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61-545: Early sources indicate that the cathedral's relics were kept in a separate room north of the east choir around 1200. Considering that the church is one of the oldest in Germany, it may be assumed that the treasure is even older. Tradition has it that Helena , the mother of Constantine the Great , who resided in Trier in the early 4th century, gave the church some of its most valuable relics. In

122-561: A church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre , but were later located beneath chancel , naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as St Michael's Church in Hildesheim , Germany . The word "crypt" developed as an alternative form of the Latin "vault" as it was carried over into Late Latin , and came to refer to

183-424: A crypt can be called immurement , and is a method of final disposition , as an alternative to, for example, cremation . Crypts are usually found in cemeteries and under public religious buildings, such as churches or cathedrals , but are also occasionally found beneath mausolea or chapels on personal estates. Wealthy or prestigious families will often have a 'family crypt' or 'vault,' in which all members of

244-765: A deserted mine tunnel near Siegen . Here they were discovered by American troops in April 1945 and returned to Trier within a month. Other, less valuable objects ended up in the Marburg Central Collecting Point in Marburg , from where they were returned through the work of Walker Hancock (a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program ). The Trier Cathedral treasure consists mainly of reliquaries , liturgical vessels , religious statues and reliefs , ivories and illuminated manuscripts . The objects date from

305-637: A lytell crosse made of the holy crosse ... " In an ecumenical gesture, these relics visited the Orthodox Church of Greece and were displayed in the church of Agia Varvara (Saint Barbara) in Athens from 14 May to 15 June 2017. In Great Britain, later legend, mentioned by Henry of Huntingdon but made popular by Geoffrey of Monmouth , claimed that Helena was a daughter of the King of Britain , Cole of Colchester , who allied with Constantius to avoid more war between

366-456: A masterpiece from the Egbert workshops, survived but ended up in the treasury of Limburg Cathedral . During the 19th and 20th century the treasure was partly restored through donations, loans, acquisitions from art dealers and commissions. The Byzantine Adventus Ivory that had been part of the cathedral treasure until 1792 was bought back in 1845. In 1851, a 12th-century crosier was discovered in

427-618: A religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem , during which ancient tradition claims that she discovered the True Cross . The Eastern Orthodox Church , Catholic Church , Oriental Orthodox Churches , Anglican Communion , and the Lutheran Church revere her as a saint . Helena was Greek , however, her birthplace is not known with certainty. Helenopolis , then Drepanum, in Bithynia is, following Procopius , "generally assumed" to be

488-560: A spot which has been accounted holy from the beginning in God's judgment, but which now appears holier still, since it has brought to light a clear assurance of our Saviour's passion. Sozomen and Theodoret claim that Helena also found the nails of the crucifixion . To use their miraculous power to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed in Constantine's helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse. According to one tradition, Helena acquired

549-409: A test. Possibly through Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem , she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered, and Helena declared the cross with which the woman had been touched to be the True Cross . On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered

610-762: Is also commemorated every Bright Wednesday along with the saints from Mount Sinai , by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America . Her alleged skull is displayed in the east crypt of the Cathedral of Trier , in Germany . Portions of her relics are found at the basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome , the Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles in Paris , and at

671-481: Is also held by the Filipino community of Jersey City, New Jersey . In medieval legend and chivalric romance , Helena appears as a persecuted heroine, in the vein of such women as Emaré and Constance ; separated from her husband, she lives a quiet life, supporting herself on her embroidery, until such time as her son's charm and grace wins her husband's attention and so the revelation of their identities. Helena

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732-710: Is considered by the Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox , Eastern and Roman Catholic churches, as well as by the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches , as a saint. She is sometimes known as Helen of Constantinople to distinguish her from others with similar names . Her feast day as a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church is celebrated with her son on 21 May, the "Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helena, Equal to

793-633: Is the earliest authority for the statement that Helena was a native of Drepanum, in the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor . The name Helena appears in all areas of the Empire, but is not epigraphically attested in inscriptions of Bithynia (Helena's proposed region of origin) and it was also common in Latin-speaking areas. Procopius lived much later than the era he was describing and his description may have been actually intended as an etymological explanation about

