Bright light of Greece, seeker of Sanctified Relics of the Crucified Lord, servant to Christ

Bright light of Greece, mother of Roman Christianity, Delver of Sanctified Ruins, Keeper of the Relics of the Crucified Lord, faithful to Christ

The Roman Emperor in 250 CE was Emperor Gaius Decius, and his empire was in the middle of a massive crisis. The Plague of Cyprian erupted in the beginning of his reign. The pathogen is unknown, but symptoms were severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever, swollen throat, deafness or blindness, and some paralysis of lower legs or feet, all suggest viral hemorrhagic fever Smallpox or Ebola. The plague possibly began quickly in Ethiopia around Easter before moving north into Egypt or alternatively, from the Gothic incursions along the Danube.

The disease spread to Alexandria, Carthage, Rome, Greece, Syria and possibly to the Danube frontier. Ancient sources claim up to 5,000 deaths per day in Rome at the height. Alexandria may have lost half its population. All of the deaths resulted in manpower shortages, weaker defenses against invaders, agriculture collapse and economic issue.

The crippling death toll and the resulting agriculture collapse exposed the Roman empire’s vulnerability and created political unrest during an already unstable era. Many blamed Christians. During this test of faith, Cyprian pushed a religious dynamic, using this as a test of faith. To the contrary, Emperor Decius pushed sacrifices to Roman gods.

Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (Cyprian) was the bishop of Carthage during the plague, a major early Christian theologian, and an influential martyr of the 3rd century. He is remembered for his leadership during persecution, his writings on church unity, and his eyewitness account of the Plague of Cyprian, which unfortunately took his name. When Emperor Decius demanded empire‑wide sacrifices to Roman gods, Cyprian refused. Cyprian temporarily went into hiding to continue guiding his following. Cyprian’s treatise De Mortalitate is a source for the recording of the pandemic. His framing of the plague as a spiritual trial strengthened Christian identity during crisis. Cyprian’s work, “On the Unity of the Catholic Church”, wrote that “You cannot have God as Father if you do not have the Church as Mother,” and “The Church must remain unified under its bishops”. He was executed by beheading on 14 September 258 for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods.

The Christian “church” in 250 C.E. was regionally called “katholikē ekklēsia” and was not yet the Catholic church we know today, so the above Cyprian work is a later summarization.

This was the setting in 250 C.E., and it would prove to be the birth year for the rise of the “katholikē ekklēsia“.(note that this is an approximation year but remotely accurate basis births, events and coronations and death.

Decius shortly would become the first Roman emperor in history to die in battle against a foreign enemy, killed in June 251 CE during the Battle of Abrittus in Moesia (modern Bulgaria). This was a catastrophic defeat and a psychological shock to Rome. Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus led Roman forces against a large Gothic army under King Cniva. The Goths lured the Romans into marshes, where mobility severly hampered the Roman troops. Herennius was killed first, then shortly after, Decius himself was killed, his body was never recovered. This marked one of the most humiliating defeats in Roman imperial history and added to the crisis of the era.

The Goths were a major Germanic people from the Black Sea region who fought Rome, migrated across Europe, and founded kingdoms that helped shape the early Middle Ages. Living north of the Danube in what is now Ukraine, Gothic religion was a Germanic pagan belief system centered on war gods, thunder gods, ancestor spirits, and rituals. This would not last long as Christianity would shape the Goths in 4th century Moldova, and Romania.

Decius’s death (251 CE) symbolized the collapse of Roman power during the 3rd‑century crisis, while Cyprian’s death (258 CE) symbolized the resilience and growing identity of the Christian Church. Their deaths form a striking contrast: an emperor who edicted sacrifices to Roman god falls in defeat; a bishop dies bravely, advancing Christianity, and pagans were on their way to Christianity within the next century.

A Greek woman from coastal Drepanum and a son of a retired Roman veteran of Illyrian were born in this turbulent time and would change history. This is her story.

