St Helena, c. 1495, Cima da Conegliano, National Gallery of Art. December 2021
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. June 2018 [see: Church of the Holy Sepulchre]
Finally meeting Helena
On a winter walk through the National Gallery of Art, I came across a painting of St Helena. This woman had nothing short of an amazing life even for those who do not consider themselves religious. I smiled when I finally found her and looked into her Italian Renaissance eyes.
My first semester teaching in Duhok, the university desperately needed someone to teach "World History". I asked if it had to be anything in-depth and I was told to ask the Dean. The Dean of the School of International Studies, Dr. Albert Wolf, managed to rouse himself from one of his many office sofa naps (I am serious) to tell me that the course should "at least devote some portion to European History and perhaps some Islamic History". He seemed nonplussed that anyone was teaching the course. As it turns out, later in life I discovered I actually LOVE history since it makes sense of the world. I volunteered to teach the ridiculously named course and everyone quickly agreed to my offer. I greatly enjoyed preparing for that class and it was there I met Helena.
Imagine Sophia Petrillo from the American TV sitcom, Golden Girls:
Picture it, Constantinople. A young emperor just converted to Christianity wishes to legitimize his reign. He calls his saintly mother to help him with an urgent task...
Constantine I (or "the Great") was not only the first Christian Roman emperor, but also the first to look seriously into "church myth". He sent his Mom, Helena, to Jerusalem to do some research. St Helena is the patron saint of archeologists (along with divorced people), so it is no wonder that upon ordering the demolition of a temple purportedly built over the tomb of Jesus by Emperor Hadrian, the "true cross" was found under the site. As any good ecclesiastical archeologist would do, she refused to believe it was the true cross until a woman near death touched said artifact and fully recovered. All of this was reported back to her son who then decreed that a church be constructed over the tomb - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as pictured above.
Helena also visited Bethlehem and had the Church of the Nativity built over Jesus' birthplace. It might be the oldest existing church in Christendom since Church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed once. She also ordered the building of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. Clearly, she made the most of her trip commanding all this construction as well as collecting relics including the tunic Jesus worn in the tomb and the nails from the crucifixion. In addition, she had a chapel constructed in Sinai at the site of the burning bush (which exists today at St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt). Helena was not messing around.
After that burst of activity, Helena departed for Rome (via Cyprus where she left some of the relics and, curiously, many cats) with a big chunk of the cross. That now reposes in the Basilica of the Cross in Jerusalem in Rome. I think I walked in front of that church on my Roman holiday, but I was in such information overload there, I am not quite sure. Alas, I learned about Helena after my trip to the Eternal City.
Helena was not of noble birth, yet her son went on to be an Emperor of Rome. She herself was canonized for her achievements. Her trip to the Holy Land resonates historically until today. Even for those who do not believe in St Helena and her discoveries, her impact on world history is undeniable and continues to be so.
Sophia Petrillo would understand. Any mother would.