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Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the
Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great
piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross,
about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the
Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place
where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the
statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb
of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must
be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but
Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation.
At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of
Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was
brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross
of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious
Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood
on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord
have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion
of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The
rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint
Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine
and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius
the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a
military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople,
himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.
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