Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Santa Helena con la Vera Cruz, por Francesco Morandini
St. Helena (ca. 247-ca. 327) was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great (ca. 288-337), who, according to tradition, christianized the Roman Empire. Helena is shown holding the True Cross (the cross on which Christ was crucified), which she is said to have discovered in Jerusalem. Her elaborate headdress and idealized, slightly masculine facial features reveal the artist’s study of Michelangelo’s so-called teste divine (divine heads), admired for their great beauty. Morandini and other Florentine artists of the later 16th century thought of Michelangelo as the greatest artist of all time, and they devotedly imitated his works.
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Seated statue of Helena in Musei Capitolini, Rome
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Saint Helena with the Cross, Lucas Cranach the Elder
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin) | |
Hélène, portant le titre d’augusta, monnaie frappée sous Constantin vers 327 – 329 |
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Naissance | vers 248–249 Depranum en Bithynie |
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Décès | vers 329–330 |
Vénéré à | église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles |
Fête | 18 août et 21 mai |
Attributs | Croix |
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin) |
Hélène ou sainte Hélène (vers 247/250 – vers 329/330), est une impératrice romaine, épouse de Constance Chlore et mère de Constantin.
Biographie
Sa biographie doit être lue avec précaution car les auteurs d’apologétiquechrétienne et son fils Constantin ont certainement voulu, dans un vaste programme de propagande chrétienne et impériale, donner une image de femme pieuse, charitable et honorable. La littérature sur elle relève donc plus du panégyrique impérial et de l’hagiographie1.
Selon la tradition fixée2 par l’historien Procope (vie siècle), elle serait née à Drépanumdans la province de Bithynieen Asie Mineure, bourg dont le nom est modifié après sa mort, par son fils Constantin, en Hélénopolis3. D’après l’évêque et historien Eusèbe de Césarée, elle aurait eu environ 80 ans lors de son retour de Palestine vers l’année 327 et donc serait probablement née entre 248 et 2504. D’origine très modeste, d’après saint Ambroise elle est stabularia5, ce qui peut se traduire comme « servante d’auberge » mais peut s’interpréter aussi comme une prostituée qui recrutait ses clients dans les étables (stabula) près des auberges 6.
On ne sait avec certitude où elle rencontre Constance Chlore, mais c’est peut-être en Asie Mineure lorsque Constance, officier de l’empereur Aurélien, participe à la campagne contre la reine Zénobie (271-273). Certaines sources la mentionnent comme son épouse, d’autres comme sa concubine, ce dernier statut étant plus probable étant donnée leur différence de condition sociale7. Avoir une mère honorable, mariée à Constance Chlore entre dans le cadre de la reconstruction propagandiste de son fils Constantin après son accession au pouvoir pour légitimer son titre et pour qu’il ne puisse être contesté par ses demi-frères3. Elle donna naissance à Constantin vers 272 à Naissus, en Mésie (Niš, Serbie), cité militaire sur le Danube. À l’époque de l’établissement de la Tétrarchie, en 293, Constance Chlore, devenu César, a probablement déjà épousé Théodora, fille de l’Auguste Maximien8. Hélène ne se marie – ou ne se remarie – pas, et vit alors dans l’ombre, cette période de sa vie étant inconnue.
Après l’avènement de Constantin en 306, Hélène retrouve une vie publique. La tradition incertaine9 la fait séjourner à la cour impériale à Trèves (Constantin en fait sa capitale jusqu’en 316). Elle vit à partir de 312 principalement à Rome (dans le complexe résidentiel du Palazzo Sessoriano(it)) où elle se convertit au christianisme comme son fils, peut-être avant lui et joue un rôle important de propagandiste de la foi nouvelle pour mieux asseoir l’Empire chrétien, encore fragile10. À l’automne 324, Constantin fait proclamer « augusta » (impératrice) sa mère Hélène que Constance Chlore avait répudiée, ce qui montre son influence grandissante à la cour et au sein de la dynastie constantinienne11.
Connue traditionnellement pour avoir organisé la première restauration des lieux saints chrétiens de Jérusalem, c’est en réalité son fils, l’empereur Constantin qui ordonne cette restauration12. Elle se rend en Terre sainte vers 326-328, voyage que présente Eusèbe comme un pèlerinage mais qui relève certainement plus de raisons politiques en sa qualité d’augusta, par exemple expliquer la politique de christianisation de son fils13. Elle y fonde l’Église du Pater Nosteret de la Basilique de la Nativité14, et découvre à Jérusalem, selon la tradition légendaire15, les saintes reliques de la Passion du Christ, donnant une impulsion importante aux pèlerinages en Terre sainte, et à l’aménagement des lieux.