Ἑλένη was born in the chaotic era around 250 C.E. Her home was Drepanum, a coastal town which lay on the Gulf of Nicomedia (the modern Gulf of Izmit) considered Greek but under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was not a major city of the region, but it was near the imperial capital of Nicomedia. The city was within a sheltered coastal curve used by Roman supply ships and was on a major east to west corridor leading to Ancyra through Nicaea. Here there was a harbor with warehouses, a market, inns, stables, taverns, a Roman road station, a small forum and local city villas and country farms. This type of town was a supply for Roman soldiers and a depot for courier horse exchange.

Ancyra was a station on the Royal Road which linked Persia to Anatolia and was ancient. Under Roman rule, the city served as a provincial capital and contained Roman baths, tombs and official buildings. And here again was the parallel Christian significance. Ancyra was visited by St. Paul and after 273 CE, held synods which shaped beginnings of Christian structure such as clerical conduct, marriage and penance.

Drepanum was a likely location for a Roman officer to pass through. The closeness of the Roman road meant military traffic and the need for inns, stables or small businesses. In these worked a working class of local women.

Drepanum within the Roman Empire

There is no written history of Helene’s youth. Ancient writers Lactantius, Eusebius, the Panegyrics as well as the Constantinian court writers shared little knowledge or rumors. Only Eusebius tells anything and that was she was Constantine’s mother, she was pious, generous, and devout, she traveled to the Holy Land and found the True Cross (in Life of Constantine) and Constantine honored her with the title Augusta.

Helena was likely of mixed Greek and Anatolian heritage. It is unlikely to have been Italian, Syrian or Egyptian. In modern terms she would be from Turkey (northwestern Anatolia) and in Roman times, the province of Bithynia et Pontus. She was a Roman subject from birth as Bithynia had been a Roman province since 74 BCE,

Helena was culturally Greek. Her name is interpreted as “bright light.” Bithynia in the 3rd century was Greek speaking, full of Greek civic institutions and integrated into Greek cultural. So as a Greek woman, she would typically have had dark brown, almond shaped eyes with strong eyebrows. Her nose would be straight, prominent but attractively balanced. She would have full but attractive lips, slightly downturned mouth set above a soft oval jawline. Her skin would be light to medium olive and dark, thick, wavey hair likely worn in braids or a knot. She would be around 5′-2″ tall wearing a simple tunic and an overdress of soft blue or green coloring. Leather sandals would be footwear of choice.

Though no ancient source records Helena’s early occupation, later tradition remembers her “serving for a while in Diocletian’s court at Nicomedia.” The memory fits the economic reality of the region: young women from coastal towns often found seasonal work in the capital’s service economy. Helena may have moved between Drepanum and Nicomedia, until one day, on the coastal road or in a harbor-side lodging house, her path crossed that of a rising officer named Constantius.

Over a thousand miles east, in the Balkans, in Illyricum of the Danubian provinces, Constantius Chlorus was born during the same period of turmoil, around 250 CE.

Illyricum was a huge Roman region covering modern Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, and western Serbia.

Constantius was not from the old Roman aristocracy. His background was Illyrian or Danubian provincial stock. This region (modern Balkans) produced emperors such as Aurelian, Claudius Gothicus, Probus, Diocletian, and Galerius. He came from a respectable but not elite family. Perhaps his grandfather had been a veteran of Severan or Maximinus Thrax campaigns because he lived in a region where military service was the primary path to advancement. His father was probably a minor municipal official, a career soldier or one who rose to centurion or staff officer or a retired veteran. Sources places Constantius’ birth between 250 and 255 CE.

Coins made with his bust in a late stage of his career and life show Constantius with a square jaw, deeply set eyes, a straight and prominent nose, a wide forehead, a short military style haircut and a stern expression. Written descriptions of him were that he was tall, robust, of dignified bearing, and mild in temperament. He was surely physically hardened, muscular, and accustomed to long campaigns. He was nicknamed Chlorus which means “Pale.” This could either mean light skin or a calm demeanor. Constantius’ smooth upward movement through Roman military ranks could mean he had prior connections within the military class. His family were not aristocratic nor wielded political power. His family probably were not wealthy but were solidly respectable and most likely career soldiers.

It is appropriate to summarize the class system of the Roman Empire. The details and ramifications are too difficult to attempt from my view, but generalization can be beneficial for this story.

