Chapter XVI.--Letter from the Emperor to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, concerning the building of the Holy Church.
"Constantinus, the victorious and the great, to Macarius.
"The grace of our Saviour is so wonderful, that no words are adequate to express the present marvel. The fact that the monument of His most holy sufferings should have remained concealed beneath the earth, during so long a course of years, until the time when, on the death of the common enemy of all, it was destined to shine forth on His liberated servants, surpasses every other subject of admiration. If all the wise men throughout the world were collected into one place, and were to endeavour to express themselves worthily of it, they could not approach within an infinite distance of it; for this miracle is as much beyond all human power of belief, as heavenly things by their nature are mightier than human. Hence it is my first and only object that, as by new miracles the faith in the truth is daily confirmed, so the minds of us all may be more earnestly devoted to the holy law, wisely, zealously, and with one accord. As my design is, I think, now generally known, I desire that you, above all, should be assured that my most intense anxiety is to decorate with beautiful edifices that consecrated spot, which by God's command I have relieved from the burden of the foul idol which encumbered it. For from the beginning He declared it holy, and has rendered it still more holy from the time that He brought to light the proof and memorial of the sufferings of our Lord.
I trust, then, to your sagacity to take every necessary care, not only that the basilica itself surpass all others; but that all its arrangements be such that this building may be incomparably superior to the most beautiful structures in every city throughout the world. We have entrusted our friend Dracilianus [392] , who discharges the functions of the most illustrious præfect of the province, with the superintendence of the work of the erection and decoration of the walls. He has received our orders to engage workmen and artisans, and to provide all that you may deem requisite for the building. Let us know, by letter, when you have inspected the work, what columns or marbles you consider would be most ornamental, in order that whatever you may inform us is necessary for the work may be conveyed thither from all quarters of the world. For that which is of all places the most wonderful, ought to be decorated in accordance with its dignity. I wish to learn from you whether you think that the vaulted roof of the basilica ought to be panelled [393] , or to be adorned in some other way; for if it is to be panelled it may also be gilt. Your holiness must signify to the aforesaid officers, as soon as possible, what workmen and artificers, and what sums of money, are requisite; and let me know promptly not only about the marbles and columns, but also about the panelled ceiling, if you decide that this will be the most beautiful mode of construction. May God preserve you, beloved brother [394] ."
[392] Vide note 4 on chap. xiv.
[393] lakonaria, fr. Lat lacunar, (lacuna lacus LAK) = fretted ceiling. Cf. Hor. Od. II. xviii. 2.
[394] On the traditional site of the Holy Sepulchre, and the buildings on it, vide Stanley's "Sinai and Palestine," pp. 457 and seqq., and Canon Bright in Dict. Christ. Ant., article "Holy Sepulchre."
Chapter XVII.--Helena [395] , Mother of the Emperor Constantine.--Her zeal in the Erection of the Holy Church.
The bearer of these letters was no less illustrious a personage than the mother of the emperor, even she who was glorious in her offspring, whose piety was celebrated by all; she who brought forth that great luminary and nurtured him in piety. She did not shrink from the fatigue of the journey on account of her extreme old age, but undertook it a little before her death, which occurred in her eightieth year [396] .
When the empress beheld the place where the Saviour suffered, she immediately ordered the idolatrous temple, which had been there erected [397] , to be destroyed, and the very earth on which it stood to be removed. When the tomb, which had been so long concealed, was discovered, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord's sepulchre. All held it as certain that one of these crosses was that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the other two were those of the thieves who were crucified with Him. Yet they could not discern to which of the three the Body of the Lord had been brought nigh, and which had received the outpouring of His precious Blood. But the wise and holy Macarius, the president of the city, resolved this question in the following manner. He caused a lady of rank, who had been long suffering from disease, to be touched by each of the crosses, with earnest prayer, and thus discerned the virtue residing in that of the Saviour. For the instant this cross was brought near the lady, it expelled the sore disease, and made her whole.
The mother of the emperor, on learning the accomplishment of her desire, gave orders that a portion of the nails should be inserted in the royal helmet, in order that the head of her son might be preserved from the darts of his enemies [398] . The other portion of the nails she ordered to be formed into the bridle of his horse, not only to ensure the safety of the emperor, but also to fulfil an ancient prophecy; for long before Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted that "There shall be upon the bridles of the horses Holiness unto the Lord Almighty [399] ."
