Helena, mother of Constantine I

Flavia Julia
Helena (/ˈhɛlənə/; Greek: Ἑλένη, Helénē; Helena
AD c. 246/248 – c. 330), or Saint Helena, was Augusta
the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the
Great. She was born outside of the noble
classes,[1] a Greek, possibly in the Greek city
of Drepana, Bithynia in Asia Minor.

Helena ranks as an important figure in the history

of Christianity and of the world due to her
influence on her son. In her final years, she made
a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem,
during which ancient tradition claims that she
discovered the True Cross. The Eastern Orthodox
Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Catholic
Church, and the Anglican Communion revere her
as a saint; the Lutheran Church commemorates
her.

Contents
Early life Seated statue of Helena in Musei
Marriage to Emperor Constantius Capitolini, Rome

After Constantine's ascension to the throne Roman empress

Pilgrimage and relic discoveries Born c. 246/48 AD

The True Cross and the Church of the Holy Drepanum, Bithynia, Asia
Sepulchre Minor
Cyprus
Died c. 330 AD
Rome Rome, Tuscania et Umbria
Death and burial Burial Mausoleum of Helena
Sainthood Spouse Constantius Chlorus
Relics Issue Constantine I
Later cultural traditions Names
In British folklore
Flavia Julia Helena
Filipino legend and tradition
Medieval legend and fiction Dynasty Constantinian
Modern fiction Religion Nicene Christianity
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
External links

Early 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 Greek of Drepanum, in
the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor. Her son Constantine renamed the city
"Helenopolis" after her death around 330 AD, which supports the belief that the city was
indeed her birthplace.[2] The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has, however, argued that
Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around
Constantine's new capital in Constantinople, and was renamed simply to honor Helena,
not to necessarily mark her birthplace.[3] There was also a Helenopolis in
Palestine[4] and a Helenopolis in Lydia.[5]These cities, and the province
of Helenopontus in the Pontus, were probably all named after Constantine's mother.[2]

The bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesarea states that Helena was about 80 on her
return from Palestine.[6] Since that journey has been dated to 326–28 AD, she was
probably born around 246 to 248 AD. However, little is known of her early
life.[7] Fourth-century sources, following Eutropius' Breviarium, record that she came
from a humble background. Bishop Ambrose of Milan, writing in the late 4th century
was the first to call her a stabularia, a term translated as "stable-maid" or "inn-keeper".
He makes this comment a virtue, calling Helena a bona stabularia, a "good stable-
maid".[8] Other sources, especially those written after Constantine's proclamation as
emperor, gloss over or ignore her background.[7]

Both Geoffrey of Monmouth and Henry of Huntingdon promoted a popular tradition

that Helena was a British princess and the daughter of "Old King Cole". This led to the
later dedication of 135 churches in England to her, many in around the area
of Yorkshire,[9] and revived as a suggestion in the 20th century in the novels of Evelyn
Waugh.

Marriage to Emperor Constantius

It is unknown where she first met Constantius.[10] 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 AD.[11] 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,[12] calling her his "concubine".[10] Jerome,
perhaps confused by the vague terminology of his own sources, manages to do both.[13]

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.[14]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.[15]

Helena gave birth to the future emperor Constantine I on 27 February of an uncertain

year soon after 270 AD[16] (probably around 272 AD).[17] At the time, she was
in Naissus (Niš, Serbia).[18] In order to obtain a wife more consonant with his rising
status, Constantius divorced Helena some time before 289 AD, when he
married Theodora, Maximian's daughter under his command.[19] (The narrative sources
date the marriage to 293 AD, but the Latin panegyric of 289 AD refers to the couple as
already married).[20] 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.

After Constantine's ascension to the throne

Constantine was proclaimed Augustus of the Roman Empire in 306 AD by Constantius'
troops after the latter had died, and following his elevation his mother was brought back
to the public life in 312 AD, 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 AD.[a] She received the title
of Augusta in 325 AD. According to Eusebius, her conversion to Christianity followed
her son becoming emperor.

