Ian St. Ian

Does anyone have a good source for the story of Helen finding the One True Cross, how early the story was circulated, and how reliable the story is?

There was a piece in my local paper the other day from an orthodox priest discussing it, and it read like a lesson in credulity; but I realized I wasn't very familiar with the story itself and how it came to ben.

Joan of Bark

While I can't give you a source right now, I remember thinking that the whole thing seemed so ridiculous when I read about it.

The cross Jesus was purportedly (a sop for all you MJ's) crucified on would have been re-used by the always pragmatic Romans; it's not as if it belonged to the disciples. After countless crucifictions, it would have become too battered to be used for this purpose anymore, and the Romans would have utilized the wood for something practical: say, a campfire. I find it highly unlikely someone would have made a note of which cross was used for Jesus, then taken it away and buried it for future generations to find, especially since we have no evidence that the cross was a revered symbol in Christianity before the fifth century.

Toto

Catholic EncyclopediaTrue_Cross ascribes this to Socrates Scholasticus and others.

Toto

To expand, it appears that Eusebius does not report on the finding of the true cross, so there is no contemporary report. Socrates Scholasticus wrote in the following century. The Catholic Encyclopedia version above seems to come from Theodoret, who died in the middle of the fifth century.

But the legend continued to evolve and develop, so the True Cross was connected with various other legendary pieces of wood.

You won't get any points from Catholics or the Orthodox if you point out the absurdities and lack of historical basis for these legends.

mountainman

See detailed notes to this diagram from Momigliano here.


BOOK ONE, THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, BY SOCRATES SCHOLASTICUS.

Chapter XVI. - The Emperor Constantine having enlarged the Ancient Byzantium, calls it Constantinople.

Chapter XVII. - The Emperor's Mother Helena having come to Jerusalem, searches for and finds the Cross of Christ, and builds a Church.

Helena, the emperor's mother (from whose name having made Drepanum, once a village, a city, the emperor called it Helenopolis), being divinely directed by dreams went to Jerusalem. Finding that which was once Jerusalem, desolate `as a Preserve for autumnal fruits,'104 according to the prophet, she sought carefully the sepulchre of Christ, from which he arose after his burial; and after much difficulty, by God's help she discovered it. What the cause of the difficulty was I will explain in a few words. Those who embraced the Christian faith, after the period of his passion, greatly venerated this tomb; but those who hated Christianity, having covered the spot with a mound of earth, erected on it a temple to Venus, and set up her image there, not caring for the memory of the place.105 This succeeded for a long time; and it became known to the emperor's mother. Accordingly she having caused the statue106 to be thrown down, the earth to be removed, and the ground entirely cleared, found three crosses in the sepulchre: one of these was that blessed cross on which Christ had hung, the other two were those on which the two thieves that were crucified with him had died. With these was also found the tablet107 of Pilate, on which he had inscribed in various characters, that the Christ who was crucified was king of the Jews. Since, however, it was doubtful which was the cross they were in search of, the emperor's mother was not a little distressed; but from this trouble the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, shortly relieved her. And he solved the doubt by faith, for he sought a sign from God and obtained it. The sign was this: a certain woman of the neighborhood, who had been long afflicted with disease, was now just at the point of death; the bishop therefore arranged it so that each of the crosses should be brought to the dying woman, believing that she would be healed on touching the precious cross. Nor was he disappointed in his expectation: for the two crosses having been applied which were not the Lord's, the woman still continued in a dying state; but when the third, which was the true cross, touched her, she was immediately healed, and recovered her former strength. In this manner then was the genuine cross discovered. The emperor's mother erected over the place of the sepulchre a magnificent church,108 and named it New Jerusalem, having built it facing that old and deserted city. There she left a portion of the cross, enclosed in a silver case, as a memorial to those who might wish to see it: the other part she sent to the emperor, who being persuaded that the city would be perfectly secure where that relic should be preserved, privately enclosed it in his own statue, which stands on a large column of porphyry in the forum called Constantine's at Constantinople. I have written this from report indeed; but almost all the inhabitants of Constantinople affirm that it is true.


