Life of Constantine

Contents

Reading pages: 1.1.1–1.26.1 · 1.27.1–1.56.1 · 1.57.1–2.27.1 · 2.28.1–2.67.1 · 2.68.1–3.17.1 · 3.18.1–3.50.1 · 3.51.1–3.65.2 · 3.66.1–4.34.1 · 4.35.1–4.65.3 · 4.66.1–4.74.1

1. 1.1.1Eusebius recalls how he had recently praised Constantine at his twentieth and thirtieth anniversaries.
2. 1.1.2Eusebius says he is lost for words, because Constantine seems present everywhere even after his death.
3. 1.1.3Constantine lives on in his three sons, now proclaimed emperors.
4. 1.2.1Eusebius pictures Constantine's soul with God and leaves his worthy praise to the divine Word.
5. 1.3.1God has fulfilled his promise by punishing the persecuting tyrants and honoring Constantine in life and death.
6. 1.3.2Human monuments, paintings and statues are perishable and cannot portray an immortal soul.
7. 1.3.3God gives the godly a foretaste here of greater rewards to come.
8. 1.3.4Scripture, the lives of the saints, and Constantine's own life all show that God rewards the godly.
9. 1.4.1God showed his favor to Constantine throughout his reign and made him a herald of true religion.
10. 1.5.1God gave Constantine a long reign and victory over the persecuting tyrants, making him a teacher of true religion.
11. 1.6.1Constantine called himself God's servant, and God made him an invincible ruler of many nations.
12. 1.7.1Eusebius contrasts the shameful deaths of Cyrus and Alexander with Constantine's end.
13. 1.8.1Constantine began to reign at the age at which Alexander died, and reigned three times as long.
14. 1.8.2Constantine's campaigns reached Britain and the northern peoples.
15. 1.8.3His power reached south to the Blemmyes and Ethiopians and east as well.
16. 1.8.4Distant peoples honored Constantine, and he proclaimed his God to them.
17. 1.9.1Constantine's life matched his words; God rewarded him with immortality and a dynasty.
18. 1.10.1Eusebius explains why he writes: Constantine's God-pleasing deeds deserve a record more than the crimes of tyrants like Nero.
19. 1.11.1Eusebius will pass over Constantine's wars and laws and record only what concerns his religious life.
20. 1.12.1Like Moses in Pharaoh's court, the young Constantine lived among the persecuting emperors without sharing their ways.
21. 1.13.1Constantius, unlike his fellow emperors, did not persecute Christians and ruled gently.
22. 1.14.1The senior emperor rebuked Constantius for having an empty treasury.
23. 1.14.2Constantius asked his wealthy subjects to give money voluntarily.
24. 1.14.3His subjects gladly filled the treasury.
25. 1.14.4Constantius showed the envoys the full treasury, explaining that his subjects had been keeping his wealth for him.
26. 1.14.5Constantius then returned all the money to its owners.
27. 1.14.6A second story will show Constantius's piety.
28. 1.15.1The persecution began in the palaces, which lost their Christians and with them the prayers made for the rulers.
29. 1.16.1Constantius tested his servants, dismissing those who were willing to sacrifice and promoting those who refused.
30. 1.17.1Constantius worshipped the one God and made his household like a church, and so lived untroubled.
31. 1.18.1Constantius became senior Augustus, had many children, and at his death his eldest son Constantine was present to succeed him.
32. 1.19.1Eusebius recalls seeing the young Constantine in Palestine beside Diocletian, remarkable in body and character.
33. 1.20.1Threatened by the jealous emperors, Constantine fled, like Moses, to join his father.
34. 1.21.1Constantine reached his dying father, who thanked God for his arrival.
35. 1.21.2Constantius handed the empire to Constantine and died.
36. 1.22.1Constantine led his father's funeral and was at once acclaimed emperor by the army and people.
37. 1.22.2The whole empire rejoiced that it was not left without a ruler for even a moment.
38. 1.23.1Eusebius declines to narrate the downfall of the persecuting emperors.
39. 1.24.1Constantine owed his power to God alone, not to human election.
40. 1.25.1Constantine secured the Rhine frontier and Britain and then turned to the rest of the empire.
41. 1.26.1Seeing Rome oppressed by a tyrant and the other emperors unable to free it, Constantine prepared to act.
42. 1.27.1Because Maxentius relied on sorcery, Constantine sought divine help above military strength.
43. 1.27.2Constantine reflected that emperors who trusted many gods came to ruin, while his father, who honored the one God, prospered.
44. 1.27.3Seeing the fate of Maxentius's earlier opponents, Constantine resolved to worship only his father's God.
45. 1.28.1Constantine told Eusebius under oath that, while praying, he and his army saw a cross of light above the sun with the words “By this conquer.”
46. 1.29.1That night Christ appeared to Constantine in a dream and told him to make a copy of the sign for battle.
47. 1.30.1Constantine had goldsmiths make the sign, which Eusebius later saw.
48. 1.31.1Eusebius describes the standard: a gilded spear with a crossbar, the Chi-Rho monogram in a wreath, a jeweled banner, and portraits of the emperor and his sons.
49. 1.32.1Christian teachers explained to Constantine that the sign was the cross of Christ, the only-begotten Son, and he began to read Scripture and consult the clergy.
50. 1.33.1Maxentius seized and abused the wives of senators.
51. 1.33.2Christian women preferred death to submitting to him.
52. 1.34.1A Christian senator's wife killed herself rather than be taken to Maxentius.
53. 1.35.1Maxentius massacred the people of Rome and killed senators for their wealth.
54. 1.36.1Maxentius practiced cruel magic and brought famine on Rome.
