18
August 328 A.D. Helena
Dies—Mother of Constantine the Great
Graves,
Dan. “Death of Helena, 1st
Christian Archaeologist.” Christianity.com. June 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/death-of-helena-1st-christian-archaeologist-11629654.html. Accessed 17 May 2017.
A character in a nursery rhyme may be closely
connected with Church history and Christian archaeology. Probably you have sung
"Old King Cole was a merry old soul." But did you know that the
British have an ancient tradition that Helena, the fourth-century Christian
archaeologist was the daughter of King Coel of Colchester, immortalized in this
Mother
Goose rhyme?
If this story is true, another
interesting fact follows from it. Helena was the mother of Constantine, the
first christianized Emperor of the Roman Empire. This means Emperor Constantine
was the grandson of a Mother Goose hero! Since there actually was a Christian
church at Colchester in 250 A.D.--about the time that Helena was born--it is
possible that she become a Christian as a young person which would explain
Constantine's interest in the faith.
However, so much of Helena's
life is obscure or unknown, including the date and place of her birth, that we
cannot make the connection with any certainty. Some historians theorize that
since the emperor Constantine later named a town in Asia Minor Helenopolis in
her honor, she was born there, not in Britain, and was the daughter of an
innkeeper.
Unclear too is when and where
Helena met the Roman soldier Constantius Chlorus, or even if the two were ever
officially married. What is certain is that Constantius and Helena were
Constantine's parents. When Constantius became Caesar of Gaul, Spain, and
Britain in 292, he dumped Helena in order to marry Theodora, daughter of his
patron, the emperor Maximian. It was a cold-blooded political move designed to
advance Constantius' career.
Helena's son Constantine spent
much time at the court of the emperor Diocletian and became a soldier like his
father. When his troops later proclaimed Constantine emperor in 306, one of his
first acts was to recall his mother from the political exile she had been in
ever since her divorce and give her honors befitting the mother of a Roman
Emperor. When Constantine embraced Christianity, Helena gave him her strong
support and encouragement.
Eighty year old Helena became so
enthusiastic about the faith that she traveled to the Holy Land. Her mission
was about more than mere curiosity, for as she traveled through the eastern
imperial provinces, she encouraged the establishment of the Christian
faith.
Once in Palestine she sought out
the original locations associated with the life of Jesus, becoming the first
known Christian archaeologist. Helena then oversaw the construction of several
churches Constantine had ordered built in Bethlehem, Calvary, Olivet, and
Bethany at sites associated with Christ's life. A pagan temple to Aphrodite had
been built on the tomb site of Jesus' resurrection; it was torn down and
replaced by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Later legends arose that Helena
also discovered the actual cross of Christ in the tomb beneath the church. In
paintings she is often shown as a young and beautiful woman holding this cross.
Helena's tour became a pattern
for Christian pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages. Even today, at Christmas
time "Manger Square" in Bethlehem is thronged with pilgrims coming to
worship at the Church of the Nativity and at Easter, Christians follow the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow) to the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Both of these ancient churches in the Holy Land are
connected with Empress Helena.
When Helena died on this day, August 18, 328, she was buried in the Church
of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Bibliography:
1. Baring-Gould, S. Lives of the Saints. Edinburgh: John
Grant, 1914.
2. Bell, Mrs. Arthur. Saints in Christian Art. London: George
Bell, 1901 - 1904.
3. Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints. Various editions
available.
4. Christian History Institute. Glimpses. Issue #73: Helena, First Christian
Archaeologist.
5. Kirsch, J.P. "St. Helena." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York:
Robert Appleton, 1914.
6. "Helena, St." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. (Oxford, 1997).
7. Waugh, Evelyn. "St. Helena, Empress;" from Saints for
Now, edited by Clare Booth Luce. Sheed & Ward, 1952.
Last updated June,
2007
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