In society: Senatorial Class> old aristocracy and wealthy landowners> equestrian Class (Equites) and business class, administrators and officers> local elites and financers> Plebeians who were freeborn commoners, farmers, artisans and merchants> freedmen, former enslaved people> slaves

The Imperial Government: Emperor (Augustus) > Caesars who were one step below emperors > Praetorian Prefects who managed taxation, justice and logistics > Provincial Governors over provinces > municipal officials

Military Structure: Emperor > Magistri Militum who were senior generals of the fighting army > Legates (Legati) who were legion commanders > Centurions who were the backbone, probably up from the ranks and commanding up to 100 soldiers > legionaries (citizen soldiers) and auxiliaries (non-citizens soldiers)

In the whole of his career, Constantius Chlorus was born into the equestrian class and steadily rose in the military to become Caesar and then Augustus.

Constantius entered the Roman army early, possibly at 16 for training and he didn’t begin as a common soldier. As a son or grandson of soldiers in the equestrian class, he likely entered as an officer candidate. He would have had to been physically developed at that age. Most assuredly he began in the Danubian Frontier where young soldier officers from the Balkans were constantly needed. It was a violent assignment and the experience likely formed and hardened him quickly.

The Danubian military system where he was likely assigned was the network of Roman legions, forts, roads, command structures and watchtowers along the Danube River. It formed a continuous defensive line known as the Danubian Limes and ran through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.

The river Danube and the military system was a barrier against the Goths, Sarmatians and Carpi enemies of Rome. The provinces along the Danube (Noricum, Pannonia, Moesia, Dacia) housed legions with barracks, granaries, civilian settlements, calvary, archers and light infantry. There was continued warfare here and Constantius surely gained respect of his soldiers.

A shift in Roman defensive priorities begin after the year 267 C.E. A massive number of Goths and other steppe peoples crossed the Danube and ravaged Macedonia, Greece and the Aegean. In the ancient Roman city Naissus (modern Serbia) in the next year, the Roman Army ravaged the Goths while suffering only light Roman casualties. The calvary commander was Aurelian who would soon become emperor. Constantius most likely was in this fight because his future was boosted by Aurelian.

After that victory, Constantius was found much further east in Bithynia, specifically the Nicomdia to Drepanum coastal road used by Roman troops for administrative and military travel. The Roman roads in Bithynia were Roman engineered, multi‑layered roads with packed subbases overlayed with compacted gravel layers, and stone surfacing, which was the Roman standard seen across the empire, especially because Bithynia was a high‑priority administrative and military region.

Constantius’ entourage was quite large, consisting of at least 6 to 12 elite bodyguards and scouts, a couple of administrative aides, and 8 to 20 cavalrymen. Over distance, soldiers needed to stop for supplies, couriers to change horses and officers to lodge. In Drepanum a stop would offer a small harbor with a market district, inns, stables and taverns near the harbor road. Perhaps there would be a Roman road lodging cluster and a small forum inside rural villas and inland farms. This sizeable and noisy group traveling on hard surfaced Roman roads would arrive in Drepanum highly visable. A tarularius may ask for orders and a quartermaster may arrange for food, lodging, fresh horses or negotiate with inns or stables.

Helena or members of her family could have interacted with the group’s animal handlers, those responsible for the officer’s horses or the officer’s cook. Here she would have noticed the young commanding officer of nearly the same age.

Ancient stories suggest that Helene worked in a tavern with a stable and met Constantius via that location and he noticed that she had a similar bracelet. I am not buying any of that. Matching bracelets are unlikely by accident. He was military and she was a female of a different culture. Any bracelet he would wear would most likely be a thick armilla or military award and it would not match a woman’s civilian bracelet which would likely be a thin silver strip with a small mark. I think it is more likely that the couple met during a several days stop and she gifted him a similar bracelet to hers.

272 CE is the most widely accepted and historically secure birth year for their son, Constantine the Great. This would place the meeting time for the Helene and Constantius around 268 to 272 CE and most likely 270 CE. This would place Constantius between 18 and 22 years old, which would be too young for high command but perfect for officer rank. Helene remained in Bithynia while Constantius is active in the Balkans their relationship stabilizes and she may become pregnant late in the year. Early 272 CE she relocates to the Balkans, Naissus, to be near Constantius’s family and support network. In late 272 CE Constantine is born in Naissus.

