Word on the death of Theodosius the Great

The funeral oration “Word on the Death of Theodosius the Great” was delivered in 395 on the 40th day after the death of Emperor Theodosius I the Great, before the transfer of his body to Constantinople. This speech contains the usual elements of an epitaph: praise of the deceased, a listing of his virtues, especially meekness. The saint provides a commentary on Psalm 114, indicating that the Christian virtue of love was especially characteristic of Theodosius and served as the source of his other virtues. *The title of the work in Latin is De obitu Theodosii. This threatened us with severe earthquakes and incessant rains; this extraordinary darkness announced that our all-merciful Sovereign, Emperor Theodosius, was about to depart from this light. The very elements condoled his death. The sky and air were covered with incessant darkness, the earth shook and was filled with overflowing waters. The world itself mourned his admiration from us, for he dissolved the cruelty of this world with moderation and preceded the execution of criminals with meekness and condescension. He departed to take over the kingdom, which he did not leave, but only changed: for piety he was called to the dwellings of Christ, to that highest Jerusalem, from where he now exclaims, turning to us: “As we heard, so we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish it forever” (Ps 47:9). But he left many orphans and deprived of fatherly help, many, even his sons. However, those whom he left as heirs of his piety are not deprived: those for whom he acquired the grace of Christ, and the loyalty of the troops, who proved that God protects virtue and avenges infidelity, are not deprived. We recently mourned his death, and now on the fortieth day we commemorate him in the presence of Honorius the Emperor, standing before the holy altar. For just as Saint Joseph, after forty days, commemorated his deceased father Jacob, so he pays tribute to Theodosius, his father. But since some are accustomed to observing the third and thirtieth day, while others are accustomed to observing the seventh and fortieth, let us listen to what Scripture says. Regarding the death of Jacob, it is written: “And Joseph commanded his servants, the doctors, to embalm his father; and the doctors embalmed Israel. And he was forty days old, for so many days are used for embalming, and the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days” (Gen. 50:2–3). And so this holy precept must be followed, for it is also mentioned in Deuteronomy: “And the children of Israel mourned for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. And the days of weeping and mourning for Moses passed away” (Deut. 34:8). Both of these practices are important, for through them the necessary duty of piety is accomplished. For commendable is Joseph, who set an example in this pious deed, commendable is Joseph, to whom his father, burning with love, said: “From God your father, who will help you, and from the Almighty, who will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lies below, with the blessings of the breasts and the womb, with the blessings of your father” (Gen. 49:25-26). So, this blessed son, on the fortieth day, honors the memory of his pious father Jacob, the reproacher. In the same way, on the fortieth day, we celebrate the memory of Theodosius, who, imitating the forefather Jacob, stopped the infidelity of tyrants and hid pagan idols: for his faith hid all veneration given to idols and destroyed all their ceremonies; who regretted that his leniency shown to those who had sinned was not valid, and forgiveness was not given to them. But the children will not deny what their parents gave them, they will not deny, although someone tried to prevent them from doing so: and they cannot deny what the father gave in general, nor can those who now pay what is given to each individual separately. The death of our emperor is all the more glorious because he has already entrusted to his children the kingdom, power and name of Augustus. It is also commendable that the reduction of some fees was carried out at his death, so that whoever attempted to interfere with this earned himself hatred, but this honor was not taken away from Theodosius. And this is fair: for when the last will and testament of private people have their force, then can the will of the emperor be in vain? Theodosius is also praised for the fact that his will concerned common law, for he had nothing to establish again in relation to his sons, since he had already given them everything, except that he had entrusted them to the care of their uncle; He had to make a will about his subjects in order to seal the entrusted loyalty of others. He ordered the publication of the law of mercy and leniency, which he left in the letter. What could be more worthy than the emperor's will in the form of a law? Truly such an emperor left us, but not all of him left: for he left us his children, in whom we must recognize him, and in whom we see and have him. Let age not bother us: the loyalty of the troops is the perfect age of the emperor, for perfect age is where there is perfect courage. This is mutual, because the imperial faith is the strength and courage of the army. You know what triumphs the faith of Theodosius gave you. When, due to the cramped space, the soldiers were somewhat late to enter into battle and the enemy began to disturb, then the emperor alone, dismounting from his horse, said in front of the army: Where is the God of Theodosius? And he said this when he was already close to Christ. For who could say this to those who do not cling to Christ? With