55. 1.37.1Led by the saving sign, Constantine defeated Maxentius's armies in northern Italy.
56. 1.38.1At the Milvian Bridge Maxentius drowned in the Tiber in his own trap, like Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and the victors could sing Moses' song.
57. 1.39.1Rome welcomed Constantine as its liberator, and he gave thanks to God for the victory.
58. 1.40.1Constantine set up a statue of himself in Rome holding a cross, with an inscription crediting his victory to the saving sign.
59. 1.41.1The West rejoiced in its freedom, and Constantine restored property and recalled exiles.
60. 1.42.1Constantine honored the clergy, kept them near him, and gave generously to the churches.
61. 1.43.1Constantine was generous to beggars, the impoverished, orphans, and widows, and provided dowries for orphan girls.
62. 1.44.1Constantine convened and attended synods of bishops to settle church disputes, acting as a “common bishop.”
63. 1.45.1Constantine bore patiently with church troublemakers, including the rioters in Africa, whom he judged more pitiable than punishable.
64. 1.46.1God rewarded Constantine's care for the churches with victories over the barbarians.
65. 1.47.1Maximian, who had abdicated, plotted against Constantine and died in disgrace, and his statues were torn down.
66. 1.47.2Other relatives' plots were also revealed to Constantine through visions.
67. 1.47.3Constantine often received divine visions foretelling the future.
68. 1.47.4Constantine lived securely, rejoicing in his people's happiness and the churches' prosperity.
69. 1.48.1At his tenth anniversary Constantine offered thanksgiving, but was troubled by reports from the East.
70. 1.49.1The empire was divided like night and day, the East in darkness under a hostile ruler.
71. 1.49.2Licinius, ruler of the East and Constantine's brother-in-law, chose to imitate the persecutors rather than Constantine.
72. 1.50.1Despite Constantine's kindness, Licinius plotted against him, broke treaties, and finally declared war.
73. 1.51.1Licinius forbade bishops to meet or hold synods, which made church government, including the ordination of bishops, impossible.
74. 1.52.1Licinius expelled Christians from his palace, degraded and robbed them, and judged all people by his own debauchery.
75. 1.53.1Licinius forbade men and women to worship together and ordered congregations to meet outside the cities.
76. 1.54.1Licinius purged Christian soldiers and forbade anyone to feed or help prisoners.
77. 1.55.1Licinius overturned Roman law, taxed the dead, hoarded wealth, and abused the wives and daughters of his subjects.
78. 1.56.1Licinius turned against the bishops, forgetting the fate of the earlier persecutors he had himself seen punished.
79. 1.57.1Galerius, who began the persecution, died of a horrible disease after ending the persecution by edict.
80. 1.58.1Licinius forgot the punishments of Galerius and Maximinus.
81. 1.58.2Maximinus invented new tortures, blinding and laming Christians and sending them to the mines.
82. 1.58.3Maximinus was defeated, fled in disguise, died of a wasting disease that blinded him, and recanted; yet Licinius followed his example.
83. 2.1.1Licinius renewed the persecution in secret, having bishops killed by his governors, especially at Amaseia in Pontus.
84. 2.2.1Churches were destroyed or closed, since Licinius believed Christians prayed only for Constantine.
85. 2.2.2Bishops were executed, some cut to pieces and thrown into the sea.
86. 2.2.3As Licinius prepared a general persecution, God sent Constantine to the East.
87. 2.3.1Constantine decided to make war on Licinius to save his oppressed subjects, marching behind the sign of the cross.
88. 2.4.1Constantine took bishops with him; Licinius mocked this and consulted diviners, who promised him victory.
89. 2.5.1Before the battle Licinius gathered his officers in a sacred grove and sacrificed to his gods.
90. 2.5.2Licinius tells his men that Constantine has betrayed the ancestral gods for a foreign god.
91. 2.5.3Licinius declares that the battle will decide which god is true.
92. 2.5.4If Constantine's God wins, Licinius says, they will worship him; if not, they will make war on the Christians.
93. 2.5.5Eusebius learned of the speech from men who heard it; then Licinius ordered the attack.
94. 2.6.1A vision of Constantine's victorious troops appeared in Licinius's cities; in battle the standard of the cross brought victory wherever it was carried.
95. 2.8.1Fifty chosen guards were assigned to carry and protect the standard.
96. 2.9.1Constantine told Eusebius that a bearer who abandoned the standard was killed, while the standard's shaft caught the missiles aimed at its bearers.
97. 2.10.1Some of Licinius's commanders surrendered and were spared; those who resisted were routed.
98. 2.11.1Licinius fled, and Constantine let him escape in the hope that he would repent.
99. 2.11.2Licinius did not repent but turned again to sorcery; like Pharaoh, his heart was hardened.
100. 2.12.1Before battle Constantine prayed in a tent outside the camp, like Moses.
101. 2.12.2After prayer Constantine received divine signs and at once ordered attacks that brought swift victory.
102. 2.13.1Constantine always put God first in war and sought to avoid bloodshed.
103. 2.13.2Constantine paid his soldiers for every prisoner taken alive, to spare enemy lives.
104. 2.14.1Before the battle Constantine withdrew to his tent to pray and fast, praying even for the enemy.
105. 2.15.1Licinius made a treaty under oath, then broke it, recruited barbarians, and sought new gods.
106. 2.16.1Licinius told his troops to avoid the standard of the cross; Constantine waited, unwilling to break the treaty first.
107. 2.17.1When the enemy attacked, Constantine routed them at a stroke.
108. 2.18.1Licinius and his advisers were executed, and his followers acknowledged Constantine's God.