During this time, 271-272 CE, Constantius was part of an elite protectores corps in Syria during Aurelian’s campaign against Zenobia and likely fought in the last phase of the Palmyrene War. This was 1500 miles east of Helene and Constantine in Naissus.

During the next seven years, 273–280 CE, Constantius served in the Balkans in garrison duty along the Danube frontier and this would allow him some home excursions to spend time with Helene and Constantine.

Helena’s life in Naissus was supported and socially protected. Constantius was from the Danubian military aristocracy which was well‑connected in the Roman province. Extended families lived in multi‑house compounds and was provided food and protection as well. Families of officers received regular pay, a grain allotment and housing allowances. While they were not formally married, it was recognized as a soldier’s partnership which was socially accepted. She would be comfortable and living in a garrison town with soldier’s wives and children which was likely ethnically mixed.

During the years 280 to 284 CE, Constantius almost certainly served as military tribune under Probus in the Danubian provinces. Then he was appointed Governor or Dalmatia. This meant he was now a provincial governor with both civil and military authority in a strategic province. Constantius’s governorship of Dalmatia places him in the same Danubian frontier region where he almost certainly served as military tribune under Probus. During these years he was probably seldom home.

In 288 CE he became Praetorian Prefect of Maximian and this was one of the highest offices in the empire.
He oversaw military operations in the West against the Franks and Gaul. The following year until 293 CE, he became Senior Officer in the Western Empire in support of Maximian’s campaigns in Gaul and Germany.

Then everything changed. He was made Caesar on 1 March 293.

Maximian, Western Augustus, formally appointed Constantius as his junior partner (Caesar) while in the east, Diocletian, Eastern Augustus, approved and orchestrated the overall plan of the empire. Constantius became Caesar of the Western Empire, ruling Gaul, Britain, and Spain. Diocletian simultaneously appointed Galerius as Caesar in the East

Constantius had great military competence and had served as military tribune, governor of Dalmatia, and Praetorian Prefect under Maximian. He had shown unwavering support for Maximian.

To become Caesar, he had to accept a political marriage to Theodora, Maximian’s stepdaughter. By marrying Theodora, Constantius became part of Maximian’s household which was a political insurance policy. Constantius had been living with Helena in a contubernium, a socially recognized but non‑elite union. To become Caesar, he had to sever that tie. Helena was displaced. He did not disown Helena but entered a politically mandated union. Constantine remained his acknowledged son.

By this time, Constantine was twenty-one and has been in Nicomedia serving and learning under Diocletian. When his father becomes Caesar, he is sent to Galerius’s court in the Balkans as this was expected of a Caesar’s son, and in reality, was a hostage situation to ensure Constantine’s loyalty. Over his adolescent years, he had grown up in a military environment and has learned his mother’s language, religion, values and social world. His father has visited but Helene was the influencer. For the first time Helene and Constantine are separated for long time periods but he remains emotionally loyal to her and visits when possible.

Helene lived close enough to maintain contact but not inside the court. She was the mother of Caesar’s son and was respected, but not part of the imperial household.

While in Nicomedia, from 285 to 293 CE and under Diocletian, he is educated in Latin and Greek, military theory, court politics and administrative training. Truthfully, Constantine is kept at court to ensure his father’s loyalty.

Constantine served under Galerius to continue to ensure his father’s loyalty. He begins fighting in the east and the Danubian frontier and gains a reputation for courage and personal intelligence.

Diocletian and Maximian abdicate in 305 and Constantius becomes Augustus of the West. Constantine realizes he may be blocked from succession, and he makes an escape from Galerius’s court and rides across the empire to join his father in Britain, which proves to be prophetic.

Constantius dies relatively young (probably 56) in York in 306.

The army immediately proclaims Constantine Augustus, however the Tetrarchic system refuses to recognize him fully, granting him only the title Caesar. Constantine builds a strong base in Britain, Gaul and the Rhine frontier. His popularity within the army grows with his defeats over the Franks and Alemanni. Now he introduces mild pro-Christian policies.