La découverte légendaire la plus importante d’Hélène est l’Inventionde la Vraie Croix, sur le site du Saint-Sépulcre où l’empereur Hadrienavait fait construire un temple à Vénus qu’Hélène fait abattre. Elle meurt vers 330 avec son fils à ses côtés16. Constantin fait transformer sa résidence, le palais de Sessorium, en une église, la basilique Sainte-Croix-de-Jérusalem17.
Postérité
Canonisée, elle est considérée comme sainte par les églises catholique et orthodoxe, sa fête est fixée au 18 août pour les catholiques et au 21 mai pour les orthodoxes, qui fêtent le même jour Hélène et Constantin (« Fête des très Grands Souverains Constantin et Hélène, égaux aux apôtres »).
La ville d’Elne, ancienne Illiberis, tire son nom de l’impératrice Hélène. Constantin a en effet renommé au iiie siècle la ville en Castrum Helenae, devenu Helna, puis Elna et enfin Elne en français.
À l’instar des empereurs chrétiens se proclamant comme « nouveau Constantin », plusieurs reines et impératrices (Pulchérie, Eudocie) sont présentées comme une « nouvelle Hélène »18.
Ses reliques
Selon la tradition légendaire, le corps de sainte Hélène est ramené à Rome et est placé dans un sarcophage en porphyre rouge dans un mausolée de Torpignattara(it), un quartier de Rome. En réalité, le commerce des reliques durant le haut Moyen Âge est si lucratif que les corps des grands saints sont démembrés et partagés pour un culte privé (reliques dans des oratoires, des petits reliquaires portatifs)) ou public (reliques insignes dans des sanctuaires qui favorisent les pèlerinages). Les reliques d’Hélène et de Constantin ont subi le même sort et rien ne permet d’affirmer que le mausolée d’Hélène(en) en contient une19.
Vers 840, un moine nommé Theutgise dérobe à Torpignattara les restes d’Hélène qu’il rapporte à l’abbaye bénédictine d’Hautviller dans le diocèse de Reims. Les reliques sont placées dans une châsse derrière le maître-autel de l’église et favorisent opportunément les pèlerinages, permettant probablement à l’abbaye de « sortir de difficultés financières, de réaffirmer le pouvoir d’un évêque ou de défendre le bien-fondé d’une réforme20 ». En 868, l’archevêque de Reims charge le moine Hincmar de Reims (v. 830 – 889) de composer une vie d’Hélène (Vitae Helenae). Altmann (Altmannus) écrit également à son sujet un récit de translation et un recueil de miracles, manipulant les textes biographiques précédents pour élaborer une hagiographie. C’est lui qui compose un récit inventant l’authenticité des reliques21 et l’origine aristocratique de Trèves d’Hélène22. L’abbaye honore depuis la sainte, principalement au jour anniversaire de sa mort, le 18 août, ainsi qu’aux fêtes de la Sainte Croix qui voient la célébration d’un office solennel suivi d’une procession.
À la Révolution, le dernier procureur de l’abbaye, dom Jean-Baptiste Grossard sauve les reliques en les transmettant en novembre 1819 à l’ordre des Chevaliers du Saint-Sépulcre. Les reliques sont translatées dans l’église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles par cet ordre. Sur la réclamation de son curé et de ses paroissiens, l’église d’Hautvillers peut récupérer, grâce à la compréhension du clergé de Saint-Leu, une partie des reliques de sainte Hélène qu’elle accueille avec ferveur le 17 août 182723.
L’incertitude sur la tombe d’Hélène, (Rome, Constantinople), différentes traditions sur les translations et le partage de ses reliques font que d’autres villes revendiquent détenir les restes de la sainte : Trèves, Rome, Venise24.
La chapelle du château de Genech aurait abrité la tête de sainte Hélène jusqu’à la Révolution, des traditions concurrentes la font reposer dans la cathédrale de Trèves ou la basilique Santa Maria in Aracoeli, cette dernière revendiquant posséder les principales reliques de la sainte depuis 114022.
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
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Reliquaire contenant le chef de sainte Hélène dans la crypte de la cathédrale de Trèves
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Le sarcophage de sainte Hélène, musées du Vatican
Iconographie
Hélène est représentée déjà âgée, en costume d’impératrice, tenant une croix ou les clous de la Crucifixion. Elle est parfois associée à son fils Constantin. On la représente aussi tenant à la main une maquette d’église.
- Retablexie siècle – Chapelle Sainte-Hélène – Cathédrale Sainte-Marie et Saint-Julien de Cuenca.
- Peinture de Simon Marmion – xve siècle, musée du Louvre, Paris,
- Cima da Conegliano : Sainte Hélène, (v.1495), National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- Miguel Jimenez : Sainte Hélène et Héraclius rapportent la Vraie Croix à Jérusalem, (v.1485-1487), musée de Saragosse.
- Véronèse: La Vision de sainte Hélène, (v.1560-1565), National Gallery, Londres.