109. 2.19.1With Licinius gone, the empire was reunited under Constantine, who took the title Victor, and the East celebrated.
110. 2.20.1Constantine issued humane laws in the East, benefiting both the provinces and the churches.
111. 2.20.2Exiled Christians were recalled, freed from punitive civic duties, and given back their property.
112. 2.20.3Confessors in the mines, on islands, and in forced labor were freed, and Christian soldiers restored.
113. 2.21.1Martyrs' property went to their kin or, failing them, to the churches, and confiscated goods were restored.
114. 2.22.1The East, which had envied the West, now rejoiced in the same blessings.
115. 2.23.1Eusebius introduces Constantine's letter to the provincials, copied from the signed original in his possession.
116. 2.24.1Constantine's letter to the provincials opens: the superiority of Christian worship has always been evident to the wise.
117. 2.24.2Recent events show that God blesses those who keep his law and punishes the impious.
118. 2.24.3No one who rejects God can obtain good.
119. 2.25.1History shows that the just prosper and persecutors who never repent meet a fitting end.
120. 2.26.1The faithful who suffered gained greater glory, while persecutors' armies were defeated.
121. 2.27.1Persecution brought war and want, and its authors suffered death or disgrace and feared punishment hereafter.
122. 2.28.1Constantine says God chose him, from Britain onward, to end the evils and restore true worship.
123. 2.29.1Constantine owes everything to God and will relieve the innocent Christians of the burdens laid on them by the persecutors.
124. 2.30.1Exiles and those forced onto city councils are to return home, and the dispossessed are to recover their property.
125. 2.31.1Those banished to islands are to be freed and live without fear.
126. 2.32.1Those condemned to the mines and public works are freed, and those deprived of civic rights restored.
127. 2.33.1Christian soldiers who were dismissed may return to service or retire with honor.
128. 2.34.1Freeborn Christians condemned to state workshops or slavery are restored to freedom and rank.
129. 2.35.1The property of martyrs, confessors, and exiles is to go to their legal heirs.
130. 2.36.1Where there are no heirs, the local church inherits; gifts made by the deceased remain valid.
131. 2.37.1Present holders of confiscated property must restore it at once, but need not repay its income, and should seek pardon.
132. 2.38.1The excuse of past compulsion will not protect those who keep confiscated goods.
133. 2.39.1The treasury must return all church property intact.
134. 2.40.1The martyrs' burial places are to be given to the churches.
135. 2.41.1Those who bought or received confiscated goods from the treasury will still receive fitting consideration.
136. 2.42.1Constantine closes his letter by praising God's power in ending the persecution and orders it posted in the East.
137. 2.43.1The letter's provisions were promptly carried out.
138. 2.44.1Constantine appointed mostly Christian governors and forbade pagan officials to sacrifice.
139. 2.45.1Two laws banned idolatrous practices and ordered churches to be enlarged.
140. 2.45.2Church building was to be paid from the imperial treasury; bishops received letters, including Eusebius.
141. 2.46.1Constantine writes to Eusebius that church buildings have suffered under persecution.
142. 2.46.2With the “dragon” Licinius removed, the lapsed will return to true life.
143. 2.46.3Eusebius is to have clergy repair, enlarge, or build churches, with costs met by the governors.
144. 2.46.4The instructions were sent throughout the provinces and quickly carried out.
145. 2.47.1Eusebius introduces Constantine's letter to the eastern provinces urging them to acknowledge God and Christ.
146. 2.48.1Constantine's letter to the East begins: nature leads the wise to God, and virtue is crowned by God's judgment.
147. 2.49.1Constantine contrasts the savage emperors with his gentle father, who called on God.
148. 2.50.1Constantine recalls an oracle of Apollo complaining that “the righteous on earth” prevented true prophecy.
149. 2.51.1Diocletian, told that the “righteous” were the Christians, began the persecution.
150. 2.52.1Constantine describes the cruelty of the persecution, which spared no one.
151. 2.53.1Christians who fled to the barbarians found kindness there, to Rome's lasting shame.
152. 2.54.1The persecutors perished without descendants, misled by the oracles of Apollo.
153. 2.55.1Constantine prays for God's mercy on the East, recalling that he fought under God's sign.
154. 2.55.2Constantine dedicates his soul to God and promises to rebuild the churches.
155. 2.56.1Constantine grants peace to pagans as well as Christians: no one is to molest another over religion.
156. 2.56.2Pagans may keep their temples; Christians pray that they too will share the truth.
157. 2.57.1True religion is as old as creation; when mankind strayed, God sent his Son as a light.
158. 2.58.1The order of the heavens, the seasons, the earth, and the sea testifies to God.
159. 2.58.2Without God's will the warring forces of the world would destroy mankind.
160. 2.59.1The remedy of the divine word is open to all; let all share in peace.
161. 2.60.1Faith must not be forced; Constantine would urge the end of temple worship, but will not compel it.
162. 2.61.1Eusebius concludes the letter to the eastern provinces.
163. 2.61.2Constantine heard of a serious disturbance in the churches.
164. 2.61.3In a time of peace, envy crept into the church.
165. 2.61.4A doctrinal quarrel among bishops began at Alexandria and spread through Egypt and Libya.
166. 2.61.5The dispute divided bishops and congregations and was mocked in pagan theaters.
167. 2.62.1Besides the Alexandrian dispute, an older quarrel divided Egypt, and the strife spread to other provinces.
168. 2.63.1Constantine sent a trusted confessor to Alexandria with a letter to the disputants.
169. 2.64.1Constantine's letter to Alexander and Arius opens by stating his twofold purpose.