854-425: Is the protagonist of Evelyn Waugh 's 1950 novel Helena . She is also the main character of Priestess of Avalon (2000), a fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson . She is given the name Eilan and depicted as a trained priestess of Avalon . Helena is also the protagonist of Louis de Wohl 's novel The Living Wood (1947) in which she is again the daughter of King Coel of Colchester. In

915-614: The Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers . The church of Sant'Elena in Venice claims to have the complete body of the saint enshrined under the main altar. In 1517, the English priest, Richard Torkington, having seen the relics during a visit to Venice described them as follows: " She lith in a ffayr place of religion, of white monks, ye may see her face perfythly, her body ys covered with a cloth of whith sylke ... Also there lyes upon her breast

976-636: The Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier . Several relics purportedly discovered by Helena are now in Cyprus , where she spent some time. Among them are items believed to be part of Jesus Christ's tunic, pieces of the holy cross, and pieces of the rope with which Jesus was tied on the Cross. The rope, considered to be the only relic of its kind, has been held at the Stavrovouni Monastery , which

1037-695: The Mount of Olives ; sites of Christ's birth and ascension, respectively. Local founding legend attributes to Helena's orders the construction of a church in Egypt to identify the Burning Bush of Sinai. The chapel at Saint Catherine's Monastery —often referred to as the Chapel of Saint Helen—is dated to the year 330. Jerusalem was still being rebuilt following the destruction caused by Titus in AD 70. Emperor Hadrian had built during

1098-420: The 130s a temple to Venus over the supposed site of Jesus ' tomb near Calvary , and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina . Accounts differ concerning whether the temple was dedicated to Venus or Jupiter. According to Eusebius, "[t]here was a temple of Venus on the spot. This the queen (Helena) had destroyed." According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and, according to the legend that arose at

1159-417: The 15th century, the town's coat of arms has shown a representation of the True Cross and three crowned nails in her honour. Colchester Town Hall has a Victorian statue of the saint on top of its 50-metre-high (160 ft) tower. The arms of Nottingham are almost identical because of the city's connection with Cole, her supposed father. Flores de Mayo honors her and her son Constantine for finding

1220-469: The 2021 novel Eagle Ascending by Dan Whitfield she is depicted as having lived to age 118 as result of the powers of the True Cross. Crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) crypta " vault ") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins , sarcophagi , or religious relics . Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of

1281-486: The 3rd through the 20th century. Four of the cathedral's main relics are not kept in the Treasury but elsewhere in the church. These are the Holy Tunic (in a separate chapel behind the main altar), the head reliquary of Saint Helena (in the east crypt ), the reliquary shrine of Saint Maternus (in the central crypt) and the reliquary shrine of Saint Blaise and other saints (in the west crypt). The following are kept in

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1342-821: The Apostles ". Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and in Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate falls on 18 August. Her feast day in the Coptic Orthodox Church is on 9 Pashons . Some Anglican and Lutheran churches keep the 21 May date. Helena is honored in the Church of England on 21 May but in the Episcopal Church on 22 May . In the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches ,

1403-637: The Britons and Rome. Geoffrey further states that she was brought up in the manner of a queen, as she had no brothers to inherit the throne of Britain. The source for this may have been Sozomen's Historia Ecclesiastica , which, however, does not claim Helena was British but only that her son Constantine picked up his Christianity there. Constantine was with his father when he died in York , but neither had spent much time in Britain. The statement made by English chroniclers of

1464-552: The Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the similarly named Welsh princess Saint Elen (alleged to have married Magnus Maximus and to have borne a son named Constantine) or from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine's marriage with Fausta. The description of Constantine honoring Britain oriendo ( lit.  "from

1525-590: The Treasury: During its long history the cathedral collected numerous liturgical vessels, candlesticks , processional crosses and other objects used in mass or for administering the Holy Sacraments . Despite the losses in the late 18th and early 19th century, the following remain: The collection includes many enamel -decorated historical art-objects, including: The cathedral in Trier owns many paintings, statues and reliefs, most of which can be found in