To shorten the story of Constantine, the primary focus is on the Battle of Milvian Bridge where Constantine and Maxentius fight it out to be the uncontested ruler of the West.

Lactantius, a North African tutor of Constantine’s son Crispus, was a key influence as he could speak the language of the imperial court while offering studies on the Roman vs. Christian empire. He often defended Christianity.

general depiction of Lactantius

Around 313-315 CE, a few years after the battle, he wrote an honest version of a special event which preceded the battle of Milvian Bridge. Simply, Constantine had a dream the night before the battle. He was instructed to mark the shields with the Chi-Rho, which was (☧), the first two letters of Christ. The Chi‑Rho combines the first two Greek letters of “Christ” which was Ρ (Rho) and X (Chi). They’re overlaid to form ☧ — a monogram that became Constantine’s battle standard.

After the Milvian Bridge vision and battle that he won, Constantine ordered this symbol placed on shields, banners, coins and public monuments. This was suddenly open acceptance and recognition of Christianity.

ΙΧΘΥΣ (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior), Alpha & Omega (Christ as eternal), Cross (crucifixion and resurrection), Dove (Holy Spirit) and Anchor (hope and salvation) were commonly widespread used.

typical Labrum, Constantine’s imperial standard with Laurel Crown, The Chi‑Rho, and Alpha and Omega (Α and Ω)

As sole ruler of the empire (324-337 CE) he founded Constantinople, continues to publicly support Christianity, reforms currency and the army, and most importantly, elevates Helene to Augusta. He dies in 337 CE and was baptized before death. Constantine did not make Christianity the official religion but favored Christians in court and administration, funded construction of churches and created a Christian friendly empire.

Constantine was baptized days before his death in May 337 CE, after falling seriously ill near Nicomedia and the bishop who baptized him was Eusebius of Nicomedia. Some ancient sources describe a traditional Eastern baptism, which in the 4th century involved clothing in a white baptismal garment, renunciation of Satan and confession of the Christian faith, triple immersion in water and anointing with oil. After baptism, Constantine no longer wore the purple clothing of imperial Rome but continued to wear the white baptismal robe until he died. In those days, many Christians delayed baptism until late in life because baptism was believed to wash away all prior sins.

As a point of information, making Christianity the official religion of Rome came under Theodosius I with the Edict of Thessalonica (380 CE).

When Constantine grants Helena the title Augusta in 325 CE it gives her access to the imperial treasury. She gains political authority, finances, freedom to travel, ability to commission churches and otherwise act on behalf of the Christian empire. Constantine was Augustus, the male emperor, and Helene was Augusta the female imperial patron. Their titles were complementary and not competitive.

Golgotha was part of a quarry ridge about 60 feet above the city gate just northwest of the Second Wall in Jerusalem and near the Damascus Road. Normally the Roman’s procedure after a crucifixion was to remove the body, take down the crossbeam (patibulum), leave the upright stake in the ground and reuse the wood. Everything was different on April 3, 22 CE. Luke 23:44–45, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.”

Soon after the son of God said, ““My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? –” Matthew 27:50–51: “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.” At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split…”

During this Passover there was a full moon meaning impossible for there to be a solar eclipse. This is why everything was different.

The cross should have been taken but something unusual happened, the Cross was buried or discarded near the site of execution as was believed by early Christians and these believers knew and remembered the location. Continully onward, Christ’s followers gather in Jerusalem secretly in homes, which was the earliest Christian community formations. The tomb and crucifixion sites are remembered. Christians were hunted. Sacred objects were hidden for protection.

In 70 CE, the Romans burned and leveled much of Jerusalem and Christian sites are buried under rubble. The church leadership scatters and thereby disrupts the continuity of Christian memory.

After 135 CE, Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina and covered Christian sites with Roman temples. Golgotha was buried under fill, and a platform was built over it. This temple platform was huge and covered the entire area now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. What all of this did was to bury the Christian holy sites and preserve the Cross, the tomb and Golgotha. When Helene arrived in 326 CE, the local Christians knew where to show where to dig.

In 326 CE, Helene and her selected entourage travel over 1400 miles from Rome to Jerusalem. The group would initially travel by roadway from Rome to the Port of Puteoli, a trip of about 3 days. The sailing from Pozzuoli across the Mediterranean to either the port of Caesarea or Joppa would have taken 15 to 30 days, depending on wind. From there to Jerusalem would be another 3 days.