170. 2.65.1His aims were religious unity and the healing of the empire.
171. 2.65.2He sought unity by thought and peace by arms, believing church concord would benefit the state.
172. 2.66.1Constantine had hoped, after defeating Licinius, to send eastern bishops to heal the schism in Africa.
173. 2.67.1Since the true religion came from the East, Constantine looked to the eastern bishops for help.
174. 2.68.1Constantine was deeply grieved to hear of a worse division in the East.
175. 2.68.2Finding the cause trivial, Constantine offers himself as peacemaker.
176. 2.68.3So small a cause should be easy to remedy.
177. 2.69.1The dispute began when Arius answered Alexander's question about a passage of Scripture.
178. 2.69.2Such questions should neither have been asked nor answered, still less aired in public.
179. 2.69.3Few can grasp or explain such high matters, and fewer still persuade the people.
180. 2.69.4Idle talk on such questions leads the people into blasphemy or schism.
181. 2.70.1Both sides should forgive each other, since they differ on no essential point.
182. 2.71.1Trivial quarrels must not divide God's people.
183. 2.71.2Philosophers stay united despite minor differences; so much more should Christians.
184. 2.71.3Quarrels about words that set brother against brother are childish.
185. 2.71.4Constantine asks to be allowed to restore unity.
186. 2.71.5Since they share one faith and the twofold commandment of love, the dispute must not divide them.
187. 2.71.6They may keep private differences on minor points, but must restore communion and friendship.
188. 2.72.1Constantine pleads for peace, since their division robs him of all peace of mind.
189. 2.72.2The news stopped Constantine's journey east; he asks them to reopen the way by making peace.
190. 2.73.1The letter failed, and the dispute spread throughout the East.
191. 3.1.1Despite the church's troubles, Constantine did the opposite of the persecutors and overcame every foe.
192. 3.1.2Where the persecutors forced idolatry and mocked Christ, Constantine taught the true God and gloried in the cross.
193. 3.1.3Constantine honored, enriched, and exalted those whom the persecutors had disgraced.
194. 3.1.4Constantine rebuilt churches and paid for fine copies of the Scriptures the persecutors had burned.
195. 3.1.5Constantine hosted synods of bishops, gave away temple treasures, and destroyed prominent temples.
196. 3.1.6Constantine honored the martyrs and trusted Christians most of all.
197. 3.1.7Constantine gave generously and, Eusebius claims, ruled without the executions of the persecutors.
198. 3.1.8Constantine's reign seemed a new life and a light from God.
199. 3.2.1Constantine openly confessed Christ, signing himself with the cross and glorying in it.
200. 3.3.1A painting at the palace showed Constantine under the cross, with the persecutor as a dragon cast into the abyss.
201. 3.3.2The dragon, pierced and cast into the sea, stood for the devil, as Isaiah had prophesied.
202. 3.4.1The strife in Egypt, which extended to insults against his statues, grieved Constantine more than it angered him.
203. 3.5.1A long-standing dispute divided the churches over the date of Easter.
204. 3.5.2Some fasted while others feasted; seeing his letter had failed, Constantine resolved to end the discord.
205. 3.6.1Constantine summoned an ecumenical council to Nicaea, providing transport for the bishops.
206. 3.7.1Bishops came from the whole Roman world and beyond, even from Persia and Scythia.
207. 3.7.2The bishop of Rome sent presbyters; Constantine offered the assembly to Christ as a thank-offering.
208. 3.8.1Like the crowd at Pentecost, the council gathered all nations; over 250 bishops attended.
209. 3.9.1The bishops varied in gifts and age; the emperor provided for them all.
210. 3.10.1The council opened in the great central hall of the palace.
211. 3.10.2The assembly waited in silence as the emperor's companions entered.
212. 3.10.3Constantine entered in radiant purple and jewels.
213. 3.10.4The emperor's modest bearing showed his reverence; he sat only when the bishops invited him.
214. 3.11.1A bishop addressed the emperor, who then spoke to the council.
215. 3.12.1Constantine thanks God for the sight of the bishops assembled in harmony.
216. 3.12.2Division in the church is worse than any war.
217. 3.12.3Hearing of their dissension, he summoned them at once.
218. 3.12.4He will be content only when they are united in peace.
219. 3.12.5He urges them to lay out their disagreements and settle them in peace.
220. 3.13.1The debate was heated, but Constantine listened patiently and drew the parties together.
221. 3.13.2Speaking Greek, Constantine persuaded and reconciled them until all agreed.
222. 3.14.1The council agreed on the faith and on the date of Easter, and each bishop signed.
223. 3.15.1For his twentieth anniversary Constantine held a banquet for all the bishops.
224. 3.15.2The bishops passed fearlessly between armed guards into the palace.
225. 3.15.3The banquet seemed an image of Christ's kingdom.
226. 3.16.1Constantine gave the bishops gifts and wrote to the churches about the council.
227. 3.17.1Constantine's letter to the churches reports that the council, which he attended as a fellow servant, reached full agreement on the faith.
228. 3.18.1The council decided that all should celebrate Easter on the same day.
229. 3.18.2The letter rejects dating Easter by the Jewish calendar, in harshly anti-Jewish language.
230. 3.18.3Christians have their own way and need not depend on Jewish teaching for the date.
231. 3.18.4Constantine accuses the Jews of error in their calendar, which could place Passover twice in one year.
232. 3.18.5Christ gave one day of redemption and willed one church, so there must be no disagreement.
233. 3.18.6It is unseemly for some to fast while others feast; providence wills one observance.
234. 3.19.1The eastern churches are to follow the date observed by Rome, the West, Egypt, and most of the world.