She had part of the cross of our Saviour conveyed to the palace [400] . The rest was enclosed in a covering of silver, and committed to the care of the bishop of the city, whom she exhorted to preserve it carefully, in order that it might be transmitted uninjured to posterity [401] . She then sent everywhere for workmen and for materials, and caused the most spacious and most magnificent churches to be erected. It is unnecessary to describe their beauty and grandeur; for all the pious, if I may so speak, hasten thither and behold the magnificence of the buildings [402] .
This celebrated and admirable empress performed another action worthy of being remembered. She assembled all the women who had vowed perpetual virginity, and placing them on couches, she herself fulfilled the duties of a handmaid, serving them with food and handing them cups and pouring out wine, and bringing a basin and pitcher, and pouring out water to wash their hands.
After performing these and other laudable actions, the empress returned to her son, and not long after, she joyfully entered upon the other and a better life, after having given her son much pious advice and her fervent parting blessing. After her death, those honours were rendered to her memory which her stedfast and zealous service to God deserved [403] .
[395] Flavia Julia Helena, the first wife of Constantius Chlorus, born of obscure parents in Bithynia, a.d. 328. "Stabulariam hanc primo fuisse adserunt, sic cognitam Constantio seniori." (Ambr. de obitu Theod. §42, p. 295.) The story of her being the daughter of a British Prince, and born at York or Colchester, is part of the belief current since William of Malmesbury concerning Constantine's British Origin, which is probably due to two passages of uncertain interpretation in the Panegyrici: (a) Max. et Const. iv., "liberavit ille (Constantius) Britannias servitute, tu etiam nobiles, illic oriendo, fecisti." (b) Eum. Pan. Const. ix., "O fortunata et nunc omnibus beatior terris Britannia, quæ Constantinum Cæsarem prima vidisti." But is this said of birth or accession? Cf. Gibbon, chap. xiv.
[396] Crispus and Fausta were put to death in 326. "If it was not in order to seek expiation for her son's crimes, and consolation for her own sorrows, that Helen made her famous journey to the Holy Land, it was immediately consequent upon them." Stanley, Eastern Church, p. 211.
[397] i.e. of Venus, said to have been erected by Hadrian to pollute a spot hallowed by Christians.
[398] The traditional which identifies the nail in Constantine's helmet with the iron band in the famous crown of Queen Theodolinda at Monza dates from the sixteenth century.
[399] Zech. xiv. 20 estai to epi ton chalinon tou hippou Lgion to Kuri& 251; to pantokratori. lxx.
[400] This portion Socrates says (i. 17) was enclosed by Constantine in a statue placed on a column of porphyry in his forum at Constantinople.
[401] Carried away from Jerusalem by Chosroes II. in 614, it was recovered, says the legend, by Heraclius in 628. The feast of the "Exaltation of the Cross" on Sept. 14th, combines the Commemoration of the Vision of Constantine, the exaltation of the relic at Jerusalem, and its triumphal entry after its exile under Chosroes. In later years it was, as is well known, supposed to have a miraculous power of self-multiplication, and such names as St. Cross at Winchester, Santa Croce at Florence, and Vera Cruz in Mexico illustrate its cultus. Paulinus of Nola, at the beginning of the fifth century, sending a piece to Sulpicius Severus, says that though bits were frequently taken from it, it grew no smaller (Ep. xxxi.).
[402] May 3rd has been kept since the end of the eighth century in honour of the "Invention of the Cross" and the Commemoration of the ancient "Ellinmas" was retained in the reformed Anglican Calendar.
[403] Tillemont puts her death in 328. Eusebius (V. Const. iii. 47), says she was carried epi ten basileuousan polin, by which he generally means Rome, but Socrates (i. 17) writes, eis ten basileuousan nean Romen, i.e. Constantinople. There is a chapel in her honour in the church of the Ara Coeli at Rome, but her traditional burial-place is a mile and a half beyond the Porta Maggiore, on the Via Labicana, and thence came the porphyry sarcophagus called St. Helena's, which was placed by Pius VI. in the Hall of the Greek Cross in the Vatican.