Birthday of Constantine. When to celebrate and which saints are patrons? Church Orthodox holiday of June 3 June Saint Helena's Day
Every year on June 3, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Tsar Constantine and his mother Equal to the Apostles Helena.
During the time of persecution of Christians in Britain and Gaul, Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, son of Emperor Constance Chlorus, revived faith in Christ on his lands. Love and respect for this religion was instilled in the boy from childhood, since his mother was a Christian. In addition, the emperor-father himself did not persecute the adherents of Christianity, unlike their co-rulers, Deocletian and Maximian, who display particular cruelty in the persecution of people of this faith.
After the death of Constance, Constantine came to power. He immediately proclaimed the freedom of Christianity in his lands, and soon throughout the Roman Empire, delivering from persecution all who believe in Christ. The new emperor made a lot of efforts to get rid of the opponents of this religion. Queen Helen, with the advent of her son to the throne, did many good deeds to maintain and develop Christianity. At her behest, many churches were built in places where paganism flourished, and the same Life-giving cross was brought on which Jesus Christ was crucified, for which she was called Equal to the Apostles.
During his reign, with the support of his mother, Emperor Constantine managed for the first time in 300 years to give people the opportunity to freely remain faithful to Christianity.
Day of Saints Helena and Constantine 2019 - congratulations
We dedicate to the great saints
Light prayers today
We glorify Constantine,
Who was the savior of the people
I won with my faith
Pagans in their native land,
With beautiful mother Elena
He bestowed his mercy
To all Orthodox Christians!
Stand untouched for centuries
Great, glorious temples
With gold in the bells!
Saint Constantine we
We dedicate our prayers,
He saved us all from darkness
Chasing paganism away,
He is with his sweet mother,
Wonderful, kind Elena
Saved the peoples of these lands
From grief, death, pain, decay!
We will not forget the names
Beautiful, dear saints,
Let the bells ring
Let the prayers sound for them!
On the day of the fairest saints
Constantine and Elena
Let the candles be lit in honor of them,
Their deeds are priceless for us,
They, keeping in their hearts
Belief in the true God
Shown for others
Blessed road!
We will praise at this hour
Holy mother with a great son,
Let the prayers sound
In honor of Elena with Constantine!
Postcard for the Day of Saints Helena and Constantine 2019
Click on the repost to copy to social. network*** Equal to the apostles Tsar Constantine (337) and his mother, Queen Helena (327). ** Blessed Prince Constantine (Yaroslav) (1129) and his sons Mikhail and Theodore (XII), Murom miracle workers. Monk Cassian the Greek, Uglich wonderworker (1504). *** Icons of the Mother of God of Vladimir (a holiday established in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Mahmet-Girey in 1521).
Saint Cyril, Bishop of Rostov (1262). Monk Martyr Agapit Markushevsky (1584). Blessed Andrew Simbirsky (1841). Honored copies from the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: Vladimirskaya-Rostovskaya (XII), Pskov-Pecherskaya "Tenderness" (1524), Syrkovskaya (1548), Zaonikievskaya (1588), Krasnogorskaya or Chernogorskaya (1603), Oranskaya (1634), Florishchevskaya (XVII) ), Tupichevskaya-Rostovskaya.
Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and his mother Queen Helena
The Holy Emperor Constantine (306-337), who received the name Equal to the Apostles from the Church and was named Great in world history, was the son of Caesar Constantine 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 Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, was a Christian. The future ruler of the entire Roman Empire, Constantine, was brought up to respect the Christian religion. His father did not persecute Christians in the countries he ruled, while in the rest of the Roman Empire Christians were severely persecuted by the emperors Diocletian (284-305), his co-ruler Maximian Galerius (305-311) - in the East and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) - in the West.
After the death of Constantius Chlorus, his son Constantine in 306 was proclaimed emperor of Gaul and Britain by the troops. The first task of the new emperor was to proclaim the freedom to practice the Christian faith in the countries subject to him. The fanatic of paganism Maximian Galerius in the East and the cruel tyrant Maxentius in the West hated the 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 inspire his army to fight bravely, and the Lord showed him the shining sign of the Cross in heaven with the inscription "By this, conquer."
Having become the sovereign ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, Constantine issued the Edict of Tolerance in Milan in 313, and in 323, when he reigned as the only emperor over the entire Roman Empire, he extended the Milan Edict to the entire eastern part of the empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians for the first time were able to openly confess their faith in Christ.
Having abandoned paganism, the emperor did not leave the capital of the empire ancient Rome, former center pagan state, and moved its capital to the east, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople. Constantine was deeply convinced that only the Christian religion can 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 very Life-giving Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose, he sent his mother, the holy queen Helena, to Jerusalem, giving her great powers and material means. Together with Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem, Saint Helen embarked on a quest, and by the Providence of God the Life-Giving Cross was miraculously found in 326.
While in Palestine, the holy queen did a lot for the benefit of the Church. She ordered to vacate all places associated with earthly life The Lord and His Most Pure Mother, from all traces of paganism, commanded the erection of Christian churches in these memorable places. Above the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, the Emperor Constantine himself ordered the construction of a magnificent temple to the glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Saint Helena gave the Life-giving Cross to the Patriarch for safekeeping, but she took a part of the Cross with her to present to the emperor. After distributing generous alms in Jerusalem and arranging meals for the poor, during which she herself served, the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she soon died in 327.
For her great services to the Church and her labors to acquire the Life-giving Cross, Queen Helen is called Equal to the Apostles.