235. 3.19.2All agreed that Easter be kept on one day.
236. 3.20.1The council's decision should be received as God's command.
237. 3.20.2Constantine asks the churches to adopt the common date, hoping to celebrate Easter with them.
238. 3.20.3Similar letters went to every province.
239. 3.21.1At his farewell Constantine urged the bishops to avoid rivalry and to bear with the weaker.
240. 3.21.2Bishops should forgive one another so as not to give outsiders cause to mock, since outsiders can be won by example.
241. 3.21.3Like physicians, bishops must adapt themselves to each person's needs.
242. 3.21.4He asked for their prayers and sent them home united.
243. 3.22.1Constantine announced the result by letter and gave largesse for his twentieth anniversary.
244. 3.23.1The Egyptian quarrel persisted; Constantine summoned the parties again and confirmed the council's decrees.
245. 3.24.1Constantine wrote many letters to bishops and congregations, calling them his brothers.
246. 3.24.2Eusebius sets the collection of these letters aside for another work.
247. 3.25.1Constantine resolved to build a church at the site of Christ's resurrection in Jerusalem.
248. 3.26.1Impious men had tried to bury the tomb where the angel rolled away the stone and announced the resurrection.
249. 3.26.2They covered the cave of the tomb with earth and paving.
250. 3.26.3Over the tomb they built a shrine of Aphrodite.
251. 3.26.4Christ's victory over death could no more be hidden than the sun.
252. 3.26.5Only Constantine proved able to undo the desecration.
253. 3.26.6Inspired by God, Constantine ordered the site of the tomb to be cleared.
254. 3.26.7The pagan shrine was demolished.
255. 3.27.1The rubble and even the polluted soil were carried far away.
256. 3.28.1Beneath the fill the tomb of Christ was uncovered, as if itself rising from the dead.
257. 3.29.1Constantine ordered a magnificent church built around the tomb and wrote to Bishop Macarius.
258. 3.30.1Constantine's letter to Macarius marvels that the token of Christ's passion has come to light after so many years.
259. 3.30.2No human wisdom could describe this wonder worthily.
260. 3.30.3Constantine's aim is that new wonders should make all more zealous for God's law.
261. 3.30.4Constantine's chief concern is to adorn the holy place he has freed from idolatry.
262. 3.31.1The church must surpass every other building.
263. 3.31.2Imperial officials will supply craftsmen and materials at the bishop's request.
264. 3.31.3Macarius is to report what columns and marbles are needed.
265. 3.32.1Constantine asks whether the ceiling should be coffered and gilded.
266. 3.32.2The bishop is to report his needs quickly to the officials and the emperor.
267. 3.33.1At the tomb a “new Jerusalem” rose facing the old city.
268. 3.33.2The new church, perhaps the prophesied new Jerusalem, centered on the adorned tomb.
269. 3.34.1The tomb was adorned with columns and ornament.
270. 3.35.1An open court paved with stone and surrounded by colonnades lay beyond the tomb.
271. 3.36.1The basilica, east of the tomb, was vast and faced with marble and polished stone.
272. 3.36.2The roof was leaded outside and gilded coffered work within.
273. 3.37.1Double aisles lined the nave, and three eastern doors admitted the crowds.
274. 3.38.1A hemisphere with twelve columns, for the twelve apostles, crowned the basilica.
275. 3.39.1An atrium, court, and gateway led from the marketplace into the church.
276. 3.40.1The church was richly furnished with gifts of gold, silver, and jewels.
277. 3.41.1Constantine also adorned the caves of Christ's birth and ascension, in memory of his mother.
278. 3.42.1Helena, Constantine's aged mother, made a pilgrimage to the holy places in the East.
279. 3.43.1Helena founded churches at Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives.
280. 3.43.2Helena and Constantine adorned the cave of the Nativity.
281. 3.43.3On the Mount of Olives Helena built a church over the cave where Christ taught his disciples.
282. 3.43.4Both churches were Helena's foundations, supported by her son's authority.
283. 3.43.5Helena ended a long, good life with a worthy death.
284. 3.44.1On her journey Helena gave generously to cities, soldiers, and the poor, and freed prisoners and exiles.
285. 3.45.1Helena worshiped humbly with ordinary believers and enriched churches everywhere.
286. 3.46.1Near eighty, Helena made her will in favor of Constantine and his sons.
287. 3.46.2Helena died with Constantine at her side, passing to heavenly life.
288. 3.47.1Helena was buried with imperial honors.
289. 3.47.2Constantine brought his mother to the faith and honored her as Augusta.
290. 3.47.3Constantine gave Helena free use of the treasury, fulfilling the command to honor one's parents.
291. 3.47.4Constantine built fine new churches in every province.
292. 3.48.1Constantine filled Constantinople with churches and martyrs' shrines.
293. 3.48.2Constantinople was to be free of pagan worship.
294. 3.49.1Fountains showed the Good Shepherd and Daniel, and a jeweled cross adorned the palace ceiling.
295. 3.50.1Constantine built great churches at Nicomedia and Antioch, where the octagonal church was unique in size and beauty.
296. 3.51.1Constantine ordered a church at Mamre, where God had appeared to Abraham.
297. 3.51.2Eusebius introduces Constantine's letter rebuking the bishops of Palestine about Mamre.
298. 3.52.1Constantine's mother-in-law had informed him of pagan pollution at a holy place in Palestine.
299. 3.53.1Idols, an altar, and sacrifices had been set up at Abraham's oak of Mamre.
300. 3.53.2Count Acacius is to destroy the idols and altar, and the bishops are to plan a basilica; pagans are barred from the site.