Protectrice
- Dans la tradition catholique, Hélène est la sainte patronne des teinturiers, des marchands de clous et d’aiguilles.
- C’est la sainte patronne des archéologues chez les Grecs orthodoxes.
- Les deux villes anglaises Abingdon-on-Thames et Colchester ont lui comme sainte patronne.
Notes et références
- (de) R. Klein, « Helena II (Kaiserin) », Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, vol. 14, , p. 355-375
- Cette tradition incertaine explique que des légendes médiévales placent son lieu de naissance à Yorck, Colchester, Trèves, Édesse.
- (en) Jan Willem Drijvers, Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and her Finding of the True Cross, , p. 11
- Eusèbe de Césarée, Vie de Constantin, 3.46.1
- Ambroise de Milan, Oratio de Obitu Theodosii, 42
- (en) Jean Pierre Callu, Culture profane et critique des sources de l’antiquité tardive, , p. 543
- (en) Jan Willem Drijvers, Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and her Finding of the True Cross, , p. 17-19
- (en) Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, Harvard University Press, , p. 125-126
- (de) Heinz Heinen, Frühchristliches Trier: von den Anfängen bis zur Völkerwanderung, Paulinus, , p. 84-117
- (en) David Stone Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395, Routledge, , p. 351
- (en) Jan Willem Drijvers, Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and her Finding of the True Cross, , p. 41
- Eusèbe de Césarée, Vie de Constantin, 3.46.2-46
- (en) K.G. Holum, « Hadrian and St. Helena: Imperial Travel and the Origins of Christian Holy Land Pilgrimage », dans R. Ousterhout (éd.), The Blessings of Pilgrimage, Urbana, 1990, p. 66–81
- Eusèbe de Césarée, Vie de Constantin, 3.43
- (en) E. D. Hunt, « Constantine and Jerusalem », The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 48, no 03, , p. 415 (DOI 10.1017/S0022046900014858)
- Eusèbe de Césarée, Vie de Constantin, 3.46-47
- (en) Sible de Blaauw, « Jerusalem in Rome and the Cult of the Cross », in Pratum Romanum. Richard Krautheimer zum 100. Geburtstag, R.L. Colella, M.J. Gill, L.A. Jenkens et al., Wiesbaden, 1997, p. 55-73
- (en) Jan Willem Drijvers, « Helena Augusta: Exemplary Christian Empress », Studia Patristica, vol. 24, , p. 85-90
- (en) Mark Johnson, « Where were Constantius I and Helena Buried ? », Latomus, vol. 51, , p. 145-150
- Michèle Gaillard, « Les Reliques. Objets, cultes, symboles », Médiévales, vol. 20, no 40, , p. 168-169
- Selon Altmannus, à Hautvillers on a d’abord douté qu’un moine si simple, si chétif, puisse s’emparer d’un pareil trésor, du corps d’une véritable impératrice. Les moines ont effectué plusieurs expertises, ils ont notamment fait une analyse historique pour s’assurer que sainte Hélène fut bien à Rome. Ensuite on a envoyé une commission compétente à Rome pour constater la disparition des reliques. Enfin, on a fait subir à Teutgis l’épreuve de l’ordalie. En présence de l’évêque de Reims, le célèbre Hincmar, du roi Charles le Chauve et de sa cour, Teutgis est passé par l’eau bouillante, croyant fermement que sainte Hélène le délivrerait : il resta sain et sauf. À la prière d’Hinomar, archevêque de Reims, le pape voulut bien régulariser le transfert
- (en) Jan Willem Drijvers, Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and her Finding of the True Cross, , p. 75
- Jean-Pierre de Gennes, Les chevaliers du Saint-Sépulcre de Jérusalem, Mémoire & documents, , p. 326
- (en) Gilles Constable, « Troyes, Constantinople, and the relics of St. Helen in the thirteenth century », in: Constable, Religious Life and ThoughtPt. XIV, 1979, p. 1035-1042
Voir aussi
Sources et bibliographie
- J. Maurice, Sainte Hélène, 1930.
- H. H. Lauer, Kaiserin Helena, Leben und Legende, 1967.
- Jacques de Voragine, la Légende Dorée, chapitre 64
- Edgarda Ferri, Imperatrix, Elena, Costantino e la Croce, Mondadori, 2010.
- A. M. Rouillon (Ord.Praem.), Sainte Hélène, Paris, 1908.
- J. W. Drijvers, Helena Augusta. The Mother of Constantine the Great and the Legend of her Finding of the True Cross, Leyde, Brill, 1991.