1586-585: The True Cross with a parade with floral and fluvial themed parade showcasing her, Constantine and other people who followed her journey to find the True Cross. Her discovery of the Cross along with Constantine is dramatised in the Santacruzan , a ritual pageant in the Philippines . Held in May (when Roodmas was once celebrated), the procession also bears elements of the month's Marian devotions . A Santacruzan procession

1647-634: The area of Yorkshire , and revived as a suggestion in the 20th century in the novel by Evelyn Waugh . It is unknown where she first met Constantius . The historian Timothy Barnes has suggested that Constantius , while serving under Emperor Aurelian , could have met her while stationed in Asia Minor for the campaign against Zenobia . It is said that upon meeting they were wearing identical silver bracelets; Constantius saw her as his divinely-sent soulmate. Barnes calls attention to an epitaph at Nicomedia of one of Aurelian's protectors, which could indicate

1708-561: The building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . Churches were also built on other sites detected by Helena. The "Letter From Constantine to Macarius of Jerusalem", as presented in Eusebius' Life of Constantine , states: Such is our Saviour's grace, that no power of language seems adequate to describe the wondrous circumstance to which I am about to refer. For, that the monument of his [Christ's] most holy Passion, so long ago buried beneath

1769-589: The church, where they have a religious function. A few, mainly ivory carvings , are kept in the treasury: Only a few specimens from the collection of historical books and medieval manuscripts are on display in the treasury: [REDACTED] Media related to Domschatz, Trier at Wikimedia Commons Helena (empress) Flavia Julia Helena ( / ˈ h ɛ l ə n ə / ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλένη , Helénē ; c. AD 246/248–330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena ,

1830-399: The court of Diocletian at Nicomedia, where Constantine grew to be a member of the inner circle. Helena never remarried and lived for a time in obscurity, though close to her only son, who had a deep regard and affection for her. Constantine was proclaimed augustus (emperor) in 306 by Constantius' troops after the latter had died, and following his elevation his mother was brought back to

1891-452: The early medieval requirements of a crypt faded, as church officials permitted relics to be held in the main level of the church. By the Gothic period crypts were rarely built, however burial vaults continued to be constructed beneath churches and referred to as crypts. In more modern terms, a crypt is most often a stone chambered burial vault used to store the deceased. Placing a corpse into

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1952-535: The eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace's private chapel, now the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme , where they can be still seen today. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries. Helena died around 330, with her son at her side. She

2013-537: The emperor's presence in the Bithynian region soon after AD 270. The precise legal nature of the relationship between Helena and Constantius is also unknown. The sources are equivocal on the point, sometimes calling Helena Constantius' "wife", and sometimes, following the dismissive propaganda of Constantine's rival Maxentius , calling her his " concubine ". Jerome , perhaps confused by the vague terminology of his own sources, manages to do both. Some scholars, such as

2074-612: The end of the 4th century, chose a site to begin excavating, which led to the recovery of three different crosses. The legend is recounted in Ambrose , On the Death of Theodosius (died 395) and at length in Rufinus ' chapters appended to his translation into Latin of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History , the main body of which does not mention the event. Then, Rufinus relates, the empress refused to be swayed by anything short of solid proof and performed

2135-504: The family ... suggested that as a girl she had been one of the supplementary amenities of her father's establishment, regularly available to his clients at a small extra charge ." Both Geoffrey of Monmouth and Henry of Huntingdon promoted a popular tradition that Helena was a British princess and the daughter of " Old King Cole " from the area of Colchester . This led to the later dedication of 135 churches in England to her, many in around

2196-433: The family are interred. Many royal families , for example, have vast crypts containing the bodies of dozens of former royalty. In some localities, an above ground crypt is more commonly called a mausoleum , which also refers to any elaborate building intended as a burial place, for any number of people . There was a trend in the 19th century of building crypts on medium to large size family estates, usually subtly placed on

2257-475: The feast of Meskel , which commemorates her discovery of the cross, is celebrated on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or on 28 September in leap years). The holiday is usually celebrated with the lighting of a large bonfire , or Demera , based on the belief that she had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she should make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where