I doubt Helene would have made the long trip and invested so much time and resources to search for relics in Jerusalem without advice of those who thought there would be a high probability of finding them and where to look. Such a person could have been Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem who oversaw the work in Jerusalem and was the primary advisor on the ground. Macarius was the bishop of Jerusalem and connected to Constantine’s court. Thereby the trip began in confidence. The Christians knew where Golgotha had been and where the tomb was located.

Helene as Augusta, would have traveled with a large group consisting of at least imperial guards, a logistics person and financial types. As with any elite Roman traveler, Helena would have had her trusted personal attendants, cooks and medical staff, and likely other Christian friends. On site in Jerusalem, she would have Christian informants to locate the correct site and the labor force to perform dismantling and digging required.

Hadrian had built a Temple of Venus directly over the Christian holy sites. Constantine ordered the temple demolished.
Helena had imperial authority to remove the pagan temple, bust up the platform and excavate the fill material. This was a long and massive undertaking. Underneath they found the rock of Golgotha, the tomb cut into the rock and the area where crosses were discarded. To dismantle the temple and excavate would have taken 6 to 12 months.

The horizontal cross‑arm of a Roman crucifixion cross was called the patibulum which was carried by the condemned and attached to the stipes or post. The excavators found three cross arms together in a cavity near the site of the tomb. They were lifted out and brought to Bishop Macarius. They were not separated as no one knew which one was Christ’s. A titulus (inscription) was not attached to any cross but there were nails and a titulus (the inscription board) nearby.

Rufinus of Aquileia (in 402 CE) wrote that a woman who was “at the point of death” was brought to the place where the crosses had been laid out. She touched the first cross and nothing happened. She touched the second cross and again nothing happened. She touched the third cross and was healed instantly. The miracle identified the True Cross. Macarius directed the test with Helene witnessing it. The woman was brought to the site by local Christians. The cistern or cavity filled with rubble and sealed by Hadrian’s construction had protected the beams from weather and they were intact.

A portion was taken by Helena to Rome where it was eventually housed in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. A portion remained in Jerusalem and was eventually enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A portion was sent to Constantine in Constantinople.

By the Middle Ages, the original beams no longer existed as intact crosses. Only small fragments survived with each of those sealed inside ornate reliquaries.

Helene was not done. She initiated construction of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Eleona on the Mount of Olives and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Helena died most likely in Rome in what is believed in 330 CE at the age of 80. She was buried in her mausoleum on the Via Labicana, just outside Rome. Her porphyry sarcophagus survives today, though it was relocated from its original location.

Helena was baptized sometime between 312 and 326 CE, almost certainly in Rome, as part of her conversion after Constantine’s rise to power.

Honorific Title, Saint Helena or Helena of Constantinople

Feast day August 18 (Roman Catholic Church)

Venerated by early Christians shortly after her death, celebrated for the discovery of the True Cross, and credited with founding of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

Does anyone think that her life was a random life, that the results were circumstantial?

What do you see from this story? Your understanding is correct to you. Mine is likely different. Who knows the correct answer?

(1) God unconditionally elects some to salvation and others to damnation. Human choice plays no role.

(2) God predestines the saved but does not predestine anyone to damnation.

(3) God foreknows who will freely choose salvation but does not predetermine it.

(4) God offers grace and humans freely respond or not. Salvation is a cooperation and not a one‑sided act

(5) Instrument of providence by being chosen for a task, guided by wisdom in key decisions, placed in the right moment, empowered to act courageously and energetically participate.

Helena occupied a nearly impossible rare intersection of personality, power, timing, imperial circumstance and finances. Only a microscopic fraction of people in the Roman and entire world could have done what she did and even fewer would have had the time and desire to do it.