Moreover the nails with which Christ's hands were fastened to the cross (for his mother having found these also in the sepulchre had sent them) Constantine took and had made into bridle-bits and a helmet, which he used in his military expeditions.


The emperor supplied all materials for the construction of the churches, and wrote to Macarius the bishop to expedite these edifices. When the emperor's mother had completed the New Jerusalem, she reared another church not at all inferior, over the cave at Bethlehem where Christ was born according to the flesh: nor did she stop here, but built a third on the mount of his Ascension. So devoutly was she affected in these matters, that she would pray in the company of women; and inviting the virgins enrolled in the register109 of the churches to a repast, serving them herself, she brought the dishes to table. She was also very munificent to the churches and to the poor; and having lived a life of piety, she died when about eighty years old. Her remains were conveyed to New Rome, the capital, and deposited in the imperial sepulchres.

Chapter XVIII.

The Emperor Constantine abolishes Paganism and erects many Churches in Different Places.



Chapter XIX.112

In what Manner the Nations in the Interior of India were Christianized in the Times of Constantine.



etc
etc
etc

drivel

etc etc etc


more drivel ....

etc etc



Constantine's Column [ABOVE]:

Provided to gain perspective on the very uneven battle between the successful military supremacist Constantine and the ascetic priest and logician, Arius of Alexandria, is the Column of Constantine (shown above). It could have been easily seen from the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, and was completed at the dedication of "The City of Constantine", 11 May 330. It was constructed of nine drums of porphyry each 2.9 m in diameter, topped by a Corinth Capital. Its total height was more than thirty-six meters. The column was crowned with colossal bronze statue of Constantine, depicted wearing a crown of seven rays. (It may have been Pheidas' sculpture of Apollo Paropius from the Acropolis of Athens, recycled with bullneck's head. Some accounts describe Constantine holding a spear in the left hand, and a globe in the right hand. Data from The Emperor Constantine, by Hans A. Pohlsander.

Historian John Julius Norwich writes that in the Column of Constantine,

“Apollo, Sol Invictus and Jesus Christ all seem subordinated
to a new supreme being—the Emperor Constantine.”

gupwalla

Just to clarify the above:

The tradition comes from Socrates of Constantinople, and he was writing approximately 100 years after Helena died. The story is likely legendary, though perhaps based on some truth -- at least insofar as Helena was very rich and wanted very much to find True Relics. I'm sure any number of people were happy to oblige with suitably old-looking pieces of wood.

(Even the legendary account indicates that she found three True Crosses and then devised a method to tell which one of them was the truest -- through divination, naturally, and not anything even remotely resembling pedigree, chain of custody, analytic testing, etc.)

andrewcriddle

See Helena Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and the Legend of Her Finding of the True Cross (or via: amazon.co.uk) by Drijvers.

Andrew Criddle

Roger Pearse

The story looks like hagiography to me, rather than history; folk story or urban legend about Christian events. This form of literature really gets going in the 5th century.

If I recall correctly, this legend also is found in the 9th century Arabic Christian history by Agapius.

avi

Thanks Roger.

About three centuries after Lord Constantine's mother, Helena, "discovered the cross", the Muslims invaded Jerusalem.

Of course, they found no cross there, how could they, if she had taken it away?

In any event, the Muslims (as opposed to the Arab Christians, cited by Roger) denied that Jesus was crucified. In that case, the absent cross, would be even more logical.
avi

Roger Pearse

Agapius writes as follows:

[p.29] ...

A woman of the imperial family named Protonice, a patrician lady, went up to Jerusalem and discovered the cross of our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, which was found in the hands of the Jews, who would not let the Christians near it. Then Protonice went to them and took the cross from them, and the position of the Christians to it was reaffirmed. She left the cross in Jerusalem and departed.

[p.31] ...

The wife of Claudius, the lady patrician, of whom we have already spoken, was converted, was baptised, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and enquired after the cross of our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified. It is said that James, the brother of Christ, was bishop of Jerusalem, and that the Jews were involved in these matters. She ordered the chief Jews to come and see her; among them was the High Priest, Onias 1, Gedaliah, son of Caiaphas, and many others as well as those two.