2318-468: The first to call her a stabularia , a term translated as "stable-maid" or "inn-keeper". He makes this comment a virtue, calling Helena a bona stabularia , a "good stable-maid", probably to contrast her with the general suggestion of sexual laxness considered typical of that group. Other sources, especially those written after Constantine's proclamation as emperor, gloss over or ignore her background. Some ancient historians, " pagan and therefore hostile to

2379-510: The grave of archbishop Heinrich II of Finstingen. Also in the 19th century, the periodical showing of the relics, especially the Holy Tunic, was resumed. In 1844 it was estimated that 600,000 pilgrims participated in the pilgrimage; in 1891 perhaps more than a million. At the end of the Second World War the main treasures from Trier, along with those from Aachen and Essen , were hidden in

2440-496: The ground, should have remained unknown for so long a series of years, until its reappearance to his servants now set free through the removal of him who was the common enemy of all, is a fact which truly surpasses all admiration. I have no greater care than how I may best adorn with a splendid structure that sacred spot, which, under Divine direction, I have disencumbered as it were of the heavy weight of foul idol worship [the Roman temple];

2501-473: The historian Jan Drijvers, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in a common-law marriage , a cohabitation recognized in fact but not in law. Others, like Timothy Barnes, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in an official marriage, on the grounds that the sources claiming an official marriage are more reliable. Helena gave birth to the future emperor Constantine I on 27 February of an uncertain year soon after 270 (probably around 272). At

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2562-575: The imperial treasury in order to locate the relics of the Christian tradition . In AD 326–28 Helena undertook a trip to Palestine. According to Eusebius of Caesarea , who records the details of her pilgrimage to Palestine and other eastern provinces, and Socrates Scholasticus , she was responsible for the construction or beautification of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem , and the Church of Eleona on

2623-486: The late 10th century, under archbishop Egbert , Trier became a centre of the Ottonian Renaissance . Egbert's famous workshops produced metalwork and illuminated manuscripts , of which the cathedral acquired several. The treasure was moved to a larger room in 1480 in the so-called Badische Bau , part of the cloisters , where the treasury and the cathedral's archives are still housed. An increase in pilgrims led to

2684-489: The main relics and reliquaries being shown from 1512 until 1655 on a purpose-built platform in front of the western apse to the gathered pilgrims on the Domfreihof square. Inventories dating from 1238, 1429 and 1776 provide detailed information on the history of the treasure, which for centuries remained largely intact, in spite of fires, sieges and pillaging. For the safety of the relics, several times (particularly during war),

2745-605: The main relics were transferred to Ehrenbreitstein , which had a safe haven maintained by the bishops of Trier. The outbreak of the First Coalition War led in 1794 to the incorporation of Trier and most of the German Rhineland into the French First Republic . During this period a large portion of the treasure was lost, principally due to the heavy war taxes imposed on the cathedral chapter , which resulted in

2806-483: The melting down of gold and silver objects in order to pay the taxes. In 1792 alone, 399 kg of precious metal was handed in at the Trier Electoral mint . Only twelve objects made of precious metal survived. One of the many treasures that went missing was the so-called "monile of Saint Helena", a golden hanger with a relic of the True Cross , listed in the 1238 inventory. The 10th-century " staff of Saint Peter",

2867-428: The mithraeum has often been adapted to serve as a crypt. The famous crypt at Old St. Peter's Basilica , Rome, developed about the year 600, as a means of affording pilgrims a view of Saint Peter 's tomb, which lay according to the Roman fashion, directly below the high altar . The tomb was made accessible through an underground passageway beneath the sanctuary from where pilgrims could enter at one stair, pass by

2928-504: The only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia. Crypts were introduced into Frankish church building in the mid-8th century, as a feature of its Romanization. Their popularity then spread more widely in western Europe under Charlemagne . Examples from this period are most common in the early medieval West, for example in Burgundy at Dijon and Tournus . After the 10th century,

2989-544: The outset", "from the beginning") may have been taken as an allusion to his birth ("from his beginning") although it was actually discussing the beginning of his reign. At least twenty-five holy wells currently exist in the United Kingdom dedicated to a Saint Helen. She is also the patron saint of Abingdon and Colchester . St Helen's Chapel in Colchester was believed to have been founded by Helena herself, and since