- Hélène Yvert-Jalu, L’impératrice sainte Hélène : À la croisée de l’Orient et de l’Occident, Paris, éditions Pierre Téqui, , 270 p.(ISBN 9782740318003)
Helena | |
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Empress of the Roman Empire
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin) |
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Seated statue of Helena in Musei Capitolini, Rome
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Augusta | |
Reign | 325 – 330 (5 years) |
Born | c. 246/50 Drepanum, Bithynia and Pontus |
Died | c. 327/30 (aged 80) Rome, Tuscania et Umbria |
Burial | Mausoleum of Helena |
Spouse | Constantius Chlorus |
Issue | Constantine the Great |
Dynasty | Constantinian |
Religion | Nicene Christianity |
Saint Helena of Constantinople
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin) |
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Icon of Saint Constantine the Great and his mother Saint Helena of Constantinople
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Empress, Mother of Saint Constantine and Equal to the Apostles | |
Venerated in | |
Canonized | Pre-Congregation[a] |
Major shrine | The shrine to Saint Helena in St. Peter’s Basilica |
Feast | 18 August (Roman Catholic Church); 21 May (Orthodox, Anglican, and most Lutheran Churches); 19 May (some Lutheran Churches); 9 Pashons(Coptic Orthodox Church) |
Attributes | Cross |
Roman imperial dynasties | |||
Constantinian dynasty | |||
Chronology | |||
Constantine I as Caesar | 307–311 | ||
-with Maximinus II as Caesar | 307–311 | ||
-with Galerius and Severus as Augusti | 307–308 | ||
-with Galerius and Licinius as Augusti | 308–311 | ||
-with Maxentius as usurper in Rome (and Asia Minor 311–312) | 308–312 | ||
Constantine I as Caesar (self proclaimed Augustus) | 311–312 | ||
-with Maximinus II and Liciniusas Augusti of East and West | 311–312 | ||
Constantine I as Augustus of the West | 312–324 | ||
Licinius as Augustus of the East | 312–324 | ||
-with Constantine II, Crispusand Licinianus as Caesares | 317–324 | ||
Constantine I as sole Emperor | 324–337 | ||
Constantine II as Augustus of Gaul, Britannia and Hispania | 337–340 | ||
Constans as Augustus of Italy and Africa (and Gaul, Britannia and Hispania 340–350) | 337–350 | ||
Constantius II as Augustus of Asia and Egypt | 337–350 | ||
Constantius II as sole Emperor | 350–361 | ||
Succession | |||
Preceded by Tetrarchy |
Followed by Jovian and Valentinian dynasty |
Helena, or Saint Helena (Greek: Ἁγία Ἑλένη, Hagía Helénē, Latin: Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta; c. 250 – c. 330), was an Empress of the Roman Empire, and mother of EmperorConstantine the Great. Born in Drepana, Bithynia in Asia Minor, she became the consort of the future Roman EmperorConstantius Chlorus (reigned 293–306) and the mother of the future Emperor Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337). She ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity and of the world due to her major 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. Pious beliefs also associate her to the foundation of the Vatican Gardens.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church revere her as a Saint on the 21th May): in the same day they rever as a Saint her son Costantine I the Great, with the title of Equal-to-the-Apostles. Instead, the Roman Catholic Church, revers a saint only Helena Empress on 18th August). The Lutheran Churchcommemorates her.
Family life
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 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 her birthplace.[1] The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around his new capital in Constantinople, and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to mark her birthplace.[2] There was also a Helenopolis in Palestine [3] and a Helenopolis in Lydia.[4] These cities, and the province of Helenopontus in the Diocese of Pontus, were probably both named after Constantine’s mother.[1]
The bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesareastates that she was about 80 on her return from Palestine.[5] Since that journey has been dated to 326–28, Helena was probably born in 248 or 250. Little is known of her early life.[6] Fourth-century sources, following Eutropius‘ « Breviarium, » record that she came from a low background. Saint Ambrose was the first to call her a stabularia, a term translated as « stable-maid » or « inn-keeper ». He makes this fact a virtue, calling Helena a bona stabularia, a « good stable-maid ».[7] Other sources, especially those written after Constantine’s proclamation as emperor, gloss over or ignore her background.[6]
It is unknown where she first met Constantius.[8]The historian Timothy Barnes has suggested that Constantius, while serving under Emperor Aurelian, could have met her while stationed in Asia Minor for the campaign against Zenobia. It is said that upon meeting they were wearing identical silver bracelets; Constantius saw her as his soulmate sent by God. Barnes calls attention to an epitaph at Nicomedia of one of Aurelian’s protectors, which could indicate the emperor’s presence in the Bithynian region soon after 270.[9]The precise legal nature of the relationship between Helena and Constantius is also unknown. The sources are equivocal on the point, sometimes calling Helena Constantius‘ « wife », and sometimes, following the dismissive propaganda of Constantine’s rival Maxentius,[10] calling her his « concubine ».[8]Jerome, perhaps confused by the vague terminology of his own sources, manages to do both.[11]
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Some scholars, such as the historian Jan Drijvers, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in a common-law marriage, a cohabitation recognized in fact but not in law.[12]Others, like Timothy Barnes, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in an official marriage, on the grounds that the sources claiming an official marriage are more reliable.[13]
Helena gave birth to the future emperor Constantine I on 27 February of an uncertain year soon after 270[14] (probably around 272).[15] At the time, she was in Naissus (Niš, Serbia).[16] In order to obtain a wife more consonant with his rising status, Constantius divorced Helena some time before 289, when he married Theodora, Maximian’s daughter under his command.[17] (The narrative sources date the marriage to 293, but the Latin panegyric of 289 refers to the couple as already married).[18] Helena and her son were dispatched to the court of Diocletian at Nicomedia, where Constantine grew to be a member of the inner circle. Helena never remarried and lived for a time in obscurity, though close to her only son, who had a deep regard and affection for her.
