Saint Constantine, known in history as the Great, was born in the third century A.D. to Constantius Chlorus, the Roman emperor, and his wife, Helena. Constantine's father, Constantine, followed the rites of the state Roman religion and was considered an idolater. However, unlike others, he was not committed to pagan religions; instead, he strove to know the true God. Pious in his outlook, he raised his son Constantine well, teaching him to turn to God and seek help from above, not from idols. Merciful, he treated Christians with compassion, who were then being tortured by other unbelieving emperors. He not only refrained from persecuting Christians but also sought to protect them from persecution. Christians in the western lands under Constantine's rule were therefore at peace, while in the east, Diocletian and Galerius persecuted them in every possible way.
Upon the death of Constantius, the army proclaimed his son Constantine king, thus becoming ruler of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. When Maxentius, adopted by Maximian Hercules, who had previously been king but had voluntarily renounced the throne, learned of this, he became filled with envy of Constantine and plotted to seize power at any cost. Maxentius seduced many Roman senators with rich gifts and promises of even greater gifts to come, and with their help, he illegally ascended the Roman throne, despite the fact that neither the army nor the people were well disposed toward him. Upon learning of Maxentius's act, Constantine not only took no offense at the hijacking of his rights but also expressed his full consent to Maxentius's assumption of the throne. He sent ambassadors to Maxentius with the intention of conciliation, while he himself contented himself with being ruler of Britain and the surrounding regions. But Maxentius was not inclined to make peace with Constantine: he envisioned undivided, exclusive dominion and secretly decided to seize control of all parts of the Roman kingdom. Having consolidated his hold on Rome, Maxentius began to inflict great harm on his subjects, not only persecuting Christians but also extending his cruelty to pagans. His cruel persecution of his subjects and his immoral life soon made him extremely unpleasant, even intolerable, to his subjects. The Romans then secretly sent a message to Constantine, who was living with his mother in Britain, asking him to come and deliver them from the tyrant. Constantine immediately wrote to Maxentius, amiably urging him to abandon his cruelty. But Maxentius would not listen to Constantine and, far from reforming under his admonitions, became even worse, even plotting against Constantine himself, refusing to recognize him as his equal as king. Seeing the utter futility of his admonitions and learning that Maxentius was gathering an army against him, Constantine resolved to declare war on Maxentius himself. He then mentally turned to the true God, Whom Christians venerate, and, reflecting on the divine aid that had repeatedly been revealed to his father and himself, he prayed to God to grant him victory over the enemy. And so, one day, at midday, when the sun was already beginning to set, Constantine saw in the sky the image of the Lord's Cross, composed of stars, and bearing the inscription: "By this, conquer." This sign was seen not only by Constantine but by the entire army. The appearance of the cross caused general amazement, and in some, even fear; Constantine himself was greatly perplexed. But the following night, Christ Himself appeared to him and, showing him the same sign of the Cross, said: "Make a similar image of the Cross and order it to be carried before the regiments for protection from enemy attack." When daylight came, Constantine told his friends about the vision he had seen the night before. Then he summoned skilled craftsmen and, having described the design of the banner to them, ordered them to make one like it out of gold and precious stones. This banner had the following appearance: a long, gold-covered spear had a crossbar that formed the shape of a cross with the spear; at the top,At the end of the spear, a golden wreath, adorned with precious stones, lay motionless, and on it the symbol of the saving name; on a crosspiece nailed to the spear hung a thin white cloth covered with precious stones; under the sign of the cross, at the very top of this cloth, hung a golden image of the king with his children. In addition, Constantine ordered that the cross be depicted in his army on all weapons, shields, and helmets. Finally, a battle took place. Maxentius was defeated by the power of the divine Cross. Most of the army perished. Maxentius himself, pursued by Constantine, fled, and when he fled across the bridge over the Tiber River, the bridge collapsed and the king perished in the river along with horses, riders, and weapons. Having defeated Maxentius,Constantine the Great triumphantly entered Rome and was joyfully greeted by the inhabitants. Here he gave thanks to God, who had granted him victory through the power of the Holy Cross. In memory of this glorious victory, he ordered a cross erected on a tall stone pillar in the center of the city with the inscription: "By this saving sign, this city has been freed from the yoke of the tormentor."
