Saint Helena. Helena, or Saint Helena, was an Empress of the Roman Empire, and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great.
Born outside of the noble classes, a Greek, possibly in the Greek city of Drepana, Bithynia in Asia Minor, she became the consort of the future Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and the mother of the future Emperor Constantine the Great. Helena ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity and of the world due to her influence on her son.
In her final years, she made a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem, during which she allegedly discovered the True Cross. The Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Communion revere her as a saint; the Lutheran Church commemorates her.
Helena's birthplace is not known with certainty. The 6th-century historian Procopius is the earliest authority for the statement that Helena was a native Greek of Drepanum, in the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor.
Her son Constantine renamed the city Helenopolis after her death around 330, which supports the belief that the city was indeed her birthplace. The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has, however, argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around Constantine's new capital in Constantinople, and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to necessarily mark her birthplace. There was also a Helen
Born outside of the noble classes, a Greek, possibly in the Greek city of Drepana, Bithynia in Asia Minor, she became the consort of the future Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and the mother of the future Emperor Constantine the Great. Helena ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity and of the world due to her influence on her son.
In her final years, she made a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem, during which she allegedly discovered the True Cross. The Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Communion revere her as a saint; the Lutheran Church commemorates her.
Helena's birthplace is not known with certainty. The 6th-century historian Procopius is the earliest authority for the statement that Helena was a native Greek of Drepanum, in the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor.
Her son Constantine renamed the city Helenopolis after her death around 330, which supports the belief that the city was indeed her birthplace. The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has, however, argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around Constantine's new capital in Constantinople, and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to necessarily mark her birthplace. There was also a Helen
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