301. 3.53.3Mamre is holy because there God, the Savior with two angels, appeared to Abraham and promised him descendants.
302. 3.53.4The bishops must keep Mamre pure for Christian worship alone.
303. 3.54.1While honoring God, Constantine also exposed pagan error.
304. 3.54.2Temples were stripped, and famous pagan statues were displayed as spectacles in Constantinople.
305. 3.54.3The statues, once objects of sacrifice, became mere ornaments to be laughed at.
306. 3.54.4The gold and silver idols were removed as stumbling blocks.
307. 3.54.5A few trusted men were sent to carry this out.
308. 3.54.6Priests were made to bring out their idols, which were stripped of precious metal and exposed as hollow.
309. 3.54.7Bronze idols were dragged away bound with ropes.
310. 3.55.1From Constantinople Constantine spotted a hidden center of error in Phoenicia.
311. 3.55.2It was a remote shrine of Aphrodite at Aphaca in Lebanon.
312. 3.55.3Eusebius describes the shrine as a place of sexual license.
313. 3.55.4Constantine ordered the temple destroyed.
314. 3.55.5Soldiers cleared the site, and the self-styled wise among the pagans also learned a lesson.
315. 3.56.1Constantine ordered the destruction of the healing shrine of the Cilician god.
316. 3.56.2The temple fell, and the “healer” could not save himself.
317. 3.56.3The temple was destroyed completely.
318. 3.57.1Many pagans turned to Christ or at least ridiculed their old gods.
319. 3.57.2The idols were found to contain bones, skulls, rags, and straw.
320. 3.57.3The pagans saw that no god lived in their shrines.
321. 3.57.4The inner sanctuaries were opened, exposing the old blindness of the nations.
322. 3.58.1At Heliopolis in Phoenicia sacred prostitution had been practiced.
323. 3.58.2Constantine forbade the practice by law and wrote urging the people to know God.
324. 3.58.3Heliopolis received a great church with a bishop, presbyters, and deacons.
325. 3.58.4Constantine also gave alms to draw people to the faith, even from mixed motives.
326. 3.59.1Envy again stirred up trouble in the church.
327. 3.59.2A dispute split the church at Antioch and nearly led to violence.
328. 3.59.3Constantine sent a count and many letters urging the Antiochenes to make peace.
329. 3.59.4Eusebius omits these letters to spare those accused.
330. 3.59.5Eusebius includes only the letters telling the Antiochenes not to take another church's bishop.
331. 3.60.1Constantine praises the Antiochenes' concord.
332. 3.60.2Brothers in the faith should rejoice in the good of all.
333. 3.60.3The Antiochenes had acclaimed Eusebius of Caesarea as their bishop.
334. 3.60.4Constantine is troubled by the Antiochenes' request and appeals to the faith that prefers peace to victory.
335. 3.60.5Eusebius is worthy, but churches must not take one another's bishops; others could be found.
336. 3.60.6All churches are equal and none should gain at another's expense.
337. 3.60.7To take Eusebius from Caesarea would be violence and would provoke strife there.
338. 3.60.8The Antiochenes should honor Eusebius by their esteem and choose another bishop without tumult.
339. 3.60.9Constantine closes by praising their peace and urging them not to endanger it.
340. 3.61.1Constantine commends Eusebius for refusing the see of Antioch.
341. 3.61.2Eusebius rightly kept the church rule by staying in his own see.
342. 3.61.3Constantine has written to Antioch and asks Eusebius to attend the council there.
343. 3.62.1Constantine tells the bishops at Antioch that he has written to the people about their wish to have Eusebius.
344. 3.62.2Eusebius will stay at Caesarea; Constantine suggests the presbyters Euphronius and George as candidates.
345. 3.62.3The bishops are to choose and ordain a worthy candidate according to church rule.
346. 3.63.1Having settled church disputes, Constantine turned against the heretics.
347. 3.63.2The heretics are the false prophets and wolves of whom Christ warned.
348. 3.63.3Constantine outlawed the heretics and wrote urging them to repent and return to the church.
349. 3.64.1Constantine's edict addresses Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulians, and Montanists.
350. 3.64.2The heretics are enemies of truth who wound pure consciences.
351. 3.64.3Their evils are too many and too foul to describe.
352. 3.64.4Such evils must be rooted out by public measures.
353. 3.65.1Heretics are forbidden to meet, and their meeting houses are confiscated.
354. 3.65.2Heretics are invited into the catholic church; their churches go to the catholic church and their other property to the state.
355. 3.66.1Some heretics joined the church out of fear, others sincerely.
356. 3.66.2Bishops tested the converts and admitted only the sincere.
357. 3.66.3Schismatics without false doctrine were readily received, and the church appeared united.
358. 4.1.1Constantine was lavish with gifts and honors, creating new ranks to reward more people.
359. 4.2.1Constantine permanently remitted a quarter of the land tax.
360. 4.3.1He sent assessors to correct unfair land assessments.
361. 4.4.1Constantine compensated the losers in lawsuits he judged.
362. 4.5.1Constantine subdued the Scythians and Sarmatians, to whom Rome had paid tribute.
363. 4.5.2Relying on the cross, Constantine ended the tribute and brought the Scythians into submission.
364. 4.6.1The Sarmatians' armed slaves turned on their masters and expelled them.
365. 4.6.2Constantine settled the Sarmatian refugees in the empire as soldiers and farmers.
366. 4.7.1Eusebius saw embassies of strange peoples from every land waiting at the palace gates.
367. 4.7.2They brought crowns, jewels, boys, robes, horses, and weapons.