Pilgrimage and 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 the Christian tradition. In 326–28 AD
Helena undertook a trip to Palestine.[21] According
to Eusebius of Caesarea(260/265 AD – 339/340
AD), who records the details of her pilgrimage to
Palestine and other eastern provinces, 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 Helena finding the True Cross,
the year 330 AD. Italian manuscript, c. 825

The True Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Jerusalem was still being rebuilt following the
destruction caused by Titus in 70 AD.
Emperor Hadrian had built during the 130s AD a
temple to Venus over the supposed 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 Eusebius, "[t]here was a
temple of Venus on the spot. This the queen
(Helena) had destroyed."[23] 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 AD) and at length in Rufinus'
St Helena in the Nuremberg
chapters appended to his translation into Latin Chronicle, 1493
of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, the main body
of which does not mention the event.[b] 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,[c] 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.
Helena of Constantinople by Cima
The "Letter From Constantine to Macarius of da Conegliano, 1495 (National
Jerusalem", as presented in Eusebius' Life of Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.)
Constantine, states:

"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 of his [Christ's] 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 [the Roman temple]; 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."[24]
Sozomen and Theodoret claim 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. According to one
tradition, Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her
trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier.

Cyprus

Several relics purportedly discovered by 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
said to have been founded by Helena. According to Saint Helena with the Cross, Lucas
tradition, Helena is responsible for the large Cranach the Elder, 1525 (Cincinnati
population of cats in Cyprus. Local tradition holds Art Museum)
that she imported hundreds of cats from Egypt or
Palestine in the fourth century 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.[25]

Rome

Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 AD 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 Basilicaof the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained
by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for
centuries.

Death and burial

Helena died around 330 AD, 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 Constantina (Saint Constance).
 Helena's sarcophagus in
the Museo Pio-
Clementino, Vatican
Museums, Rome

Sainthood
Helena is considered by the Eastern Saint
Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern and Roman Helena of Constantinople
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, and is "Ilona" in
Hungarian, and "Liena" in Malta.

Her feast day as a saint of the Eastern Orthodox

Church is celebrated with her son on 21 May, the
"Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine
and Helena, Equal to the Apostles".[26] Her feast
day in the Roman Catholic Church falls on 18
August. Her feast day in the Coptic Orthodox
Church is on 9 Pashons. Anglican churches, and
some Lutheran churches, keep the 21 May date.

Her discovery of the Cross along with Constantine is Statue of Saint Helena in St. Peter's
dramatised in the Santacruzan, a ritual pageant in Basilica, Rome, Italy
the Philippines. Held in May (when Roodmas was
once celebrated), the procession also bears elements Empress, Mother of Saint
of the month's Marian devotions. Helena is Constantine, Equal to the
the patron saintof new discoveries. Apostles, Protector of the Holy
Places
In the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo
Venerated in Roman Catholicism
Churches, the feast of Meskel, which
commemorates her discovery of the cross, is Eastern Catholicism
celebrated on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian Eastern Orthodoxy
calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or on
Oriental Orthodoxy
28 September in leap years). The holiday is usually
celebrated with the lighting of a large bonfire, Anglican Communion
or Demera, based on the belief that she had a Lutheran Church
revelation in a dream. She was told that she should
make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her Canonized Pre-Congregation[d]
where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the Major shrine The shrine to Saint
people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge Helena in St. Peter's
pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was
Basilica
lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and
returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where Feast 18 August (Catholic
the Cross had been buried.[27] Church)
21 May (Orthodox,
Helena is remembered in the Church of
Anglican, and most
England with a commemoration on 2 May[28].
Lutheran Churches)
19 May (some
Relics Lutheran Churches)

Her alleged skull is displayed in the Cathedral of 9 Pashons (Coptic

Trier, in Germany. Portions of her relics are found Orthodox Church)
at the basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome,
the Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles in Paris, and at
the Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers.

The church of Sant'Elena in Venice claims to have

the complete body of the saint enshrined under the
main altar. In 1517, the English priest, Richard
Torkington, having seen the relics during a visit to
Venice described them as follows: "She lith in a ffayr
place of religion, of white monks, ye may see her
face perfythly, her body ys covered with a cloth of
whith sylke ... Also there lyes upon her breast a lytell
crosse made of the holy crosse ..."[29] In an
ecumenical gesture, these relics visited
the Orthodox Church of Greece and were displayed
in the church of Agia Varvara (Saint Barbara)
in Athens from 14 May to 15 June, 2017.[30]
Orthodox Bulgarian icon of Saint
Constantine and Saint Helena
 Helena's skull relic in the
crypt of Trier Cathedral

