St. Helena of Constantinople (248 – 338) is most famous as the mother of Emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome. Historians know little about her early life, but she is thought to have come from a humble background. As a young woman, she married Constantius Chlorus, a Roman military tribune and governor. The two of them would parent Constantine, the future great emperor.
About nineteen years after Constantine’s birth, Constantius Chlorus divorced Helena in order to marry Emperor Maximian’s daughter. Constantius ascended to the imperial throne of the Western Roman Empire in 286. But while it might have been good for his career, it left Helena without her husband.
When Constantine’s troops proclaimed him emperor in 306 he was still a pagan. However, it seems that Helena discovered the Christian faith after her divorce. At this time, Christians still suffered persecutions. It was risky for her, even as the mother of an emperor. Constantine would accept Christianity later after his successful battle at Milvian Bridge, where he beheld the Cross and, no doubt, thought of his mother. Constantine gave Christians full rights and protections within the Empire with the Edict of Milan in 313.
Helena used her influence as Empress to promote the Christian faith, establishing churches across the empire, many of which still exist. With the financial support of her son, Helena took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to locate relics. She also rebuilt churches in Jerusalem and knocked down a pagan temple built over Christ’s tomb. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea writes about her pilgrimage:
Especially abundant were the gifts she bestowed upon the naked and unprotected poor. To some she gave money, to others an ample supply of clothing; she liberated some from imprisonment, or from the bitter servitude of the mines; others she delivered from unjust oppression, and others again, she restored from exile.
It was in the Holy Land that Helena discovered the location of the True Cross by miracle. Thanks to the writings of historians, she was able to find Golgotha and discovered three crosses there. A woman near death was brought from the city and touched the crosses. She recovered after touching the third cross and this was declared the True Cross. Relics of the True Cross are now found throughout the Christian world.
St. Helena left Jerusalem in 327 and headed towards Rome with the relics. Her palace in Rome became a Christian basilica for the relics at Helena’s direction. In 338, she died with her son at her side.
The best summation of the life of St. Helena of Constantinople comes from author Julie Onderko:
Who would have imagined things would turn out the way they did? Helena, born a commoner, ended up becoming the most powerful woman in the world. It was through her less-than-ideal motherhood that she became Empress Helena Augusta. She had been a Christian during the great persecution, only to be later instrumental in Christianizing the entire Roman Empire. And, as a very old woman enduring the worst kind of personal tragedy and public humiliation, she suffered a blow that would have left most people broken and bitter. Saint Helena responded to the situation by turning to the Lord and embracing her unique mission.
— Julie Onderko, Discover Your Next Mission from God
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