3050-548: The place. Her name is attested on coins as Flavia Helena, Flavia Julia Helena and sometimes Aelena. Joseph Vogt suggested that the name Helena was typical for the Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire and that therefore her place of origin should be looked for in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. No Greek inscriptions have been attested dedicated to Helena during her lifetime. The 6th-century historian Procopius

3111-623: The public life in 312, returning to the imperial court. She appears in the Eagle Cameo portraying Constantine's family, probably commemorating the birth of Constantine's son Constantine II in the summer of 316. She lived in the Horti Spei Veteris in Rome which she converted into an even more luxurious palace. According to Eusebius, Helena was converted to Christianity by Constantine. He appointed her as Augusta , and gave her unlimited access to

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3172-730: The ritual rooms found underneath church buildings. It also served as a vault for storing important and/or sacred items. The word "crypta", however, is also the female form of crypto "hidden". The earliest known origin of both is in the Ancient Greek κρύπτω , the first person singular indicative of the verb "to conceal, to hide". First known in the early Christian period, in particular North Africa at Chlef and Djemila in Algeria , and Byzantium at Saint John Studio in Constantinople where Christian churches have been built over mithraea ,

3233-469: The time, she was in Naissus ( Niš , Serbia ). In order to obtain a wife more consonant with his rising status, Constantius divorced Helena some time before 289, when he married Theodora , Maximian 's daughter under his command. The narrative sources date the marriage to 293, when Constantius was appointed caesar (heir-apparent) of Maximian, but the Latin panegyric of 289 refers to the new couple as already married. Helena and her son were dispatched to

3294-408: The tomb and exit without interrupting the clerical community's service at the altar directly above. The Visigothic crypt (the Crypt of San Antolín) in Palencia Cathedral (Spain), was built during the reign of Wamba to preserve the remains of the martyr Saint Antoninus of Pamiers , a Visigothic-Gallic nobleman brought from Narbonne to Visigothic Hispania in 672 or 673 by Wamba himself. These are

3355-461: The toponym Helenopolis . On the other hand, her son Constantine renamed the city " Helenopolis " after her death around AD 330, which supports the belief that the city was indeed her birthplace. The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has, however, argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around Constantine's new capital in Constantinople , and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to necessarily mark her birthplace. There

3416-419: The true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it, the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried. Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails ( Roodmas ) by Empress Saint Helen in Jerusalem falls on 6 March . She

3477-401: Was about 80 on her return from Palestine. Since that journey has been dated to 326–28, she was probably born around 246 to 249. Information about her social background universally suggests that she came from the lower classes. Fourth-century sources, following Eutropius ' Breviarium, record that she came from a humble background. Bishop Ambrose of Milan, writing in the late 4th century was

3538-514: Was also a Helenopolis in Palestine and a Helenopolis in Lydia . These cities, and the province of Helenopontus in the Pontus, were probably all named after Constantine's mother. Two other locations in France and the Pyrenees have been named after Helena. Equally uncertain to Drepanum and without strong documentation suggestions about her birthplace are: Naissus (central Balkans), Caphar or Edessa ( Mesopotamia ) and Trier . The bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesarea states that Helena

3599-426: Was also said to have been founded by Helena. According to tradition, Helena is responsible for the large population of cats in Cyprus . Local tradition holds that she imported hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine in the fourth century to rid a monastery of snakes. The monastery is today known as "St. Nicholas of the Cats" (Greek Άγιος Νικόλαος των Γατών ) and is located near Limassol . Helena left Jerusalem and

3660-424: Was an  Augusta of the  Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great . She was born in the lower classes traditionally in the city of Drepanon, Bithynia , in Asia Minor , which was renamed Helenopolis in her honor, although several locations have been proposed for her birthplace and origin. Helena ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity . In her final years, she made

3721-405: Was buried in the Mausoleum of Helena , outside Rome on the Via Labicana . Her sarcophagus is on display in the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum , next to the sarcophagus of her granddaughter Constantina (Saint Constance). However, in 1154 her remains were replaced in the sarcophagus with the remains of Pope Anastasius IV , and Helena's remains were moved to Santa Maria in Ara Coeli . Helena

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