All the city's inhabitants rejoiced, feeling liberated from cruel rule. Border peoples also shared in this celebration. Freed from previous calamities, they glorified the valiant victor and common benefactor; all unanimously recognized that Constantine, by the grace of God, shone forth for the common good of all. With inexpressible joy, the royal charter was read everywhere, by which previously confiscated property was returned to its owners, innocent victims were summoned to their homeland, and, in general, all who had previously suffered were now freed from all danger. Constantine, expressing zeal for the establishment of Christianity, showed respect to its ministers. With his wealth, he also supported the churches, adorning the holy temples with various offerings. Moreover, he generously distributed money to the poor; he was philanthropic; he showed kindness to non-believers who came to him; he ordered the poor to be supplied not only with money and food, but also with decent clothing. He cared for children suffering the misfortune of orphanhood in the place of a father; he eased the plight of widows with his own protection, and he married off orphaned girls to men known to him, even wealthy ones. There was no one who turned to him without receiving some benefit; nor was there anyone who, expecting his help, was disappointed.
Concerned about the development of cities and churches, Constantine decided to build a large city. By God's special command, he built such a city in Byzantium, on the seashore, adorned it with grand buildings, and named it Constantinople. He transferred his throne to the newly founded city, ordered it to be called "New Rome," and entrusted it to God's protection.
At that time, the Christian faith suffered greatly from the false teachings of Arius. Constantine resolved to solemnly affirm the dogmas of faith against this false teaching and, to this end, convened an ecumenical council in the city of Nicaea. 318 holy fathers attended the council. Along with bishops gathered from various countries, Constantine himself sat at this council. He addressed those present with a speech in which he strongly and persuasively urged them to pay particular attention to the internal disagreements of the Church and to use all possible means to end them. Constantine's speech made a vivid impression and stirred a general stir in the assembly. Some began accusing others, the accused defended themselves, and a dispute arose. The emperor listened to everyone meekly and attentively, examining in detail the statements of each of the contending parties. By persuading some, exhorting others, praising others who expressed sound opinions, and generally inclining everyone to unanimity, he finally harmonized everyone's opinions on controversial matters. At the Council of Nicaea, Arian teaching was condemned as heretical, and the false teacher Arius himself and his followers were excommunicated from the Church. To confirm Orthodox doctrine, the holy fathers present at this council composed the Creed , which set forth, in brief, clear, and precise terms, the fundamental truths of Christian doctrine.
Zealous for Christian sanctity, Constantine asked his mother Helena to travel to Jerusalem to find the Holy Cross on which the Lord was crucified, and he provided her with considerable resources for this purpose. Blessed Helena zealously hastened to the East; with God's help, she found the Cross of Christ the Savior and, taking with her a piece of the Life-giving Cross, as well as the nails with which the Lord's most pure body was nailed to it, returned to Constantinople. A short time later, Saint Helena died and was buried with honor.
After the death of his mother, Constantine lived only ten years. Nearing the end of his life, he conceived the idea of building a church in Constantinople in honor of the Holy Apostles. When the edifice had been completed to a great height, the emperor lined all its walls with multicolored, glittering stones, and covered the entire dome with gold. In this church, Constantine prepared his own tomb. But the time of his death was already approaching. He felt a painful illness and, leaving his city, traveled to another for healing. Here, he spent much time in fervent prayer to God in the Church of the Holy Martyrs. There, sensing that his life was short, he decided it was time to cleanse himself of his past sins, believing that all would be blotted out by the power of saving prayers and the saving water of baptism. Reflecting on this, he confessed his sins in his church and here, for the first time, was granted the prayerful laying on of hands. After this, he moved to the outskirts of Nicomedia. Gathering the bishops there, Constantine began to speak to them: "The desired time has come, which I thirst for and pray for as the time of salvation in God. It is time for me to receive the seal of immortality and partake of saving grace. I had thought of being baptized in the Jordan, but God has granted me this here. So, I will hesitate no longer. If the Lord desires to prolong my existence, then, having received holy baptism, I will submit myself to the rules of life in accordance with the divine will." Seeing his resolve, the bishops administered the sacrament of baptism to him. After receiving the saving sacrament, he joyfully rejoiced in spirit, like a renewed man. From an abundance of faith, he was filled with the light of God and vividly amazed at the action of God's power. Having donned the ceremonial royal garments after the sacred rite, Constantine offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God and exclaimed in tenderness: “Now I recognize you as truly blessed, now I can be worthy of immortal life, now I believe that I have become a participant in the divine light!”…
But the time of Constantine's death approached; he died on the Feast of Pentecost, around midday. His death brought a profound sense of grief not only upon his entourage, but also upon his troops and the entire people, who considered this misfortune their own and mourned it as if a precious common good had been taken from them all. Constantine's body was placed in a costly coffin, carried to Constantinople, and placed there in a high place in the royal palace, where all the nobles and people bid him farewell with tears. The emperor's body was then transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles he had founded and there buried with great honor.