Ancient writers Ambrose and Rufinus described Helena’s discovery of the Cross as guided by God, foreseen and fulfilled at the exact right moment in history. After all, here is what had to align: a modest Greek woman marries into imperial Rome, her son Constantine’s pre battle dream and aftermath of adopting Christianity, Constantine’s conversion, Helene becomes Augusta which gives her resources, the political climate of 326 CE, local Christian memory in Jerusalem, preservation of the site by the construction on Hadrian, the desire of Helene to do this, and lastly her age. She was 80 and few people in the era would not have lived long enough or had the energy to take on the monumental task.

This is the real story. Does her life and mission give you understanding of the mingle of predestination, free choice and providence? Does it make you want to understand the makeup and direction of your life?

You have seen my other blog posts. They are ancestry related, mostly of my ancestors, and history always. Why would I depart from this trend and write about a Saint born 1776 years ago? The following is my response, and I will attempt to avoid any embellishment and relay truth.

For 55 years I have been building my personal family tree which now contains 10,569 persons. Within the tree there are names of ancestors that have stood out from a historic or otherwise admiration viewpoint. I have saved these names on Family Tree Maker’s tree section entitled “bookmarked.” One that I bookmarked years ago was Saint Helena of the Cross. She was my 50th g-g-grandmother. She will have millions of descendants alive today, and perhaps you are one as well. She is one of a very small group of people whose generational lines were well documented.

In August of 2013, we were driving from Las Vegas to Padre Island, Texas via Arizona. Somewhere around Phoenix I began to feel pain in the lower right side of my stomach. When we finally concluded this was likely the appendix, we made the decision to go past Tucson to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Four hours later, Carol found a medical help center, and they directed us to a hospital in Las Cruces. First of all, this was a regional hospital and proved to be an excellent facility. The emergency room personal quickly determined the issue was the appendix via scan and called in a surgical team. By the time the surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurse arrived, the appendix was obviously unraveling, and morphine was my best friend. Before anesthesia, I requested the bed be tilted 45 degrees and my Nike synthetic shirt remain on my torso. Request granted.

I was in surgery for over 4.5 hours because of having to have all that junk cleaned out. The surgeon couldn’t have been a better draw; he was extremely skilled, had great help and worked diligently to get me cleaned up. The lengthy period under anesthesia affected all my body systems and I also had an infection that took close to a week to stop. I was in the hospital for ten days. I doubt very seriously that I would not have survived this anywhere else.

So, I went into surgery at 6:15 pm and when I came out of the anesthesia it was around midnight, and I immediately understood where I was. The bed was still tilted and my Nike shirt still on. After looking at my watch, I noticed there was no stand and tubes for vitals, there was only an IV in my left arm. I was in a narrow recovery room with a curtain on my left. I could see the hallway of the facility directly in front of me. I understood that someone would be coming to take me to a room. I didn’t panic, just waited. My breathing is naturally shallow, and I had my eyes mostly shut but could still see.

Then she appeared on the left side of my hospital bed, close to the curtain. I didn’t move but simply looked at her through the barely open slits in my eyes and lay as still as possible. She was of normal height, regular white skin with an attractive yet not beautiful face, not a narrow face but possibly cheek dimples. There were neither makeup nor jewelry. She had on a simple blue gown with pinkish patterns on it. The top collar button was fastened. I had an initial impression that she was from another century. The one thing I concentrated on was her hair. It wasn’t over an inch or two inches long on top and the hair on the sides was around the ear. It was the texture and the curl. The hair on the top front of her head was extremely thick strands, and they rose in a very tight, close spiral. I had never seen hair like this. Overall, her hair was a light brown with some gray, but the spirals were lighter and stood out.

She realized I was looking at her; she said two syllables which I didn’t understand and she strutted out of the room toward the hallway. At that location she bolted into a run to the right. That’s when I realized something was not right. The back of her right leg, calf and heal, raised up as a person that is running over 20 mph would do. This was on the first run movement. All improbable.

Throughout the week I asked about this person, but no one could explain. I thought about it for a long time. She was a solid looking person and not a hologram, not a ghost, not an angel, just a real person that wasn’t like any that I have seen. This memory goes into brain storage for years.

Last month, after 12.5 years from the appendix scare, I thought of the incident I witnessed in the recovery room. I thought about the person, and I thought I should Google search for someone with the type of hair she had.

Anatolian Greek the search revealed.

So, I wrote the story. I hope it helps someone; it helped me writing it.