Icon of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helena - embroidered, framed, 21x27cm
In the Byzantine calendar, on May 21st, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helena. This day commemorates Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother, Empress Helena.
In the year 312 AD, before his confrontation with Maxentius, Emperor Constantine the Great had a vision of a radiant cross in the sky during the day, above the sun, on which was written: "in hoc signo vinces" - "by this sign, you will conquer."
On the same night, Jesus Christ Himself appeared in a dream to Constantine, holding the sign of the cross, asking him to place this sacred sign on the banners of his soldiers, assuring him that He would be their protector in battle. Constantine followed the Savior's guidance and achieved victory.
Flavia Julia Helena (c.248 - 329) was the wife of the Roman general Constantius Chlorus and the mother of Emperor Saint Constantine the Great. She was a woman of faith, full of virtue.
She embarked on a pilgrimage to Palestine and the eastern provinces, and tradition attributes to her the discovery of the Holy Cross of Christ and the identification of the remains of the Three Magi.
Legend has it that during her pilgrimage, she observed people carrying a dead body to a hill where three crosses were erected. When the dead person was brought near each cross separately, a miracle occurred: upon touching the third cross, the dead person revived. Thus, the cross on which the Savior Jesus Christ was crucified was identified.
Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, is described as the woman who liberated the slaves and supported the persecuted Christian community. She erected the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of Bethlehem, the Church of Nazareth, and numerous other holy sites.
