Equal-to-the-Apostles
Equal-to-the-Apostles Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen
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The joint feast of Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great, who ended the persecution of Christians and convened the First Ecumenical Council, and his mother Empress Helena, who found the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.
The joint commemoration of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great (272–337) and his mother, Empress Helena (c. 250 – c. 330). Constantine ended the persecution of Christians with the Edict of Milan in 313, convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325, which condemned the Arian heresy, and moved the capital of the empire to Constantinople. In her old age, Helena made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she found the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and built churches at her own expense at sites of Christ's earthly life. See the separate cards equal_apostle_constantine and equal_apostle_helen for detailed biographies.