St. Constantine the Great, through his pious life and the great services he rendered to the Church, earned honor and Orthodoxy not only from those immediately preceding him, but from all subsequent generations. Indeed, he contributed to the strengthening and spread of the Christian faith, boldly and tirelessly preaching the teachings of Christ, and by word and, even more so, by deed, overthrowing the errors of polytheism and denouncing false teachings. For these labors and deeds, the Church canonized Constantine as an apostle and named him Equal-to-the-Apostles.
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Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great , was the daughter of an innkeeper. For her beautiful appearance and even more so for her superior spiritual qualities, Emperor Constantius Chlorus, then still a military commander, chose her as his wife. They lived happily for a long time, but then the political circumstances of the empire became the cause of Helena's marital misfortune. Emperor Diocletian and his co-ruler Maximian Hercules, having abdicated the throne, divided the empire among four co-rulers, whom they wished to unite through family ties. Consequently, Constantius Chlorus, one of the new rulers, despite already being married, was offered a new wife from the royal line, the stepdaughter of the abdicated Emperor Maximian. Fearing the loss of power, Constantius did not resist, and Helena was sacrificed to political considerations and removed from court. With the loss of her beloved husband, she was forced to part with her only son, 11-year-old Constantine, who was taken to Diocletian's court in the East. After this, Helena spent 15 years removed from court, in deep seclusion. The misfortune of being deprived of family joys predisposed her soul to accept Christ's teaching, so comforting for all the unfortunate and burdened with grievous grief.
With her son's accession, Elena returned to court. There, she enjoyed imperial honors and gained influence over her son. Without interfering in political affairs, she devoted herself entirely to good works. She proved herself a zealous patron of the Church, a fervent defender of Christian sanctity, and a caregiver for the poor and suffering.
Already in her old age, St. Helena, at the request of her son Constantine, set out from Constantinople to Jerusalem to find the Holy Cross on which the Lord was crucified. She zealously hastened to the East and, with regal solicitude, surveyed the Holy Land and other eastern provinces, cities, and villages. It is difficult to imagine anything sadder and more dismal than the state in which the final Roman conquest left the lands once granted as an earthly paradise to Abraham and his descendants. A new city was built on the ruins of the City of David, adorned everywhere with pagan temples and other monuments of idolatry. On the very site where Solomon's Temple had once stood, a pagan temple now rose; the places hallowed by the birth and death of the Savior were also desecrated by pagan shrines. Blessed Helena zealously occupied herself with the cleansing of holy places from desecration by infidels and their restoration to proper order. Bishop Macarius, who was in Jerusalem at the time, received the empress with due honor and greatly assisted her in her pious activities. The empress's first desire upon arriving in Jerusalem was to visit the burial place of the Savior. "Let us go," she said, "to honor the place where His sacred feet ceased to walk." But, to her great surprise, no one could point her to the exact spot. Pagans had long ago blocked up the cave in which Christ was buried, depriving it of the veneration accorded it by Christians. Little by little, Christians themselves ceased visiting it for fear of paying any respect to the idolatrous objects deliberately placed by pagans in the holy place. Moreover, due to the political upheavals that had taken place in Jerusalem, as well as the accompanying fires and devastation, even the city's very layout had changed considerably. But Helena did not back down in the face of such obstacles. At her invitation, the most learned Christians and Jews gathered before her, and in her personal presence, an investigation was conducted into the site of Jesus Christ's suffering. It is said that in this case, a Jew, who had inherited from his ancestors the secret of the holy Christian sites, rendered great service. This Jew revealed where the Cross of the Lord could be found. Once the site of Christ's suffering had been thus determined, Helena, at the head of workers and soldiers, hastened to the spot indicated by the Jew and ordered the excavation of the soil. The work presented great difficulties, as it was necessary to demolish a considerable number of buildings that towered on Golgotha Hill and its environs. But Helena had been ordered by Constantine not to shrink from any difficulties and to spare no