Άγιοι Κωνσταντίνος & Ελένη- Saint Constantine & Helen

Flavius Valerius Constantine, known as Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine, was the sole emperor of the Western Roman Empire. During the years of his empire, he signed the Decree of Mediolanon which established the principle of religious freedom, and in an attempt to consolidate internal peace he transferred the capital of his empire from Rome to Constantinople and he convened the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a crucial event for the future of the Christian Church. He converted to Christianity shortly before his death. His mother was Saint Helen, who devoted her life to charitable projects and the dissemination of the Christian teaching. By her own initiative, she built the magnificent Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of Resurrection on the hill of Calvary. The discovery of the Holy Cross is attributed to her. She is almost always depicted with her son Saint Constantine and the Holy Cross between them.