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Constantine was proclaimed Augustus of the Roman Empire in 306 by Constantius’ troops after the latter had died, and following his elevation his mother was brought back to the public life in 312, returning to the imperial court. She appears in the Eagle Cameo portraying Constantine’s family, probably commemorating the birth of Constantine’s son Constantine II in the summer of 316.[b] She received the title of Augusta in 325 and died around 330, with her son at her side. She was buried in the Mausoleum of Helena, outside Rome on the Via Labicana. Her sarcophagus is on display in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum, although the connection is often questioned. Next to her is the sarcophagus of her granddaughter Saint Constantina (Saint Constance). Her skull is displayed in the Cathedral of Trier, in Germany.
Sainthood
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Helena is considered by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern and Latin Catholicchurches, as well as by the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches, as a saint, famed for her piety. She is sometimes known as Helen of Constantinople to distinguish her from others with similar names.
Her feast day as a saint of the Orthodox Christian Church is celebrated with her son on 21 May, the « Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helena, Equal to the Apostles ».[19] Likewise, Anglican churches, and some Lutheran churches, keep the Eastern date. Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church falls on 18 August. Her feast day in the Coptic Orthodox Church is on 9 Pashons.
Eusebius records the details of her pilgrimage to Palestine and other eastern provinces (though not her discovery of the True Cross). She is the patron saint of new discoveries.
Her discovery of the Cross along with Constantine is dramatised in the Santacruzan, a ritual pageant in the Philippines. Held in May (when Roodmaswas once celebrated), the procession also bears elements of the month’s Marian devotions.
Letter From Constantine to Macarius of Jerusalem
« Such is our Saviour’s grace, that no power of language seems adequate to describe the wondrous circumstance to which I am about to refer. For, that the monument (the cross) of his (Christ) most holy Passion, so long ago buried beneath the ground, should have remained unknown for so long a series of years, until its reappearance to his servants now set free through the removal of him who was the common enemy of all, is a fact which truly surpasses all admiration. I have no greater care than how I may best adorn with a splendid structure that sacred spot, which, under Divine direction, I have disencumbered as it were of the heavy weight of foul idol worship;(Roman temple of Venus) a spot which has been accounted holy from the beginning in God’s judgment, but which now appears holier still, since it has brought to light a clear assurance of our Saviour’s passion. »[20]
« There was a temple of Venus on the spot. This the queen (Helena) had destroyed. »[21]
Relic discoveries
Constantine appointed his mother Helena as Augusta Imperatrix, and gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury in order to locate the relics of Judeo-Christian tradition. In 326-28 Helena undertook a trip to the Holy Places in Palestine. According to Eusebius of Caesarea she was responsible for the construction or beautification of two churches, the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, and the Church of Eleona on the Mount of Olives, sites of Christ’s birth and ascension, respectively. Local founding legend attributes to Helena’s orders the construction of a church in Egypt to identify the Burning Bush of Sinai. The chapel at Saint Catherine’s Monastery—often referred to as the Chapel of Saint Helen—is dated to the year AD 330.
Jerusalem was still being rebuilt following the destruction caused by Titus in AD 70. Emperor Hadrian had built during the 130s a temple over the site of Jesus‘s tomb near Calvary, and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina. Accounts differ concerning whether the temple was dedicated to Venus or Jupiter.[22] According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and, according to the legend that arose at the end of the 4th century, chose a site to begin excavating, which led to the recovery of three different crosses. The legend is recounted in Ambrose, On the Death of Theodosius (died 395) and at length in Rufinus‘ chapters appended to his translation into Latin of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, the main body of which does not mention the event.[c] Then, Rufinus relates, the empress refused to be swayed by anything short of solid proof and performed a test. Possibly through Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem, she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered,[d] and Helena declared the cross with which the woman had been touched to be the True Cross. On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; churches were also built on other sites detected by Helena. Sozomen and Theodoretclaim that Helena also found the nails of the crucifixion. To use their miraculous power to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed in Constantine’s helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse.