The peaceful existence of the Christian Church was disturbed by the moods that arose within the Church and discord from the emerging heresies. Even at the beginning of the activities of Emperor Constantine, the heresy of the Donatists and Novatians arose in the West, demanding a repetition of baptism over Christians who fell away during the 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 ecclesiastical consciousness and feeling of Saint Constantine, who singled out the definition of "Consubstantial", which he heard in the debates of the Council, and proposed to introduce this definition into the Creed.
After the Council of Nicea, Constantine, Equal to the Apostles, continued to actively work in favor of the Church. At the end of his life, he received holy baptism, preparing for it with his entire life. Saint Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in 337, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a tomb prepared by him in advance.
Equal to the Apostles Constantine
Holy Tsar Constantine is called Equal to the Apostles, because, like the apostles, he did a great deal for the Christian Church. Before him, the Christian faith was persecuted and Christians were persecuted and punished, and he made it dominant in the Roman Empire. His parents were Constantius Chlorus, who ruled the western regions of the Roman Empire in Spain, Gaul and Britain and respected Christians for their good qualities, and Helen. In 306, after the death of his father, Constantine ascended the throne and, like his father, did not persecute Christians. At the same time, Maxentius, an evil and selfish man, reigned in Rome. Under his rule, it was hard not only for Christians, but also for pagans, so the Romans turned to Constantine with a request to free them from the tyrant. Constantine went against Maxentius; and now, when he was approaching Rome, suddenly, in the middle of the day, he and his army saw a cross of stars in heaven with the inscription: "By this, conquer." The next night, the Lord appeared to Constantine in a vision and ordered to make a banner like a cross and depict the cross on the weapons, shields and helmets of soldiers. Constantine did so and defeated the enemy in spite of his strong army; fleeing, the tyrant drowned in the Tiber River. Then Constantine converted to Christianity, although he had not yet been baptized; he was baptized shortly before his death. In the eastern regions of the Roman Empire, Licinius reigned, who persecuted Christians. Constantine declared war on him and, having defeated him, became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, and from that time on, the Christian faith became dominant in the empire. The Christians were restored to their rights, their positions, advantages and estates, taken away by the persecutors. All those sentenced to imprisonment for disrespecting idols were released. Temples were erected everywhere, and idols' temples were destroyed. Constantine chose for himself a new capital instead of Rome, the former capital of paganism, a city near the Black Sea, Byzantium, and named it New Rome, Constantinople (read May 11). He decorated Constantinople with many holy churches and charitable houses. Constantine restored Jerusalem and erected here, on the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, a magnificent temple. During the reign of Constantine, the heresy of Arius and the schism of Meletius appeared. He convened the I Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, at which heresy and schism were condemned, and the first half of the Creed was drawn up. Constantine died in 337 at the age of 65: his body was buried in Constantinople in the Church of the Holy Apostles he created.
Tsarina Elena
St. Empress Helen was the henchman of her son Constantine in matters for the benefit of the Christian religion, and therefore she is called Equal to the Apostles. Upon the conversion of her son, she did not hesitate to convert to Christianity. In 326, already in her advanced years, she set off to travel to the Holy Land. There she destroyed the idols' temples built on the places consecrated by Christ, building Christian churches in their place, opened many relics of various saints, found the Holy Life-giving Cross of Christ and showed many different favors. Returning to her son, she brought with her a part of the tree of the Cross of the Lord and the holy nails of the crucifixion. Saint Helen died in 327. 80 years old. Particles of the relics of Sts. Constantine and Helena are kept on Mount Athos in the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Panteleimon Monastery and in Kiev, in the Lavra. The hand of St. Helena is kept in Rome in the Lateran Cathedral, and her relics are in the Church of Our Lady on the Capitol Hill.
Blessed Prince Constantine
St. Prince Constantine was the youngest son of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Yaroslavich and reigned in Murom. He himself begged from his father this city, which was among the Finns, who were rude and stubborn pagans, in order to introduce Christianity there. He arrived in Murom in 1096. His family, clergy, army and servants went with him. Approaching the city, the prince sent ahead of his son Mikhail to persuade the people of Murom to accept him without resistance; but the people of Murom killed Mikhail and began to prepare for battle. St. Constantine approached the city with an army. The people of Murom resigned themselves, agreed to accept the prince, but on condition - not to force them to accept the Christian faith. Constantine entered the city and immediately began apostolic activity: he built the Church of the Annunciation on the site of the burial of the body of his murdered son, Prince Michael, and then the church of Sts. Boris and Gleb. The clergy, at the behest of the prince, began to preach, and he himself often called the elders of the city to him and ardently urged them to accept the Christian faith. The most stubborn of the pagans once approached the prince's house in an armed crowd, but after praying with his retinue, he went out to the crowd with an icon of the Mother of God. The rebels were amazed and wanted to be baptized. The baptism was performed solemnly on the Oka River. The baptized prince gave gifts. Thus laboring for the spread and establishment of the Christian faith, St. Constantine died in 1129. His body was laid in the Annunciation Church, next to his sons, Michael and Theodore. At the grave of the holy princes miracles were performed, and their relics were incorruptible.
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, was written by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Holy Family ate. The icon was brought to Russia from Byzantium at the beginning of the 12th century, as a gift to Yuri Dolgoruky from Patriarch Luke Chrysoverkh of Constantinople. The icon was placed in nunnery Vyshgorod, not far from Kiev, the rumor about her miracles reached the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, who decided to transport the icon to the north. Passing Vladimir, the horses carrying miraculous icon, got up and could not move. Replacing the horses with new ones also didn't help. The prince interpreted this sign as the desire of the Mother of God to remain in Vladimir, where in two years the temple of the Assumption of the Virgin was built.
