlorus, and became his lawful wife. God blessed their union with the birth of a son, Constantine (274).

The couple lived happily together for eighteen years, when their family life was cruelly and crudely shattered. The Emperor Diocletian appointed Constantius ruler of Gaul, Britain, and Spain (292) and demanded that he divorce Helena and marry the Emperor's step-daughter, Theodora; the Emperor himself took the young Constantine as a hostage to his capital, Nicomedia, under the pretext of training him in military science.

This great trial struck Helena when she was still a woman in her forties, full of life. She had to give up the man she loved to his new family. Helena apparently never again in her life saw her husband. As for Constantine, thanks to the fact that the town of Drepanum, where his mother lived, was not such a great distance from the capital, Nicomedia, he could occasionally visit St. Helena.

In Drepanum, later to be renamed Helenopolis, Christians lived and there was a church. The Gospel teaching attracted to itself the richlyendowed soul of Helena. In time she was baptized and grew constantly in spirit. And when, after thirty years of sorrows, the Lord called her to such a responsible work in His field, Helena presented to Him what the Apostle commanded: Having on the breastplate of righteousness, and feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and with the shield of faith (Eph. VI: 14-16). And thus, equipped with the garb of a valiant warrior, she could conquer the weakness of old age and fulfill the mission commanded her by God.

Travelling to Drepanum, the young Constantine involuntarily came into contact with the conditions in which his mother passed her life, and he became acquainted with the teaching of Christ. He was to become the first Christian Emperor, proclaiming Christianity the reigning religion for the whole civilized world of that time.

In the house of Helena, Constantine met a Christian girl who became his wife. But Minervina soon died of fever, after having given birth to a son, Crispus. He was left in the care of his grandmother, Helena, who took the place of a mother for him.

Some fourteen years passed. Constantine rose by means of his military successes and bore the name of Tribune. At this time his father fell ill and called his son to him.

Constantius Chlorus, in the judgement of history, was a humane and wise ruler. In soul he was Christian, although he was not baptized. During the persecution of Diocletian there was no persecution in the Western provinces. Constantius was forced only to destroy a few churches. He died in 306. After his death the legions proclaimed as his successor his son Constantine, who thus became Caesar of the Western provinces.

Emperor Maximianus, seeing in Constantine a strong man and a possible rival, gave him in marriage his daughter Fausta, a wily pagan, as were all the members of this family.

The following years passed for Constantine in constant warfare with co-rulers and relatives who traitorously rose against him. The decisive moment was a battle in 312 under the walls of Rome with the forces of his brother-in-law Maxentius (son of Maximianus). On the eve of this fated battle a fiery Cross appeared in the heavens. During the night the Saviour Himself appeared to Constantine and commanded him to go out to battle bearing before the troops banners with a representation of the Cross and the inscription: By this thou shalt conquer. Constantine ordered crosses to be traced on the shields and helmets of the troops. In the morning Maxentius, on the advice of false prophets, instead of a defence behind the city walls, went out on the field and was totally defeated. He himself drowned in the Tiber. In the following year, 313, Constantine published the Edict of Milan, according to which Christianity was proclaimed a lawful religion. From henceforth the persecution of Christians ceased. But ten years were yet to pass before Constantine became sole emperor. And then he was given the joy of delivering to his holy mother a decree raising her to the rank of Augusta (323).

But St. Helena was already dead to everything earthly. She was attracted neither by honor nor by the imperial purple. Her heart was given to Christ alone and her thought was turned to Palestine, where the Lord had preached His Gospel, had lived, suffered, and risen from the dead.

The Romans in the first century had erased Jerusalem from the face of the earth, as well as everything that was connected with the history of the Jewish people. On the site of the old Jerusalem had been built the new town of Aelia. On Golgotha stood a temple of Venus. But now, with the victory of Christianity over paganism, it remained to purify from pagan defilement all those places which had been sanctified by the Saviour's presence in them. The heart of Helena was influenced by the desire to fulfill this sacred mission. She was frightened neither by all the complexity of such a labor, nor by her own advanced old age: she was already 77 years old! She feared neither the length of the journey, nor the dangers connected with travel by sea. The city of Drepanum was situated on the Asia Minor coast of the Sea of Marmora. The imperial galley on which Helena sailed was to go out into the Mediterranean Sea and pass by the Greek islands, being exposed on the way to the usual storms and difficulties of a long sea journey. But the infirm old lady strove in thought only forward and on. In truth this woman was great, and great was the fire that blazed in her soul. Not for nothing has the holy Church so justly called her Empress Helena, Equal to the Apostles.