Baroque statue of "Santa Liena" in

the 2011 village festa procession of
Birkirkara, Malta

So-called "cup of Saint

Helena" in the Treasury of
Trier Cathedral

Later cultural traditions

In British folklore

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.[e] 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.[31] 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.[32]

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.[33] Colchester Town Hall has a Victorian statue of
the saint on top of its 50-metre-high (160 ft) tower.[34] The arms of Nottingham are
almost identical because of the city's connection with Cole, her supposed father.[35]

Filipino legend and tradition

Flores de Mayo honors her and her son Constantine for finding the True Cross with a
parade with floral and fluvial themed parade showcasing her, Constantine and other
people who followed her journey to find the True Cross. Filipinos named the
parade sagala. [No reference cited]

Medieval legend and 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.[36]

Modern fiction

Helena is the protagonist of Evelyn Waugh's 1950 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
a. The cameo was incorporated in the rich binding of the Ada Gospels; the year 316
AD is argued in Stephenson 2010:126f.
b. Noted in Stephenson 2010:253f, who observes "None of this is true" noting Rufinus'
source in a lost work of Gelasius of Caesarea.
c. 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 AD 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.
d. 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 16 October2016. "Her designation as a saint
precedes the practice of canonization by the Pope."
e. The purely legendary British connection is traced by A. Harbus, Helen of Britain in
Medieval Legend, 2002.

References

Citations
1. Anonymus Valesianus 1.2, "Origo Constantini Imperatoris".
2. Harbus, 12.
3. Mango, 143–58, cited in Harbus, 13.
4. Günter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth
century, 2000, p. 9 (full text).
5. Hunt, 49, cited in Harbus, 12.
6. Eusebius, Vita Constantini 3.46.
7. Harbus, 13.
8. Ambrose, De obitu Theodosii 42; Harbus, 13.
9. John Munns, Cross and Culture in Anglo-Norman England: Theology, Imagery,
Devotion, p245
10. Lieu and Montserrat, 49.
11. Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 2776, cited in Barnes, "New Empire," 36.
12. Paul Stephenson, Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor, 2010:126f.:130.
13. Hieronymus, Chronica, s.a. 292, p. 226, 4 and s.a. 306, p. 228, 23/4, cited in Lieu
and Montserrat, 49.
14. Drijvers, Helena Augusta, 17–19.
15. Barnes, New Empire, 36.
16. Barnes, CE, 3, 39–42; Elliott, Christianity of Constantine, 17; Odahl, 15; Pohlsander,
"Constantine I"; Southern, 169, 341.
17. 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.
18. Barnes, CE, 3.
19. Barnes, CE, 8–9.
20. 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.
21. Norwich, John Julius (1996). Byzantium (First American ed.). New York. pp. 68–
69. ISBN 0394537785. OCLC 18164817.
22. Stephenson 2010:252.
23. Eusebius, Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine.
From Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers[1]
24. Eusebius, Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine.
From Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers [2]
25. Dubin, Marc (2009). The Rough Guide To Cyprus. Rough Guide. pp. 135–136.
26. "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.
27. "Walta Information Center". Meskel Being Celebrated Across The Nation. Archived
from the original on 19 March 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2005.
28. "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
29. http://mark-patton.blogspot.com/2015/08/ancient-skulls-and-medieval.html
30. https://dailyhellas.com/2017/05/15/the-holy-relics-of-saint-helen-came-to-greece-for-
the-first-time-since-1211/
31. "Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories". Christian Classics Ethereal
Library. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
32. "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Helena".
33. "Colchester In The Early Fifteenth Century". Dur.ac.uk. Archived from the original on
29 December 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
34. "Colchester Town Hall:: OS grid TL9925 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland –
photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
35. "Nottinghamshire history > Articles > Articles form the Transactions of the Thoroton
Society > An itinerary of Nottingham: St Mary's churchyard". Nottshistory.org.uk. 1
June 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
36. Laura A. Hibbard, Medieval Romance in England p. 29 New York: Burt Franklin,
1963

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Barnes, Timothy D. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine (NE in citations).
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-7837-2221-4
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–
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Elliott, T. G. The Christianity of Constantine the Great . Scranton, PA: University of
Scranton Press, 1996. ISBN 0-940866-59-5
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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:
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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
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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.
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Papers41 (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.

External links
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 AD)
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 Iconography web site
Of the Invention of the Holy Cross from Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend