Saint Emperor Constantine, who received the name Equal to the Apostles from the Church, and in world history was called the Great, was the son of Caesar Constantius Chlorus, who ruled the countries of Gaul and Britain.
The huge Roman Empire was at that time divided into Western and Eastern, headed by two independent emperors who had co-rulers, one of whom in the Western half was the father of Emperor Constantine.
Holy Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, was a Christian. The future ruler of the entire Roman Empire — Constantine — was brought up in respect for the Christian religion. His father did not persecute Christians in the countries he ruled, while throughout the rest of the Roman Empire Christians were subjected to severe persecution by the emperors Dioclitian (284—305) and his co-ruler Maximian Galerius (305—311) — in the East and Emperor Maximian Herculus (284—305) — in the West.
After the death of Constantius Chlorus, his son Constantine was proclaimed emperor of Gaul and Britain by troops in 306. The first thing the new emperor did was to proclaim in the countries under his control the freedom to profess the Christian faith. The fanatic of paganism Maximian Galerius in the East and the cruel tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Emperor Constantine and plotted to depose and kill him, but Constantine warned them and in a number of wars, with the help of God, defeated all his opponents. He prayed to God to give him a sign that would encourage his army to fight bravely, and the Lord showed him in heaven a shining sign of the Cross with the inscription «Sim conquer».
Having become the sovereign ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan on religious tolerance in 313, and in 323, when he reigned as the only emperor over the entire Roman Empire, he extended the Edict of Milan to the entire Eastern part of the empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians were able to openly profess their faith in Christ for the first time.
Having abandoned paganism, the emperor did not leave ancient Rome, which was the center of the pagan state, as the capital of the empire, but moved his capital to the east, where the city of Constantinople was founded. Constantine was deeply convinced that only the Christian religion could unite the vast heterogeneous Roman Empire. He supported the Church in every possible way, returned Christian confessors from exile, built churches, and took care of the clergy.
Deeply honoring the Cross of the Lord, the emperor wanted to find the most Life-Giving Cross, on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose, he sent his mother —, Holy Queen Helena, to Jerusalem, giving her great powers and material resources. Together with Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem, Saint Helena began the search, and by the Providence of God the Life-Giving Cross was miraculously found in 326.
While in Palestine, the holy queen did much in favor of the Church. She ordered to free all places associated with the earthly life of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother from all traces of paganism, and ordered the erection of Christian churches in these memorable places. Above the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, Emperor Constantine himself ordered the construction of a magnificent temple for the glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Saint Helena gave the Life-Giving Cross to the Patriarch for safekeeping, and took part of the Cross with her to be presented to the emperor. Having given generous alms in Jerusalem and arranged meals for the poor, during which she herself served, Holy Queen Helena returned to Constantinople, where she soon died in 327.
For her great services to the Church and works in gaining the Life-Giving Cross, Queen Helena is called Equal-to-the-Apostles.
The peaceful existence of the Christian Church was disrupted by the sentiments and strife that arose within the Church from the heresies that appeared. Even at the beginning of the activity of Emperor Constantine, a heresy of Donatists and Novatians arose in the West, demanding a repetition of baptism over Christians who had fallen away during persecution. This heresy, rejected by two local councils, was finally condemned by the Council of Milan in 316.
One can be surprised at the deep church consciousness and feeling of St. Constantine, who highlighted the definition of «Unique», which he heard in the debates of the Council, and proposed to introduce this definition into the Creed.
After the Council of Nicaea, Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine continued to be active in favor of the Church. At the end of his life, he received holy baptism, preparing for it with his whole life. Saint Constantine died on Pentecost in 337, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a tomb he had prepared in advance.