She said to them, "Deliver over to the bishop James (the land of) Calvary, the tomb, and the crosses on which the Christ and the two robbers were crucified." When she had given this order, she went to the tomb of Christ; but when she went in, her daughter fell down before her and died. She was profoundly sorrowful and afflicted at this. Then one of her slaves said to her, "This matter is no accident, nor without importance; it will demonstrate the power of Christ, God our Saviour." Listening to the slave speak thus, the woman |32 was comforted a little, accepted her words, and gave orders for the crosses to be brought to her. Then she placed the first and the second crosses on her daughter, but she did not stir. But when she placed the third cross on her, her daughter stirred, revived and got up. The woman confided this cross to bishop James, built a church there, returned to Rome, and told this story to her husband, and to the people there.

[p.36] ...

In the year 8 of Nero, the Jews at Jerusalem threw themselves on James, the brother of Christ, and killed him. He was a pious man, living in poverty, obedient to God. The Jews took him, placed him at the highest point of the temple, and said to him, "Speak to the people. Renounce the faith of Christ." When he would not agree to their demand, they threw him down. He fell face down, and said, "God, don't punish them for this sin, because they don't know what they are doing." Then they stoned him. One of them, who was a fuller, took the stick with which he beat the fabric, and struck him with it. He died, and was buried near the temple. Then they destroyed the church, seized the cross of Christ and the two crosses of the robbers, and hide them underground. Then they went back to the Torah and shortened the years of Adam, Noah, Abraham and others, by two thousand years, cutting a hundred years from period from the birth of each of them to the birth of their son, in such a way that they didn't shorten the total life of each. In this way they sought to prove, against the Christians, that the Messiah had not yet come. They likewise changed the names of towns and places signalled, according to tradition, by each action of the Lord the Christ, as well as the name of the place of crucifixion and other places. |37

[p.87] ...

Then his mother Helena converted to Christianity, accepted baptism and went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to beseech the protection of the Lord Christ, may he be glorified. She built churches of Great God in Jerusalem and in all the country. That was done with the assistance of Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. She took the nails with which the hands and the feet of the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, had been nailed, carried them to her son Constantine, who made some into a bit for his horse. He also took half of the cross, according to what certain people claim, and brought it to Constantinople. The other half remained in Apamea. She covered with gold the half that she had brought, and placed it at Constantinople in a church. There are some |88 people who believe that she did not leave anything of it at Apamea and that she brought the complete cross to Constantinople.

... [p.175]...

In this year[=year 8 of Justin], the emperor sent one of his lieutenants to Apamea to take from there the cross of Our Lord Christ that Helena had placed there. The population rose and refused to let him take it. The lieutenant wrote to the emperor to inform him of the events; then the emperor ordered the cross divided into two, to bring half to him and to leave the other in the city; the lieutenant did so.

...[p.176]...

In the year 7 of his [=Justin the Younger] reign, the king of Persians marched against (the fortress) of Abaran, plundered it, set fire to Apamea, captured the wood of the Cross which was there, and sent it to Persia.

... [p.207]...

We have already reported that after the conversion of the emperor Constantine with his mother Helena to Christianity, the latter marched on pilgrimage to seek out the tree of the Cross in Jerusalem. She gathered the Jews and oppressed them until they produced the Cross; and she found it broken into two halves. |208 She took one half which she placed at Apamea, and brought the other to Constantinople. The Greek emperors wanted to take the other half which was in Apamea. But the inhabitants opposed this and only gave them part of their part . . . 30 At the time of Justinianus, the Persians made war against the Greeks, plundered . . . 31 to Apamea, took [the remainder] of the tree of the Cross and carried it [into Persia]. Heraclius requested Chahrabaz to return it, and [Chahrabaz] agreed to his request and sent the Cross to him. Heraclius took it and carried it to Constantinople, [added it] to the remainder of the Cross and covered it with gold. The Cross has been there until the present day.