In 1395, when Tamerlane moved his hordes to Moscow, the holy icon was brought from Vladimir. For ten days they carried the icon in their arms to Moscow. The place where the icon was "met" by the Grand Duke, metropolitans and bishops is still called Sretenka, where the Sretensky Monastery was founded. Tamerlane suddenly turned his troops from under Yelets back, "fled, driven by the power of the Most Holy Virgin." The icon was never returned to Vladimir, leaving it in Moscow.
In 1451 the army of the Nogai Khan with Tsarevich Mazovsha approached Moscow. The Tatars set fire to the Moscow townships, but Moscow was never captured. During the fire, Saint Jonah performed religious processions along the walls of the city. Warriors and militias fought with the enemy until nightfall. The small army of the Grand Duke at this time was too far away to help the besieged. The chronicles tell that the next morning there were no enemies at the walls of Moscow. They heard an extraordinary noise, they thought it was coming grand Duke with a huge army and retreated. After the departure of the Tatars, the prince himself wept in front of the Vladimir icon.
The third intercession of the Mother of God for Russia was in 1480. Remember the "great standing on the Ugra", known from school history lessons: Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the horde and the regiments of Khan Akhmat were sent to Russia. The meeting with the Russian army took place near the Ugra River: the troops were standing on different banks and waiting for a pretext to attack. In the front ranks of the Russian troops held the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God. There were skirmishes, even small battles, but the troops did not move, in front of each other. The Russian army withdrew from the river, giving the Horde regiments an opportunity to begin the crossing. But the Horde regiments also retreated. The Russian soldiers stopped, and the Tatar soldiers continued to retreat and suddenly, rushed away without looking back.
Before this glorious icon, all the most important state acts of Russia were performed: the oath of allegiance to the Motherland, prayers before military campaigns, the election of the All-Russian Patriarchs.
The feast in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is held three times a year in gratitude for the threefold deliverance of our Fatherland from enemies with Her help: May 21, June 23 and August 26 (according to Art.).
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the iconographic type of Glykophilus (Sweet-killing), the Infant laid his cheek on the Mother's cheek. The icon conveys the communication between Mother and Child, full of tenderness. Mary foresees the suffering of the Son in His earthly journey. Icons of this type were called "Tenderness" in Russia (Eleusa in Greek). Distinctive feature of this image - the left leg of the Infant Jesus is bent in such a way that the sole of the foot is visible.
The icon was previously in the Assumption Cathedral on the left side of the royal gates of Riza on an icon made of pure gold with precious stones was estimated at about 200,000 gold rubles (confiscated by the Bolsheviks). For a long time, the icon was in the hall of ancient Russian art of the Tretyakov Gallery, now it is in the Nikon Church in the Pillars, behind the Tretyakov Gallery, where prayers are performed in front of it. On great patronal feasts, the shrine is transferred to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin to participate in the most solemn prayer services.
Today is an Orthodox church holiday:
Tomorrow is a holiday:
Holidays expected:
25.05.2019 -
26.05.2019 -
03 June 2014
June 3 - Day of Remembrance of Saints Equal to the Apostles Tsar Constantine and his mother, Queen Helena
Today we are celebrating a holiday in honor of the saints Equal to the Apostles Tsar Constantine and Tsarina Helena. Emperor Constantine the Great ruled the Roman Empire in the first half of the 4th century. For outstanding services to the Holy Church, to the Christian faith, this tsar, together with his mother, Queen Helena, was canonized and even called Equal to the Apostles.
Tsar Constantine was the son of one of the rulers of the then Roman Empire, which at that time was divided into four regions. His father ruled Britain. And so, after the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor. At that time, the holy Tsar Constantine had many enemies, and he was the only ruler in the then Roman Empire who patronized the Christian faith. The other rulers of the then Roman Empire naturally went to war. Military operations took place, and before the decisive battle, Tsar Constantine contemplated in the sky the vision of the Cross and the inscription: "By this, conquer." That is, by the Power of the Cross, God will grant him victory.
For 300 years the Christian Church has experienced the most severe persecution. And so the Providence of God leads Tsar Constantine to the Christian faith, then arranges so that Tsar Constantine becomes the ruler of the entire Roman Empire, both Western and Eastern. In 313 he published the Edict of Tolerance in Milan, where he stopped the persecution of Christians, and the Christian faith received freedom. This was the providential meaning and miracle of the sight of the Cross in heaven, and the subsequent victory of Tsar Constantine, and his reign over the Roman Empire.
And we also know that in the year 325 Orthodox Church Heresy was tormented by Arius, who called Christ a creation, denied the consubstantial Son of God to God the Father. And so, in the year 325, in order to establish the Orthodox faith, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, at which our Symbol of Faith was drawn up to the words "... and into the Holy Spirit." Thus, we see that the Church did not in vain glorify the emperor Constantine as an equal to the apostles, thereby emphasizing that the works of this king and his mother are similar to the Apostles.
And the mother of the holy tsar Constantine, when her son reigned over the Roman Empire, went to the Holy Land, to Palestine, and there she cleansed the holy places associated with the life of the Son of God from pagan temples. Together with her son, Tsar Constantine, she built a magnificent Church of the Resurrection of the Lord on the site of the death and resurrection of Christ. Holy Queen Helen found the Life-giving Cross near Calvary, the one on which the Son of God was crucified. And so, for her faith, for the upbringing of such a great son - Tsar Constantine, for such a zeal for the holy places in the Holy Land, in Palestine, Queen Helena was also numbered by the church as an equal to the Apostles.