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace’s private chapel, where they can be still seen today. Her palace was later converted into the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries.
Tradition says that the site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with earth brought from Golgotha by Helena[23][e] to symbolically unite the blood of Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians, who died in the persecutions of Nero.[23]
According to one tradition, Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier.
According to Byzantine tradition, Helena is responsible for the large population of cats in Cyprus. Local tradition holds that she imported hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine in the fourth century AD to rid a monastery of snakes. The monastery is today known as « St. Nicholas of the Cats » (Greek Άγιος Νικόλαος των Γατών) and is located near Limassol.[24]
Several relics purportedly discovered by Saint Helena are now in Cyprus, where she spent some time. Among them are items believed to be part of Jesus Christ’s tunic, pieces of the holy cross, and pieces of the rope with which Jesus was tied on the Cross. The rope, considered to be the only relic of its kind, has been held at the Stavrovouni Monastery, which was also founded by Saint Helena.
Depictions in British folklore
Giacobbe Giusti, Hélène (mère de Constantin)
In Great Britain, later legend, mentioned by Henry of Huntingdon but made popular by Geoffrey of Monmouth, claimed that Helena was a daughter of the King of Britain, Cole of Colchester, who allied with Constantius to avoid more war between the Britons and Rome.[f] Geoffrey further states that she was brought up in the manner of a queen, as she had no brothers to inherit the throne of Britain. The source for this may have been Sozomen’s Historia Ecclesiastica, which however does not claim Helena was British but only that her son Constantine picked up his Christianity there.[25]Constantine was with his father when he died in York, but neither had spent much time in Britain.
The statement made by English chroniclers of the Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the similarly named Welsh princess Saint Elen (alleged to have married Magnus Maximus and to have borne a son named Constantine) or from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine’s marriage with Fausta. The description of Constantine honoring Britain oriendo (lit. « from the outset », « from the beginning ») may have been taken as an allusion to his birth (« from his beginning ») although it was actually discussing the beginning of his reign.[26]
At least twenty-five holy wells currently exist in the United Kingdom dedicated to a Saint Helen. She is also the patron saint of Abingdon and Colchester. St Helen’s Chapel in Colchester was believed to have been founded by Helena herself, and since the 15th century, the town’s coat of arms has shown a representation of the True Cross and three crowned nails in her honour.[27]Colchester Town Hall has a Victorian statue of the saint on top of its 50-metre-high (160 ft) tower.[28]The arms of Nottingham are almost identical because of the city’s connection with Cole, her supposed father.[29]
Depictions in fiction
In medieval legend and chivalric romance, Helena appears as a persecuted heroine, in the vein of such women as Emaré and Constance; separated from her husband, she lives a quiet life, supporting herself on her embroidery, until such time as her son’s charm and grace wins her husband’s attention and so the revelation of their identities.[30]
Helena is the protagonist of Evelyn Waugh‘s novel Helena. She is also the main character of Priestess of Avalon (2000), a fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson. She is given the name Eilan and depicted as a trained priestess of Avalon.
Helena is also the protagonist of Louis de Wohl‘s novel The Living Wood, 1947, in which she is again the daughter of King Coel of Colchester.
Notes
- Jump up^ Her canonization pre-dates the practice of formal canonization by the Holy See and by the relevant Orthodox Churches. « August 18 in German History ». TGermanCulture.com.ua. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
Her designation as a saint precedes the practice of canonization by the Pope.
- Jump up^ The cameo was incorporated in the rich binding of the Ada Gospels; the year 316 is argued in Stephenson 2010:126f.
- Jump up^ Noted in Stephenson 2010:253f, who observes « None of this is true » noting Rufinus’ source in a lost work of Gelasius of Caesarea.
- Jump up^ There are actually several different accounts: Catholic Encyclopedia: Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix: « Following an inspiration from on high, Macarius caused the three crosses to be carried, one after the other, to the bedside of a worthy woman who was at the point of death. The touch of the other two was of no avail; but on touching that upon which Christ had died the woman got suddenly well again. From a letter of St. Paulinus to Severus inserted in the Breviary of Paris it would appear that St. Helena herself had sought by means of a miracle to discover which was the True Cross and that she caused a man already dead and buried to be carried to the spot, whereupon, by contact with the third cross, he came to life.
From the 1955 Roman Catholic Marian Missal: St. Helen, the first Christian Empress, went to Jerusalem to try to find the True Cross. She found it in 320 on September 14. In the eighth century, the feast of the Finding was transferred to May 3rd and on Sept. 14 was celebrated the « Exaltation of the Cross, » the commemoration of a victory over the Persians by Heraclius, as a result of which the relic was returned to Jerusalem.