No sooner had Augusta Helena arrived in the Holy Land than the polluted temple of Venus was not only pulled down, but removed outside the bounds of Jerusalem. But where was the Holy Cross concealed? And was it possible to find it? The Lord heard the prayers of his faithful handmaid and bound with her name for all time the discovery of the Holy Wood, which was given to the world for veneration in all ages to come.

The discovery of the Holy Cross of the Lord in the year 326 occurred in this fashion: When Golgotha had been cleared of the rubbish left from the buildings that had been there, Bishop Macarius performed a prayer service on the hill. Those who had been digging in the ground began to smell a fragrant odor coming from under the earth. In this way was found the cave of the Tomb of the Lord. The True Cross itself was found with the help of a Jew, Judas, who had preserved the ancient tradition concerning its location. He himself, after the finding of the cross, was baptized with the name of Kiriak, and subsequently became Patriarch of Jerusalem, suffering a martyr's death under Julian the Apostate; he is commemorated by the Church on October 28.

Following the directions of Judas, on the east of the burial cave three crosses were found, with the inscription and the honorable nails. But how could one find out which of the crosses was the True Cross of the Lord? Bishop Macarius stopped a passing funeral procession. Upon the body being carried to burial the crosses were placed, and the Cross of the Lord resurrected the dead man. The holy Empress was the first to prostrate herself before the Holy Cross and kiss it. However, all around there stood an immense crowd of people and everyone wanted to see the Holy Wood. Then Bishop Macarius raised the Holy Cross above the people while all present cried out: "Lord, have mercy." This was the first Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, September 14, 326; to this day this event is commemorated as one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, being celebrated each year on September 14.

A part of the Cross was brought to Byzantium by St. Helena as a gift to her son. Most of it, however, was given a silver cover and preserved in the church that was soon built on the site of its discovery; it was brought out for veneration on each Great Friday.

St. Helena spent in all two years in Palestine. She caused churches to be built at the Holy Sepulchre itself, where there is a chapel dedicated to St. Helena, far under ground, on the site of the finding of the True Cross; in Bethlehem, over the cave of the Nativity of Christ; and on the Mount of Olives, at the site of the Ascension of the Lord. In some accounts her name is associated also with the erection of churches on the site of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God near Gethsemane, at the place of the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to Abraham at the Oak of Mambre, and at Mt. Sinai. Finding herself in the Holy Land, which had been sanctified by the footsteps of the Lord Himself, St. Helena considered as nothing her own imperial dignity; gathering the poor and lowly, she gave dinners for them and herself served them, being dressed in simple and modest attire.

When the Empress returned home, the greatest sorrow of her life awaited her. Crispus, the hero-general, grandson of Empress Helena, had met his death through the intrigues of his treacherous stepmother. Fausta had three sons of her own, and she removed her stepson since he was the direct heir to the imperial throne. Crispus was married to the young Helena, granddaughter of Constantius Chlorus. Her mother, Constantia, a zealous Christian, was so close to Empress Helena that even in the Lives of the Saints she is mistakenly called her daughter. Concerning the downfall of Crispus there have not been preserved reliable official historical documents.

Fatigued by the difficult journey and overwhelmed by her sorrow, St. Helena lived only a year longer. She reposed in the year 327. Today her holy relics are to be found in Rome, where they were apparently taken by the Crusaders. Her memory is celebrated by the Orthodox Church together with her son, St. Constantine, on May 21.

St. Helena has become for Christendom a major Saint, and a constant flow of fervent prayer is daily raised to her by pious and afflicted Christians everywhere. And from the time she was admitted into the choir of saints until the Last Judgement, St. Helena intercedes for true Orthodox Christians before the Throne of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom are due glory and praise unto the ages of ages. Amen.


Shrine and relics of St. Helena in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mark in Aracoeli, Rome.