We see, dear brothers and sisters, how the Church of Christ glorifies those people who built and reverently treated the shrines. Saints Constantine and Helena are the builders of Orthodox churches. And by the Church they are glorified along with the Apostles. Of us, of course, there are few temple builders. But we are all called to revere the shrine of the temple! Without a doubt, God must be honored, first of all, internally. But the inner content of our soul is necessarily expressed externally. The Lord said: "A good man takes out good from a good treasure; but an evil man takes out evil from an evil treasure" (Matthew 12:35). So, on this holy day, remembering the memory of these great saints, we need to think a little about the inner and outer content of our life path.
Christ commanded us to fulfill His Divine commandments. The New Testament, in contrast to the Old, is a renewal of the spirit. In the Old Testament, all meaning, all emphasis was placed on external religiosity, although there were prophets there who said that God seeks the human heart, seeks the spirit, seeks the love of man for God. There were prophets, but in general the Law of Moses was of a ritual, external nature. And representatives of the Old Testament religion, especially in the person of the clergy, Pharisees, scribes, fulfilled the Old Testament law only outwardly. They made sacrifices, performed some kind of external rituals, ablutions, externally visited the Jerusalem temple, the synagogue, but their heart was far from God. And we know that the Lord likened the Old Testament teachers to “painted graves”, which inside are filled with all sins, the stench of passions, but outside it seems to look nothing, not bad. Such was the overwhelming majority of Old Testament religiosity. Of course, there were true righteous people in the Old Testament, but there were very few of them.
When Christ came, He revealed that true faith, true knowledge of God is accomplished within. The Savior says: “The blind Pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them may be clean as well ”(Matthew 23:26). That is, the Lord Jesus Christ in His Gospel teaching makes the whole meaning, the whole emphasis on the inner rebirth of a person, in the renewal of the spirit, our heart and our thoughts. The Lord teaches about love for God and neighbor, but at the same time does not deny the external law. Because, naturally, a person's faith, his striving for God, always, one way or another, are manifested in an external form. But the most important thing is kept in the soul, in a pure, believing heart, humble, reverent and in unfeigned love for neighbors. Otherwise, there remains only hypocrisy, theater, there remains what Christ called “pharisaism,” that is, only one external service to God.
We are called to internal rebirth, to renew our souls in the spirit of the Christian faith. However, we also have some external customs, rules, rituals. But, unfortunately, the sinfulness, the illness of the human soul is such that we are often not internally renewed enough, we are not fighting enough for the purity of our heart and our thoughts. With great difficulty, an inner rebirth takes place in us, our renewal in joy, in love, in peace, in patience, in humility, in unhypocritical faith, in helping other people. In these inner virtues we hardly succeed.
But if we look at some external customs, virtues, then, unfortunately, we will also see that we have a lot of purely external omissions. For example, with pain, it happens, you see that very, very few people know how to cross themselves correctly. Unfortunately, you can often see a believer who, instead of reverently imposing the sign of the cross, makes some kind of meaningless gesture: baptizes, for example, his belly or his chest, or as if he brushes something off his chest. Makes some kind of hasty, senseless movement. And this is the sign of the cross? Naturally, the heart of a shepherd cannot look at this indifferently. And we really have a lot of such, purely external, omissions.
In, for example, take the virtue of reverent attitude to the shrine of an Orthodox church. How do we actually execute it? The temple is a holy place, where God Himself is present, where terrible sacraments are performed, where the Holy Spirit breathes. In the temple majestic hymns and psalms are sung, the Holy Scriptures are read, here we can receive the hope of salvation. And what do we see? Not everyone really treats the temple with reverence, with the fear of God, feeling the holiness of this place. Some kind of petrified insensibility attacks the heart, some kind of spiritual illness. The person seems to forget where he is. He does not feel sacred when he hears the words of prayers and sacred hymns - he perceives it completely indifferently, as if it is something empty, something that absolutely does not concern him in any way. And this is just a manifestation, on the one hand, of an internal spiritual illness, and on the other hand, an external one. It's very scary. Each of us - and each clergyman, and each lower minister in the temple, who performs this or that obedience, service, and each ordinary believer, both man and woman - are responsible for the sanctity of divine services, for the sanctity of the temple. We should not look with indifference at some outrage that is happening in the church, at some noise and interference with worship. The soul of every person should be sick for the shrine of the temple. And we must first of all pray about it. We must also be able to tell a neighbor who has forgotten that he is in a temple, who behaves in a temple, like in a store, or like in a bazaar, or somewhere in a museum - we must be able to such a person with love, with Christian meekness and humbly advise, point out to him, remind him that he is in a holy place, where prayer to God is performed, where the Lord accepts us, accepts our prayer, our repentance, and here it is useless to misbehave or make noise.
Thus, of course, we have a lot of both purely external and internal shortcomings. But we need to remember the words of the Gospel that the Lord Jesus came into the world of sinners to save and not despair. We must strive to fulfill the commandments of God, we must strive to renew ourselves internally: to get rid of sinful thoughts, from inappropriate feelings, aspirations, to try to correct our life, to remove from it everything that is unclean and sinful. On the other hand, we must try to carry out our outer religious life in accordance with the church charter, in accordance with the traditions of the Church. The internal is more important than the external, however, the internal cannot be conceived without the external. It happens that when a person stands reverently in the church and prays, his external behavior involuntarily and on his soul begins to act. A person will make some kind of external gesture: he will worship God reverently, with the fear of God he will attach himself to the image, to the icon, or he will impose the sign of the cross on himself with reverence - and this external gesture has an internal influence on his soul. Everything is interconnected here.
And on this holy day, through the prayers of the holy kings Constantine and Helena, may the merciful, good Lord grant us to be affirmed in the holy Christ's Gospel commandments and in the external church statutes. Amen. Christ is Risen! Truly Risen!
