On May 21, our Church celebrates and brilliantly celebrates the memory of Saints Equal Apostles Constantine and Helen. Both Constantine the Great and his holy mother Helen belong to the great personalities of our Church, because their contribution to the cessation of three hundred years of persecution against Christians and the consolidation of the Church was decisive. Also, Constantine the Great is not only great for our Church, but also for world history, because he belongs to the great leaders of all times, having put his own stamp on the flow of historical events, and for this he was rightfully awarded the title of large.
Constantine the Great was the son of a Greek-Illyrian Roman official Constantiou Chloros, which was then proclaimed Caesar and August and took charge of the western provinces of the vast empire. His mother Helen, of Greek origin, from Sickle of Bithynia, Asia Minor, adorned with extraordinary beauty of body and soul, she early embraced Christianity, which was still quietly persecuted by the pagan emperors, the obscurantist pagan priesthoods, and the superstitious mobs. The 274 gave birth to Constantine in the city Naiso, today's Nissa, Serbia.
The 293 the emperor Diocletian he kept the young Constantine close to him in the East, together with his mother Helen, divorced from Caesar his father Constantius, for safety and subjection of the latter to his authority, until the 305. There the opportunity was given to his holy mother to detach him from idolatry and nurture him in the new faith.
The young Constantine was distinguished for the beauty of his body, the nobility of his soul and his extraordinary spiritual and physical gifts. The 305 took over the administration of the empire, the Galerius in the East, the Constantius in the West. In the same year, Konstantinos moved to Trevera Galatia, where he met his ailing father, who commissioned him to campaign in United Kingdom. At July 7, 307 Constantius died and the army declared Constantine emperor of the West. He married her Minervina and had a son, Crispo. He settled in the city Arelati and he exercised an unprecedented philanthropic power, and for that reason he was loved by the people.
In September 312 turned against his tyrannical co-emperor of the West Maxentiou. En route to Rome, at October 28 by 312, he saw his famous and grand vision Holy Cross in the midday sky and the inscription: "In this you win". The next night he saw in his dream Christ with the sign of the Cross, urging him to construct a banner with the Cross in order to defeat the impious and tyrannical Maxentius. Constantine obeyed and defeated his adversary and entered Rome triumphant and liberated.
His first action was to stop the continuing terrible persecution of Christians with the famous "Decree of Milan", which he signed at Milan, with his co-emperor in the East, Licinius, ensures 313. This great man envisioned and conceived the supreme good of religious freedom and defined for the first time in history the freedom of religious belief.
The 324 clashes with the emperor of the East Licinius, whom he defeats and becomes monocrator throughout the empire, beginning his grandiose reform and social work. As a political ruler he was a pioneer. He moved it 325 the capital of the empire at Byzantium, renaming it to New Rome – Istanbul, thus severing all ties with the pagan past and laying the foundations for the new Christian empire, which will live for a thousand years, a unique phenomenon in the history of mankind.
He instituted a multitude of administrative, economic, social and military reforms to strengthen the empire and the welfare of its people. He restructured government authorities and to combat inflation, introduced the solid, a new gold coin that became the standard for Byzantine and European coinage for more than a thousand years. The Roman army was reorganized to consist of mobile infantry units and garrison units capable of dealing with internal threats and invasions. Also during his own tenure he had successful campaigns against the barbarian tribes on the Roman frontier, which his predecessors had lost during the Crisis of the last century.
He became the patron of all citizens, regardless of their religious faith, for this reason he did not yet become a Christian and retained the title of pontific maximus, that is, of the supreme high priest of the ancient religion. He released all the Christians from the prisons that Licinius had imprisoned and recalled those who were in exile. He gave the temples and property to the Church. He put into practice in the state, with decrees, the social teaching of the Church. It made the mandatory trial of offenders mandatory. He made Sunday a holiday. He abolished slavery.
Saint Helen dedicated herself completely to church work, founding churches and strengthening the Church. At her own expense she went to Jerusalem and discovered the Holy Cross.
M. Constantine did his utmost to calm the Church from the Arian heresy, calling it First Ecumenical Council in 325. He thus inaugurated a new, completely democratic way of governing the Church.
The 337 on a tour of Nikomedia he fell ill and felt his end. He asked to receive Holy Baptism and received communion of the Immaculate Mysteries. He never again wore the imperial robes, but wore the white cassock of Baptism until his death, in May 22, 337. Our Church recognized his valuable services and therefore proclaimed him a saint and co-apostle, together with his holy mother. Likewise, history, recognizing his unique contribution, declared him great.
His memory, together with that of his mother Saint Helen, is commemorated on 21 May.
Many enthusiasts and agnostics attempt to tarnish his personality, characterizing him as "brutal killer", because he was forced to apply the law to his rebellious son Crispo and his second wife the assassin Fausta to prevent state and social destabilization and save innocent lives. Many historians argue that the killing of these two rebels and conspirators was done without his knowledge. But they forget that at that time Constantine was still a pagan, and who for this sad event wept and lamented throughout his later life! They also forget that the characterization of a man should not depend on
individual incidents, but from the overall assessment of his life and work!
They slander him that he allegedly was a persecutor of dying paganism. But they forget that he existed "Great High Priest" and protector of the ancient religion until shortly before his death! But they forget the most important thing, that history is not given to anyone and Constantine deservedly won the title of the Great, both from it and from the Church!
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