From yet another tradition, related by St. Ambrose following Rufinus, it would seem that the titulus, or inscription, had remained fastened to the Cross. »; see also Socrates’ Church History at CCEL.org: Book I, Chapter XVII: The Emperor’s Mother Helena having come to Jerusalem, searches for and finds the Cross of Christ, and builds a Church. - Jump up^ Patron saint of archaeologists
- Jump up^ The purely legendary British connection is traced by A. Harbus, Helen of Britain in Medieval Legend, 2002.
References
Citations
- ^ Jump up to:a b Harbus, 12.
- Jump up^ Mango, 143–58, cited in Harbus, 13.
- Jump up^ Günter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century, 2000, p. 9 full text
- Jump up^ Hunt, 49, cited in Harbus, 12.
- Jump up^ Eusebius, Vita Constantini 3.46.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Harbus, 13.
- Jump up^ Ambrose, De obitu Theodosii 42; Harbus, 13.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Lieu and Montserrat, 49.
- Jump up^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 2776, cited in Barnes, « New Empire, » 36.
- Jump up^ Paul Stephenson, Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor, 2010:126f.:130.
- Jump up^ Hieronymus, Chronica, s.a. 292, p. 226, 4 and s.a. 306, p. 228, 23/4, cited in Lieu and Montserrat, 49.
- Jump up^ Drijvers, Helena Augusta, 17–19.
- Jump up^ Barnes, New Empire, 36.
- Jump up^ Barnes, CE, 3, 39–42; Elliott, Christianity of Constantine, 17; Odahl, 15; Pohlsander, « Constantine I »; Southern, 169, 341.
- Jump up^ Barnes, CE, 3; Barnes, New Empire, 39–42; Elliott, « Constantine’s Conversion, » 425–6; Elliott, « Eusebian Frauds, » 163; Elliott, Christianity of Constantine, 17; Jones, 13–14; Lenski, « Reign of Constantine » (CC), 59; Odahl, 16; Pohlsander, Emperor Constantine, 14; Rodgers, 238; Wright, 495, 507.
- Jump up^ Barnes, CE, 3.
- Jump up^ Barnes, CE, 8–9.
- Jump up^ Origo 1; Victor, Caes. 39.24f; Eutropius, Brev. 9.22.1; Epitome 39.2; Pan. Lat. 10(2).11.4, cited in Barnes, CE, 288 n.55.
- Jump up^ « May 21: Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles ». Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- Jump up^http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.vi.iii.xxx.html
- Jump up^http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.iii.iv.viii.html
- Jump up^ Stephenson 2010:252.
- ^ Jump up to:a b « MO Plants: Vatican Gardens« . MoPlant. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- Jump up^ Dubin, Marc (2009). The Rough Guide To Cyprus. Rough Guide. pp. 135–136.
- Jump up^ « Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories ». Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- Jump up^ « CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Helena ».
- Jump up^ « Colchester In The Early Fifteenth Century ». Dur.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- Jump up^ « Colchester Town Hall:: OS grid TL9925 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! ». Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- Jump up^ « Nottinghamshire history > Articles > Articles form the Transactions of the Thoroton Society > An itinerary of Nottingham: St Mary’s churchyard ». Nottshistory.org.uk. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- Jump up^ Laura A. Hibbard, Medieval Romance in England p29 New York Burt Franklin,1963
Sources
- Barnes, Timothy D. Constantine and Eusebius(CE in citations). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981. ISBN978-0-674-16531-1
- Barnes, Timothy D. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine (NE in citations). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN0-7837-2221-4
- Drijvers, Jan Willem. Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and her Finding of the True Cross. Leiden & New York: Brill Publishers, 1992.
- Drijvers, Jan Willem. « Evelyn Waugh, Helena and the True Cross. » Classics Ireland 7 (2000).
- Elliott, T. G. « Constantine’s Conversion: Do We Really Need It? » Phoenix 41 (1987): 420–438.
- Elliott, T. G. « Eusebian Frauds in the « Vita Constantini ». » Phoenix 45 (1991): 162–171.
- Elliott, T. G. The Christianity of Constantine the Great . Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 1996. ISBN0-940866-59-5
- Harbus, Antonia. Helena of Britain in Medieval Legend. Rochester, NY: D.S. Brewer, 2002.
- Jones, A.H.M.Constantine and the Conversion of Europe. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1978 [1948].
- Hunt, E.D. Holy Land Pilgrimage in the Later Roman Empire: A.D. 312–460. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.
- Lenski, Noel. « The Reign of Constantine. » In The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, edited by Noel Lenski, 59–90. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hardcover ISBN0-521-81838-9 Paperback ISBN0-521-52157-2
- Lieu, Samuel N. C. and Dominic Montserrat. From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views. New York: Routledge, 1996.