*** Equal to the apostles Tsar Constantine (337) and his mother, Queen Helena (327). ** Blessed Prince Constantine (Yaroslav) (1129) and his sons Mikhail and Theodore (XII), Murom miracle workers. Monk Cassian the Greek, Uglich wonderworker (1504). *** Icons of the Mother of God of Vladimir (a holiday established in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Mahmet-Girey in 1521).
Saint Cyril, Bishop of Rostov (1262). Monk Martyr Agapit Markushevsky (1584). Blessed Andrew Simbirsky (1841). Honored copies from the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: Vladimirskaya-Rostovskaya (XII), Pskov-Pecherskaya "Tenderness" (1524), Syrkovskaya (1548), Zaonikievskaya (1588), Krasnogorskaya or Chernogorskaya (1603), Oranskaya (1634), Florishchevskaya (XVII) ), Tupichevskaya-Rostovskaya.
Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and his mother Queen Helena
The Holy Emperor Constantine (306-337), who received the name Equal to the Apostles from the Church and was named Great in world history, was the son of Caesar Constantine 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 Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, was a Christian. The future ruler of the entire Roman Empire, Constantine, was brought up to respect the Christian religion. His father did not persecute Christians in the countries he ruled, while in the rest of the Roman Empire Christians were severely persecuted by the emperors Diocletian (284-305), his co-ruler Maximian Galerius (305-311) - in the East and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) - in the West.
After the death of Constantius Chlorus, his son Constantine in 306 was proclaimed emperor of Gaul and Britain by the troops. The first task of the new emperor was to proclaim the freedom to practice the Christian faith in the countries subject to him. The fanatic of paganism Maximian Galerius in the East and the cruel tyrant Maxentius in the West hated the 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 inspire his army to fight bravely, and the Lord showed him the shining sign of the Cross in heaven with the inscription "By this, conquer."
Having become the sovereign ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, Constantine issued the Edict of Tolerance in Milan in 313, and in 323, when he reigned as the only emperor over the entire Roman Empire, he extended the Milan Edict to the entire eastern part of the empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians for the first time were able to openly confess their faith in Christ.
Having abandoned paganism, the emperor did not leave ancient Rome, which was the center of a pagan state, as the capital of the empire, but moved his capital to the east, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople. Constantine was deeply convinced that only the Christian religion can 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 very Life-giving Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose, he sent his mother, the holy queen Helena, to Jerusalem, giving her great powers and material means. Together with Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem, Saint Helen embarked on a quest, and by the Providence of God the Life-Giving Cross was miraculously found in 326.
While in Palestine, the holy queen did a lot for the benefit 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, ordered the erection of Christian churches in these memorable places. Above the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, the Emperor Constantine himself ordered the construction of a magnificent temple to the glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Saint Helena gave the Life-giving Cross to the Patriarch for safekeeping, and she took a part of the Cross with her to present to the emperor. After distributing generous alms in Jerusalem and arranging meals for the poor, during which she herself served, the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she soon died in 327.
For her great services to the Church and her labors to acquire the Life-giving Cross, Queen Helen is called Equal to the Apostles.
The peaceful existence of the Christian Church was disturbed by the moods that arose within the Church and discord from the emerging heresies. Even at the beginning of the activities of Emperor Constantine, the heresy of the Donatists and Novatians arose in the West, demanding a repetition of baptism over Christians who fell away during the 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 ecclesiastical consciousness and feeling of Saint Constantine, who singled out the definition of "Consubstantial", which he heard in the debates of the Council, and proposed to introduce this definition into the Creed.
After the Council of Nicea, Constantine, Equal to the Apostles, continued to actively work in favor of the Church. At the end of his life, he received holy baptism, preparing for it with his entire life. Saint Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in 337, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a tomb prepared by him in advance.
Equal to the Apostles Constantine
Holy Tsar Constantine is called Equal to the Apostles, because, like the apostles, he did a great deal for the Christian Church. Before him, the Christian faith was persecuted and Christians were persecuted and punished, and he made it dominant in the Roman Empire. His parents were Constantius Chlorus, who ruled the western regions of the Roman Empire in Spain, Gaul and Britain and respected Christians for their good qualities, and Helen. In 306, after the death of his father, Constantine ascended the throne and, like his father, did not persecute Christians. At the same time, Maxentius, an evil and selfish man, reigned in Rome. Under his rule, it was hard not only for Christians, but also for pagans, so the Romans turned to Constantine with a request to free them from the tyrant. Constantine went against Maxentius; and now, when he was approaching Rome, suddenly, in the middle of the day, he and his army saw a cross of stars in heaven with the inscription: "By this, conquer." The next night, the Lord appeared to Constantine in a vision and ordered to make a banner like a cross and depict the cross on the weapons, shields and helmets of soldiers. Constantine did so and defeated the enemy in spite of his strong army; fleeing, the tyrant drowned in the Tiber River. Then Constantine converted to Christianity, although he had not yet been baptized; he was baptized shortly before his death. In the eastern regions of the Roman Empire, Licinius reigned, who persecuted Christians. Constantine declared war on him and, having defeated him, became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, and from that time on, the Christian faith became dominant in the empire. The Christians were restored to their rights, their positions, advantages and estates, taken away by the persecutors. All those sentenced to imprisonment for disrespecting idols were released. Temples were erected everywhere, and idols' temples were destroyed. Constantine chose for himself a new capital instead of Rome, the former capital of paganism, a city near the Black Sea, Byzantium, and named it New Rome, Constantinople (read May 11). He decorated Constantinople with many holy churches and charitable houses. Constantine restored Jerusalem and erected here, on the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, a magnificent temple. During the reign of Constantine, the heresy of Arius and the schism of Meletius appeared. He convened the I Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, at which heresy and schism were condemned, and the first half of the Creed was drawn up. Constantine died in 337 at the age of 65: his body was buried in Constantinople in the Church of the Holy Apostles he created.