368. 4.7.3Constantine repaid the envoys richly, and many chose to stay.
369. 4.8.1Constantine exchanged embassies with the Persian king and wrote to him on behalf of the Christians in Persia.
370. 4.9.1Constantine's letter to Shapur confesses the God whose sign leads his armies to victory.
371. 4.10.1Constantine worships God without blood sacrifice or earthly pomp.
372. 4.10.2God asks only a pure mind and soul.
373. 4.10.3God loves the meek and faithful and humbles the proud.
374. 4.10.4God supports just rulers and gives them peace.
375. 4.11.1Rulers who denied the one God came to a terrible end.
376. 4.11.2One such persecutor was captured by the Persians.
377. 4.12.1Constantine has seen the persecutors punished and rejoices in the peace of the Christians.
378. 4.13.1Constantine commends the Christians of Persia to Shapur's protection.
379. 4.14.1In peace, Constantine prayed and asked the bishops to pray for him.
380. 4.15.1Constantine's coins showed him looking up in prayer.
381. 4.15.2Portraits over palace gates showed him praying with raised hands.
382. 4.16.1He forbade his images to be placed in pagan temples.
383. 4.17.1Constantine read Scripture and led prayers in the palace like a church.
384. 4.18.1Sunday was set apart for prayer, and the palace guards observed it too.
385. 4.18.2Constantine made Sunday a public day of rest and also honored Fridays.
386. 4.18.3Christian soldiers were free to attend church on Sunday.
387. 4.19.1Non-Christian soldiers were to assemble on Sundays to recite a set prayer to the one God.
388. 4.20.1The soldiers' Sunday prayer thanked the one God for victory and prayed for the emperor.
389. 4.21.1The cross was marked on weapons and replaced pagan images at the head of the army.
390. 4.22.1Constantine prayed daily in private and kept Easter with special devotion.
391. 4.22.2At Easter the city was lit all night, and at dawn Constantine gave gifts to all.
392. 4.23.1Idolatry and sacrifice were forbidden, and governors honored Sundays and martyrs' feasts.
393. 4.24.1Constantine called himself a bishop “of those outside” the church.
394. 4.25.1Constantine forbade sacrifice, divination, idols, secret rites, and gladiatorial games.
395. 4.25.2In Egypt the effeminate priests of the Nile cult were suppressed.
396. 4.25.3Contrary to pagan fears, the Nile flooded abundantly.
397. 4.26.1Eusebius turns briefly to Constantine's reform of the laws.
398. 4.26.2Constantine repealed the old penalties on the childless.
399. 4.26.3Some are childless by nature, others by choosing celibacy and consecrated virginity.
400. 4.26.4The childless should be pitied and celibates admired, not punished.
401. 4.26.5The old law required rigid formulas in wills, which invited fraud.
402. 4.26.6Constantine allowed wills in ordinary words, even unwritten, before reliable witnesses.
403. 4.27.1Jews were forbidden to own Christian slaves.
404. 4.27.2Synodal decisions were given legal force over the governors.
405. 4.27.3Constantine made many other laws and spent his days considering whom to benefit.
406. 4.28.1Constantine endowed churches for the poor and honored ascetics and consecrated virgins.
407. 4.29.1Constantine studied at night and composed speeches to instruct his subjects.
408. 4.29.2Crowds came to hear him; when speaking of God he stood reverently and directed their praise to God.
409. 4.29.3His speeches refuted polytheism and taught the one God, providence, the incarnation, and judgment.
410. 4.29.4Constantine rebuked greedy officials and warned that all must give account to God.
411. 4.29.5His hearers applauded but did not change their greedy ways.
412. 4.30.1Constantine drew a grave's length on the ground to rebuke a greedy courtier.
413. 4.31.1Eusebius admits that Constantine's leniency was blamed for encouraging wrongdoing.
414. 4.32.1Eusebius will append Constantine's speech “To the Assembly of the Saints.”
415. 4.33.1Constantine insisted on standing to hear Eusebius's discourse on the Holy Sepulchre.
416. 4.33.2He listened standing to the end, saying divine matters should be heard standing.
417. 4.34.1Constantine wrote to Eusebius about copying the Scriptures and about his work on Easter.
418. 4.35.1Constantine's reply praises Eusebius for undertaking a work on the mystery of Easter.
419. 4.35.2Constantine has the book published and urges Eusebius to write more.
420. 4.36.1Because Constantinople's church has grown, more churches are needed.
421. 4.36.2Eusebius is to have fifty fine parchment copies of the Scriptures made for the churches of Constantinople.
422. 4.36.3The costs are met by the treasury, and the copies are to be brought by public transport.
423. 4.37.1The Bibles were sent; Constantine also welcomed the conversion of Constantia.
424. 4.38.1Constantia in Palestine became a city and took the name of Constantine's sister.
425. 4.39.1A Phoenician town named after Constantine burned its idols and became Christian.
426. 4.39.2In many places people destroyed their temples voluntarily and built churches; Eusebius now turns to Constantine's last years.
427. 4.40.1Constantine's three sons became Caesars at his tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth anniversaries.
428. 4.40.2For his thirtieth anniversary Constantine planned the dedication of the church in Jerusalem.
429. 4.41.1Envy again disturbed the churches of Egypt.
430. 4.41.2Constantine summoned a synod to settle the dispute and then dedicate the church.
431. 4.41.3The bishops were to settle their quarrels at Tyre before coming to worship.
432. 4.41.4Constantine wrote to the synod.
433. 4.42.1Constantine urges the synod at Tyre to meet at once and restore harmony.
434. 4.42.2Peace will please God and honor them; they must act with sincerity.
