Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great, Equal-to-the-Apostles

Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine was born in 272. In 312, before the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge, a sign of the cross appeared to him in the sky with the words "By this conquer," after which he won the battle and came to believe in Christ. In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan, ending the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 325 he convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, which condemned the Arian heresy and affirmed the Nicene Creed. In 330 he moved the capital of the empire to the city of Byzantium, renamed Constantinople in his honor. He labored greatly to establish Christianity as the state religion and to build churches, including in the Holy Land. He was baptized shortly before his death in 337. For his apostolic labors in establishing the Christian faith, he is venerated together with his mother, Empress Helena, who found the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.