Tsarina Elena
St. Empress Helen was the henchman of her son Constantine in matters for the benefit of the Christian religion, and therefore she is called Equal to the Apostles. Upon the conversion of her son, she did not hesitate to convert to Christianity. In 326, already in her advanced years, she set off to travel to the Holy Land. There she destroyed the idols' temples built on the places consecrated by Christ, building Christian churches in their place, opened many relics of various saints, found the Holy Life-giving Cross of Christ and showed many different favors. Returning to her son, she brought with her a part of the tree of the Cross of the Lord and the holy nails of the crucifixion. Saint Helen died in 327. 80 years old. Particles of the relics of Sts. Constantine and Helena are kept on Mount Athos in the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Panteleimon Monastery and in Kiev, in the Lavra. The hand of St. Helena is kept in Rome in the Lateran Cathedral, and her relics are in the Church of Our Lady on the Capitol Hill.
Blessed Prince Constantine
St. Prince Constantine was the youngest son of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Yaroslavich and reigned in Murom. He himself begged from his father this city, which was among the Finns, who were rude and stubborn pagans, in order to introduce Christianity there. He arrived in Murom in 1096. His family, clergy, army and servants went with him. Approaching the city, the prince sent ahead of his son Mikhail to persuade the people of Murom to accept him without resistance; but the people of Murom killed Mikhail and began to prepare for battle. St. Constantine approached the city with an army. The people of Murom resigned themselves, agreed to accept the prince, but on condition - not to force them to accept the Christian faith. Constantine entered the city and immediately began apostolic activity: he built the Church of the Annunciation on the site of the burial of the body of his murdered son, Prince Michael, and then the church of Sts. Boris and Gleb. The clergy, at the behest of the prince, began to preach, and he himself often called the elders of the city to him and ardently urged them to accept the Christian faith. The most stubborn of the pagans once approached the prince's house in an armed crowd, but after praying with his retinue, he went out to the crowd with an icon of the Mother of God. The rebels were amazed and wanted to be baptized. The baptism was performed solemnly on the Oka River. The baptized prince gave gifts. Thus laboring for the spread and establishment of the Christian faith, St. Constantine died in 1129. His body was laid in the Annunciation Church, next to his sons, Michael and Theodore. At the grave of the holy princes miracles were performed, and their relics were incorruptible.
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, was written by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Holy Family ate. The icon was brought to Russia from Byzantium at the beginning of the 12th century as a gift to Yuri Dolgoruky from Patriarch Luke Chrysoverkh of Constantinople. The icon was erected in a women's monastery in Vyshgorod, not far from Kiev, the rumor about its miracles reached the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, who decided to transport the icon to the north. Passing Vladimir, the horses, carrying the miraculous icon, got up and could not move. Replacing the horses with new ones also didn't help. The prince interpreted this sign as the desire of the Mother of God to stay in Vladimir, where in two years the temple of the Assumption of the Virgin was built.
In 1395, when Tamerlane moved his hordes to Moscow, the holy icon was brought from Vladimir. For ten days the icon was carried in their arms to Moscow. The place where the icon was "met" by the Grand Duke, metropolitans and bishops is still called Sretenka, where the Sretensky Monastery was founded. Tamerlane suddenly turned his troops from under Yelets back, "fled, driven by the power of the Most Holy Virgin." The icon was never returned to Vladimir, leaving it in Moscow.
In 1451, the army of the Nogai Khan with Tsarevich Mazovsha approached Moscow. The Tatars set fire to the Moscow townships, but Moscow was never captured. During the fire, Saint Jonah performed religious processions along the walls of the city. Warriors and militias fought with the enemy until nightfall. The small army of the Grand Duke at this time was too far away to help the besieged. The chronicles tell that the next morning there were no enemies at the walls of Moscow. They heard an extraordinary noise, decided that it was the Grand Duke with a huge army, and retreated. After the departure of the Tatars, the prince himself wept in front of the Vladimir icon.
The third intercession of the Mother of God for Russia was in 1480. Remember the "great standing on the Ugra", known from school history lessons: Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the horde and the regiments of Khan Akhmat were sent to Russia. The meeting with the Russian army took place near the Ugra River: the troops were standing on different banks and waiting for a pretext to attack. In the front ranks of the Russian troops held the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God. There were skirmishes, even small battles, but the troops did not move, in front of each other. The Russian army withdrew from the river, giving the Horde regiments an opportunity to begin the crossing. But the Horde regiments also retreated. The Russian soldiers stopped, and the Tatar soldiers continued to retreat and suddenly, rushed away without looking back.
Before this glorious icon, all the most important state acts of Russia were performed: the oath of allegiance to the Motherland, prayers before military campaigns, the election of the All-Russian Patriarchs.
The feast in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is held three times a year in gratitude for the threefold deliverance of our Fatherland from enemies with Her help: May 21, June 23 and August 26 (according to Art.).
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the iconographic type of Glykophilus (Sweet-killing), the Infant laid his cheek on the Mother's cheek. The icon conveys the communication between Mother and Child, full of tenderness. Mary foresees the suffering of the Son in His earthly journey. Icons of this type were called "Tenderness" in Russia (Eleusa in Greek). A distinctive feature of this image is that the left leg of the Infant Jesus is bent in such a way that the sole of the foot is visible.