- Mango, Cyril. « The Empress Helena, Helenopolis, Pylae. » Travaux et Mémoires 12 (1994): 143–58.
- Odahl, Charles Matson. Constantine and the Christian Empire. New York: Routledge, 2004.
- Pohlsander, Hans. The Emperor Constantine. London & New York: Routledge, 2004. Hardcover ISBN0-415-31937-4 Paperback ISBN0-415-31938-2
- Rodgers, Barbara Saylor. « The Metamorphosis of Constantine. » The Classical Quarterly 39 (1989): 233–246.
- Wright, David H. « The True Face of Constantine the Great. » Dumbarton Oaks Papers 41 (1987): 493–507
Further reading
- Bietenholz, Peter G. (1994). Historia and fabula: myths and legends in historical thought from antiquity to the modern age. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-10063-6.
- Burckhardt, Jacob (1949). The Age of Constantine the Great. Moses Hadas, trans. New York: Pantheon Books.
- Grant, Michael (1994). Constantine the Great: the man and his times. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-19520-8.
- Pohlsander, Hans A. (1995). Helena: empress and saint. Chicago: Ares Publishers. ISBN 0-89005-562-9.
Helena of Constantinople. |
Helena (empress). |
- St. Helena at Catholic Online
- Kirsch, Johann Peter (1913). « St. Helena« . Catholic Encyclopedia.
- Delehaye, Hippolyte (1911). « Helena, St« . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
- De Imperatoribus Romanis: Helena Augustus (248/249-328/329 A.D.)
- Eternal Word Television Network: Saint Helena Widow C. 330
- The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America: St. Helen, Mother of Emperor Constantine, Equal of the Apostles
- s9.com: Helena
- Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church: The Lives of Sts. Constantine & Helen
- A Treasury of Martyrs and Saints: Saint Helen, and Emperor Constantine the Great
- Saint Eleanor Catholic Church (Ruidoso, NM) & Saint Jude Catholic Mission (San Patricio, NM): St Helena
- Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai: Saint Helen and the Holy Monastery of Sinai
- Saint Helena at the Christian Iconographyweb site
- Of the Invention of the Holy Cross from Caxton’s translation of the Golden Legend
聖ヘレナ
聖ヘレナ(エレナ)皇后 | |
---|---|
証聖者 | |
崇敬する教派 | カトリック教会、正教会 |
記念日 | 8月18日 |
聖ヘレナ(Helena、246年/250年 – 330年8月18日)は、古代ローマ帝国の皇后、コンスタンティヌス1世の母。キリスト教会の聖人。
目次
[非表示]
概略
生まれた場所に諸説あり、メソポタミアのカパル・パカルともエデッサともビテュニアともいわれる。身分は低く、セルビアのナイッススにあった旅館、または酒場で働いていたところを捕虜としてコンスタンティウス・クロルスの手に陥る。コンスタンティウスの妾(正妻ともいう)となり、274年にはコンスタンティヌスを生む。293年にコンスタンティウスがマクシミアヌス帝の娘フラウィア・マクシミアナ・テオドラと結婚するために政略的に離婚させられるが、306年にコンスタンティウス1世が死にヘレナの息子が副帝に任命されたことにより彼女の皇后としての地位が追認された。313年頃にキリスト教に改宗。その後は私財を投じて巡礼・慈善・教会建立の仕事をしてキリスト教のためにつくした。彼女が死んだ後にビテュニアのドレパヌムという街はヘレノポリスと名づけられた。
伝説・逸話
- 320年頃、ゴルゴタに巡礼し、キリストが磔になった十字架を発見した、とされる。伝説によればヘレナは息子のコンスタンティヌスに依頼されてこの地を訪れ、9月14日に探し出したという。このとき同じ場所で聖釘(キリストに打ち付けた釘)も見つかった[1]。聖釘と十字架の破片はモンツァ(イタリア)の博物館が所蔵している[2]。この十字架をめぐるヘレナの伝説は4世紀末にヨーロッパから起こった[3]。
- イエスの脇腹を刺した槍を発見[4]。
- イエス生誕に来訪し救世主として礼拝したという3人の博士(王)の遺骸を発見しコンスタンティノポリスに運び、ミラノ司教であった聖エウストルギウスに懇願されてこれらを贈与した[5]。
- 聖母マリアがイエスを産み落とす時に使った飼い葉桶のまぐさをローマに持ち帰った[6]。
- ヘレナがキリスト教に改宗したきっかけは、聖シルウェステルが異教徒との争論の際に示した奇跡のためであった[7]。
- ヘレナは自分がそのために離婚させられたテオドラの孫(ダルマティウスとユリウス・コンスタンティウスの息子たち)を憎み、彼女の存命中は宮廷から遠ざけた[8]。
- ヘレナはイギリス王の娘であったという伝説は、ジェフリー・オブ・モンマスによって広まる。