435. 4.42.3Constantine has summoned the bishops requested and sent the ex-consul Dionysius to keep order.
436. 4.42.4Anyone refusing to attend will be exiled by imperial order.
437. 4.42.5The bishops are to judge impartially by church law and restore peace.
438. 4.43.1An imperial messenger hurried the bishops on to Jerusalem.
439. 4.43.2Bishops from every province gathered in Jerusalem.
440. 4.43.3Bishops came from Macedonia, Pannonia, Moesia, Persia, Bithynia, and Thrace.
441. 4.43.4The whole East was represented, and imperial officials provided for the festival.
442. 4.44.1An imperial official, himself a confessor, hosted the bishops and gave generously to the poor.
443. 4.45.1Bishops praised the emperor's church and preached on doctrine.
444. 4.45.2Others expounded Scripture or offered the Eucharist and prayers; Eusebius too preached at the dedication.
445. 4.46.1Eusebius wrote a work on the church and later delivered the thirtieth-anniversary oration before Constantine.
446. 4.47.1The Jerusalem synod was the second great council after Nicaea.
447. 4.48.1Constantine rebuked a cleric who said he would reign with Christ, asking instead for prayer that he be a worthy servant.
448. 4.49.1Constantine celebrated the marriage of his son Constantius with feasts and gifts.
449. 4.50.1An Indian embassy brought gifts, so that Constantine's rule reached from Britain to India.
450. 4.51.1Constantine divided the empire among his three sons.
451. 4.51.2The sons were educated in faith, letters, war, government, and law.
452. 4.51.3Each son had his own court and army, officered by men loyal to their father.
453. 4.52.1Constantine taught his sons above all to value piety over wealth and power.
454. 4.52.2The sons embraced the faith and were surrounded by Christian officials; then God called Constantine away.
455. 4.53.1Near the end of a long reign Constantine remained vigorous in body.
456. 4.54.1Constantine's great kindness was blamed by some for encouraging wrongdoers.
457. 4.54.2Eusebius admits two evils of the period: the greed of officials and the hypocrisy of false converts.
458. 4.54.3Constantine's trusting nature led him at times to rely on false Christians.
459. 4.55.1To the end Constantine kept writing speeches, teaching, and making laws.
460. 4.55.2Shortly before his death Constantine spoke on immortality and judgment, and even a pagan sage approved.
461. 4.55.3He was preparing himself for death.
462. 4.56.1Constantine prepared a campaign against Persia.
463. 4.56.2He arranged for bishops to accompany the army.
464. 4.56.3The bishops eagerly agreed to go and pray for the army.
465. 4.56.4A tent-church was prepared for the campaign.
466. 4.57.1The Persians sought peace; Constantine kept the Easter vigil.
467. 4.58.1Constantine built the richly adorned church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
468. 4.59.1The church stood in a great colonnaded court with buildings for its staff.
469. 4.60.1The church had a further purpose, revealed only at the end.
470. 4.60.2Constantine intended the church as his burial place, to share in the prayers offered for the apostles.
471. 4.60.3His sarcophagus was placed among twelve memorials of the apostles.
472. 4.60.4After celebrating Easter, Constantine was called by God toward death.
473. 4.61.1Falling ill, Constantine went to the hot baths and then prayed at a martyrs' shrine in Helenopolis.
474. 4.61.2Near death, Constantine sought baptism for the forgiveness of his sins.
475. 4.61.3He made confession, received the laying on of hands, and summoned the bishops near Nicomedia.
476. 4.62.1Constantine tells the bishops that the time for his baptism has come.
477. 4.62.2He had hoped to be baptized in the Jordan, but God willed it here.
478. 4.62.3Whether he lives or dies, he will from now on live as a member of God's people.
479. 4.62.4Constantine was baptized and rejoiced in the new life.
480. 4.62.5After baptism he wore white and would not wear purple again.
481. 4.63.1Constantine gave thanks for the blessings of baptism.
482. 4.63.2He told his weeping officers that he now had true life and was eager to go to God.
483. 4.63.3Constantine made his final dispositions for Rome and for his sons.
484. 4.64.1These events fell during the season of Pentecost.
485. 4.64.2Constantine died at noon on the day of Pentecost.
486. 4.65.1The guards mourned Constantine as a father.
487. 4.65.2The officers and soldiers grieved for him.
488. 4.65.3The whole city mourned.
489. 4.66.1The body lay in state in the palace at Constantinople in a golden coffin.
490. 4.67.1Officials, senators, and crowds paid homage to the dead emperor as if he were alive.
491. 4.67.2Government went on in Constantine's name until his sons arrived, a sign of his soul's immortal reign.
492. 4.68.1Officers were sent to inform the Caesars.
493. 4.68.2The armies resolved to recognize only Constantine's sons.
494. 4.68.3The armies agreed that the three sons should be Augusti.
495. 4.69.1Rome mourned, closing baths, markets, and shows.
496. 4.69.2Rome honored him with images of his ascent to heaven and asked for his body.
497. 4.70.1Constantius II came and led the funeral procession.
498. 4.70.2Constantine's coffin was laid in the church of the Holy Apostles.
499. 4.71.1The clergy and people held a Christian funeral and prayed for Constantine's soul.
500. 4.71.2Buried among the apostles and remembered in the liturgy, Constantine still seemed to reign.
501. 4.72.1Unlike the phoenix, Constantine lives on, like the grain of wheat, in his sons.
502. 4.73.1Coins showed Constantine veiled and being taken up to heaven in a chariot.
503. 4.74.1Eusebius concludes that God showed in Constantine, the first Christian emperor, the difference between those who honor him and the persecutors.