The icon was previously in the Assumption Cathedral on the left side of the royal gates of Riza on an icon made of pure gold with precious stones was estimated at about 200,000 gold rubles (confiscated by the Bolsheviks). For a long time, the icon was in the hall of ancient Russian art of the Tretyakov Gallery, now it is in the Nikon Church in the Pillars, behind the Tretyakov Gallery, where prayers are performed in front of it. On great patronal feasts, the shrine is transferred to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin to participate in the most solemn prayer services.
Having abandoned paganism, the emperor did not leave ancient Rome, which was the center of a pagan state, as the capital of the empire, but moved his capital to the east, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople. Constantine was deeply convinced that only the Christian religion can 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 venerating the Cross of the Lord, the emperor wanted to find the very Life-giving Cross, on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose, he sent his mother, the holy queen Helena, to Jerusalem, giving her great powers and material means. Together with Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem, Saint Helen embarked on a search, and by the Providence of God the Life-Giving Cross was miraculously found in 326. While in Palestine, the holy queen did a lot for the benefit of the Church. She ordered to free all the places associated with the earthly life of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, from all traces of paganism, ordered to erect Christian churches in these memorable places. Above the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, the Emperor Constantine himself ordered the construction of a magnificent temple to the glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Saint Helena gave the Life-giving Cross to the Patriarch for safekeeping, and she took a part of the Cross with her to present to the emperor. After distributing generous alms in Jerusalem and arranging meals for the poor, during which she herself served, the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she soon died in 327.
For her great services to the Church and her labors to acquire the Life-giving Cross, Queen Helen is called Equal to the Apostles.
The peaceful coexistence of the Christian Church was disturbed by discord and discord that arose within the Church as a result of heresies. Even at the beginning of the activity of Emperor Constantine, the heresy of the Donatists and Novatians arose in the West, demanding a repetition of baptism over Christians who fell away during the persecution. This heresy, rejected by two local councils, was finally condemned by the Council of Milan in 316. But the heresy of Arius, who dared to reject the Divine essence of the Son of God and teach about the creation of Jesus Christ, was especially destructive for the Church. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325. 318 bishops gathered at this Council, its participants were bishops-confessors during the period of persecution and many other lamps of the Church, among whom was St. Nicholas of Myra. The Emperor was present at the meetings of the Council. The heresy of Aria was condemned and the Symbol of Faith was drawn up, in which the term "Consubstantial with the Father" was introduced, which forever fixed in the minds of Orthodox Christians the truth about the Divinity of Jesus Christ, who took on human nature to redeem the entire human race.
One can be surprised at the deep ecclesiastical consciousness and feeling of Saint Constantine, who singled out the definition of "Consubstantial", heard by him in the debates of the Council, and proposed to introduce this definition into the Symbol of Faith.
After the Council of Nicea, Constantine, Equal-to-the-Apostles, continued to actively work in favor of the Church. At the end of his life, he received holy baptism, preparing for it with his entire life. Saint Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in 337 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a tomb prepared by him in advance.
Here is how the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea of \u200b\u200bPalestine, describes the pious life of Tsar Constantine and the mother of his queen Helena:
ABOUT THE LIFE OF BLESSED VASILEVS KONSTANTIN
CHAPTER 41. About the building of churches in Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives.
Having finished the work here, (the basileus) very splendidly decorated other places marked by two mysterious caves. To one he gave due honor as the place of the first Epiphany of the Savior and His birth in the flesh 1; he honored the other, like the monument of His ascension to heaven standing on the top of the mountain 2. Lavishly decorating these places, he also immortalized the memory of his mother, who rendered so many benefits to the human race.
CHAPTER 42. The fact that these churches were built by the mother of Constantine, Vasilisa Helen, when she came there to worship.
For recognizing as her deed to repay the All-Tsar - God the duty of her pious disposition, also determined to thank Him with prayers for her son, such a basileus, and for her offspring - God-loving Caesars, his children, this old woman of an extraordinary mind with the speed of a youth hurried to the East and with royal solicitude surveyed the wondrous land, the eastern eparchies, cities and villages, in order to perform due worship at the feet of the Savior, according to the words of the prophet: let us bow down in the place where he stands (Ps. 131: 7), and left the fruit of her own piety to the future offspring ...
CHAPTER 43. More about the Bethlehem church.
At the same time, she erected two temples to the worshiped God: one at the cave of birth, the other on the mountain of ascension, for Emmanuel (God with us) was pleased to be born for us under the earth, and the Jews recognize it as Bethlehem as the place of his carnal birth. Therefore, the most pious Vasilisa decorated this sacred cave in every possible way and honored the burden of the Mother of God with wondrous monuments. And a little later, the basileus also honored the same cave with his offerings, adding gold and silver gifts and various veils to his mother's bounty 3. In addition, the mother of the basileus, in memory of the ascension of the Savior of all to heaven, erected tall buildings on the Mount of Olives: she crowned the top of this mountain with a sacred church house and a temple. There, in that very cave, according to the testimony of tradition, the Savior of all initiated his disciples into unspeakable secrets. Vasilevs also honored the Great Tsar in that place with various gifts and decorations. These are holy and most beautiful temples worthy of eternal memory, as signs of pious disposition, erected to God the Savior over two mysterious caves by the God-loving mother of the God-loving Basileus, the august Helen, by the royal permission of her son. A little later, the eldress reaped the worthy fruits of her piety, for to spend all the time of her life until ripe old age in all prosperity, in deeds and words, bringing abundant fruits of the saving commandments, this well-ordered, carefree life she and afterwards led in perfect health of soul and body, and therefore, while still here receiving a reward from God for good deeds, she was rewarded with a pious death.
CHAPTER 44. About Elena's generosity and charity.