expense. Finally, three wooden crosses were discovered deep in the hill, completely intact. No one doubted that these crosses were the instruments of execution of the Lord and the two thieves crucified with Him, but everyone was perplexed as to which of them Christ the Savior had suffered on. A reliable means was needed to identify the authentic cross of Christ.And Bishop Macarius, filled with firm faith in the power of the Cross of Christ, did not hesitate to indicate this means. At that moment, a man was being carried past to be buried. Bishop Macarius immediately ordered the bearers to stop and place the deceased's body near the crosses they had found. Then all those present, the empress, and the bishop himself fell to their knees. Macarius, raising his eyes to heaven, said: "Lord, who accomplished the salvation of the human race through the suffering of Your Only-begotten Son on the Cross and inspired Your humble servant to seek the sacred tree, the instrument of our salvation, now You Yourself, Lord, show us that cross which served for the eternal glory of Your Only-begotten Son: grant, merciful Lord, life to this Your servant, when the sacred and saving tree touches him!" After this, they began to place crosses on the dead man one by one, and as soon as the true Cross of Christ was placed upon him, the dead man immediately arose by the power of the saving Cross. When the Lord witnessed the Cross of Christ with this miracle, St. Helena, with a heart filled with joy and fear, hastened to the sacred wood. She both desired and considered herself unworthy to touch it and kiss such a great holy relic. With a feeling of profound reverence, she bowed before the Cross of Christ. The entire royal court that was with her did the same. And all present desired to see the Holy Cross and venerate it, but due to the great crowd, many were unable to approach the Cross. They began to ask that they be allowed to see the Cross of Christ, at least from afar. Then Bishop Macarius stood on the highest platform and raised the precious Cross before the people, raising and lowering it so that everyone could see and venerate it. At this moment, the entire people reverently cried out, "Lord, have mercy!" In memory of this event, the Church later established the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated on September 14. Meanwhile, Constantine, whom St. Helena had immediately informed of the discovery of the Lord's Cross, received this news with indescribable joy. Filled with feelings of reverence and gratitude to the Lord, he conceived the idea of honoring the holy places with some monument worthy of their sacred remembrance. He immediately wrote a letter to the Bishop of Jerusalem, asking him to see to the construction of a church on the site where the Life-Giving Cross had been found, placing at his disposal all the treasures of the empire for this purpose. Along with the bishop, St. Helena herself began to ensure the execution of Constantine's orders. First of all, she ordered the construction of a church dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ on the site where the Holy Cross was found. She also began building churches beneath the cave in Bethlehem, where the Savior was born, on the Mount of Olives, from where He ascended to heaven, and at Gethsemane, where the Virgin Mary's Dormition took place. After this, having built up to 18 more churches in various places across Palestine, supplying them with sacred vessels and significantly embellishing them, St. Helena returned to Constantinople.Taking with her a piece of the Life-giving Cross and the nails found with it that had nailed the Lord's body, the love Constantine had always felt for his mother seemed to grow even stronger. The troops and all citizens of the empire were ordered to call Helena by the most honorable names, which were then customary only for royal persons. Her image was stamped on coins. But St. Helena did not live long after this. Sensing the approach of death, she began to give Constantine and his son, her grandson Constantius, advice and blessings, exhorting them to govern the people justly, to do good, not to be arrogant, and to serve the Lord with fear and trembling. She died, at about 80 years of age, in the arms of her son and grandson, surrounded by the love and respect of all Christians. Her burial was performed with great pomp. Constantine ordered the transfer of the body of St. Helena. Helena's relics were brought to Rome, where they were placed in a porphyry-adorned tomb at the church now called the Church of Saints Peter and Marcelinus, located on the route from Rome to Naples, where a cemetery bearing Helena's name still exists. Two years later, the relics of St. Helena were transferred to Constantinople.The Church canonized Queen Helena and named her Equal to the Apostles.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Istorija_Tserkvi/zhizn-i-trudy-apostolov/135