Traveling all over the east with regal splendor, she showered with countless blessings, both the population of cities in general, and, in particular, everyone who came to her; her right hand generously rewarded the troops, helped the poor and the helpless very much. For some she provided cash benefits, for others she supplied an abundance of clothing to cover their nakedness, she freed others from the shackles, relieved them of hard work in the mines, ransomed from lenders, and returned some from captivity.
CHAPTER 45. About how reverently Helen appeared in the churches.
But glorified by such deeds, Elena did not forget to serve God. Always seen how she walked in God's church and adorned houses of worship with glittering jewels, not disregarding the temples and in the smallest cities. We saw how this wondrous wife, in modest but decent clothes, mingled with the crowd of people and expressed her reverence for God with all sorts of godly deeds.
CHAPTER 46. About how she, having lived for eighty years and ordered, died.
Having already completed a rather long path of (earthly) life, (Vasilisa) was called to a better legacy in almost eighty years of her life. Before her death, she made a spiritual will, ordered and announced her last will in favor of her only son, a basileus, the autocrat of the monarch, and her grandchildren, his children, the Caesars. At the same time, between her grandchildren, she divided her own estate, which she had throughout the Oikumen. Thus disposed of, she ended her life in the presence, in the eyes and in the arms of such a great son who served her. It seemed to good-minded people that this blessed wife did not really die, but only changed and shifted from earthly life to heavenly life, that her soul, accepted by the Savior, was transformed into an incorruptible and angelic being.
CHAPTER 47. About how Constantine buried his mother and how much he respected her during his lifetime.
And the body of the blessed one was also honored with extraordinary honors. Accompanied by numerous Doriforians, it was transferred to the royal city 4 and was laid there in the royal tomb. So the mother of the basileus died, worthy of unforgettable memory both for her God-loving deeds, and for the successive and wondrous branch that grew from her, (that is, for Constantine), who must be gratified both for other reasons and for the sake of respect for his parent; for out of a pious basileus he created her so pious that in the rules of piety she seemed instructed by the common Savior Himself, and clothed her with such royal honors that among all nations and in all the army she was called Augusta and a basilisa, and her face was depicted on gold medals ... Moreover, Constantine gave her the right to use the royal treasury at her own will and dispose of everything as she wanted and as it seemed to her best, so that in this respect, too, the son made her fate excellent and enviable. Therefore, considering the qualities that perpetuate the memory of Constantine, we should justly pay attention to the fact that, honoring his mother from an excess of piety, he fulfilled the divine laws prescribing to have due respect for parents.5 Such wonderful deeds, and thus the Basileus did not in Palestine alone, he and in all the eparchies built new churches, giving them a view much superior to the one in which they were before.
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1 This refers to Bethlehem (Matt. 2.1). Eusebius, speaking of the birth of the Savior, follows the tradition of the Ancient Church, in which both Christmas and the Baptism of the Lord were perceived to a large extent as one event, even during the celebration two holidays were not distinguished, but only one was celebrated - the Epiphany.
2 The Ascension of the Lord took place in Bethany (Luke 24.50), on the Mount of Olives.
3 At this time, when the iconostasis in modern form not yet formed, a curtain or curtain was used instead, which was often embroidered with various images.
4 The body of St. Queen Helena, according to the testimony of Nicephorus (L.8. cap. 30), from Palestine was transferred first to Rome, and then, two years later, to Constantinople. Elena died twelve years before the death of Constantine, that is, in 327. - approx. translator.
5 This refers to one of the ten commandments given to Moses. (Ex. 20.12).
(Eusebius Pamphil. Life of Constantine. Translated by St. Petersburg. Theological Academy. - M., 1998).
Troparion, voice 8:
Having seen your cross in heaven, and as Paul the title is not from a man receiving, in kings your apostle, Lord, put the reigning city in your hand; Always save him in the world, through the prayers of the Theotokos, the One Human-loving One.
Kontakion, voice 3:
Constantine today, with the matter of Helen, the Cross is an all-honorable tree, all the Jews are ashamed of the creature, but a weapon against the opposite faithful kings: for our sake there is a great sign and a terrible sign in battle.
Magnification:
We magnify you, / holy blessing and equal to the apostles tsar Constantine and Helen, / and we honor your holy memory, / you have enlightened the whole universe naturally with the holy Cross.
Prayers to Saints Equal to the Apostles Constantine and Helena
First prayer:
About the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena! Deliver this parish and our temple from all slander of the enemy and do not leave us, the weak (names), with your intercession, pray the goodness of Christ our God to grant us peace of thoughts, from pernicious passions and all defilement, abstinence, piety is unhypocritical. Ask us, saints of God, from above the spirit of meekness and humility, the spirit of patience and repentance, and the rest of our life in faith and contrition of heart, we will live, and so in the hour of our end we will thankfully praise the Lord who glorified you, the Beginning Father, His Only Begotten Son and the One Conscious Spirit, the Inseparable Trinity, forever and ever.
Second prayer:
About anticipation and all-valor, tsar, the saint of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena! To you, a warm intercessor, we offer our unworthy prayers, as if we have great boldness in the Lord. Ask Him for the peace of the Church and the whole world for prosperity, wisdom as a leader, as a pastor for the flock, humility for the flock, for an old man the desired repose, for a husband for strength, for splendor for a wife, for a virgin purity, for children, obedience, for a Christian upbringing, for sick healing, warring reconciliation, offended patience, offending the fear of God. To those who come to this temple and to those who pray in it, holy blessing and all useful to everyone, may we praise and sing to the Benefactor of all God in the Trinity, the glorious Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever. Amen.
| Church of St. Equal to Apostle Constantine and Helena. Settlement Leninskoe. Leningr |