these words he aroused the troops and armed them with his example. Old in years, but strong in faith. So the faith of Theodosius was your victory, so let your loyalty be the courage of his sons. For faith multiplies years. Abraham and Sarah did not talk about years, so that they could give birth in old age, and it is not surprising that faith, we said, multiplies years, for it gives the future. “Faith,” in the words of the Apostle, “is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). This is what Scripture teaches us. If faith is the message of those who hope, how much more is it the message of those who are seen? It is good to believe: “The righteous,” according to the Scripture, “shall live by faith; but if anyone hesitates, my soul has no favor with him” (Heb. 10:38). Let us not hesitate, or let us not retreat to the loss of our souls, but let us protect ourselves with faith to gain our souls. For our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, received testimony of this faith, which is why they left us an inheritance of faith. Faithful is Abraham, who was justified not by works, but by faith. Faithful was Isaac, who, by his faith, was not afraid of his parent’s sword. Faithful was Jacob, who, following in the footsteps of his father's faith, saw a host of angels along the way. When the prophet Elisha in Samaria was accidentally surrounded by Syrian troops, then, seeing this, his servant Gehazi said to him: “Alas! My lord, what should we do? And he said: Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are greater than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said: Lord! open his eyes so that he can see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw, and behold, the whole mountain was filled with horses and chariots of fire with Elisha’s steeple. When the Syrians came to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said: Smite them with blindness. And He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-18). Have you heard, warriors, that where there is infidelity, there is blindness. For the armies of the infidels were justly blind. On the contrary, where there is faith, there are angels in arms. Good faith often acts even in the dead: the enemy and his army are tormented by the power of martyrs. Therefore, we should especially try not to be ungrateful in this life, but to respond with our zeal to the pledges of the pious king. Pay the children what they owe their father. You owe more to the deceased than when he was alive. For if it is unlawful to violate the rights of private children, then how much more so in relation to the children of the emperor. What kind of emperor, it must be said? The emperor is pious, merciful and faithful, about whom the scripture says: “Many praise a person for his mercy; but who finds a truthful person? (Proverbs 20:6). And if it is a great thing to find a merciful or faithful person, then how much more so an emperor who, although his power motivates him to take revenge, is turned away from him by his inclination to mercy? What is more excellent than the faith of an emperor whose power does not make him arrogant, whose magnificence does not exalt him, who is led by piety? Solomon speaks about this beautifully: “The wrath of a king is like the roar of a lion, and his favor is like dew on the grass” (Proverbs 19:12). So, it is a great thing to prefer meekness to cruelty. Theodosius of blessed memory credited himself for a good deed when someone asked him for forgiveness, to which he was more inclined when he was inflamed with anger. His anger was an incentive to forgiveness, and thus they desired in him what they feared in others. This was a refuge for the guilty: because, having power over everyone, like a father, he preferred to forgive rather than, like a judge, to punish. We often saw that those who were guilty before him shuddered and had no hope, but were forgiven. This judge of truth wanted to win more than to punish, and he never refused forgiveness to the confessor, and if something was hidden on his conscience, he left it to God to judge the heart. People were more afraid of his voice than punishment, and he did this with such meekness that he wanted to attract people to himself more with mercy than with fear. One of the great philosophers reasoned that crimes committed in anger should not be punished, but Divine Scripture teaches better: “When you are angry,” he says, “do not sin.” (Ps 4:5). He sought rather to suppress sin than to excuse it: therefore, in anger it is better to acquire the praise of mercy rather than to be prompted to vengeance. Who can doubt that he will be a great help to his sons from the Lord? By the grace of the great God, Arkady the Emperor is already a young man, full of strength. Honorius passes through the doors of youth, and is already older than King Josiah. This latter began to reign in the eighth year, and his reign lasted thirty-one years, and he pleased God: for he celebrated the Passover of the Lord better than other Israeli kings and stopped disorder in the ceremonies. Asa also, while still in his immature years, accepted the kingdom, and reigned in Jerusalem for forty-one years; He, seeing countless Ethiopians attacking him, was not afraid, but trusting in the Lord, he expected salvation for himself even with a few. Oh that this king would be as faithful later as he showed himself pious at first! For at first, being left with a few, he won, and then, leaving the Lord, he demanded help from the Syrians and turned to doctors to heal his legs; but, having accepted such a sign of Divine favor, he should not have left his assistant: why did the doctors not help him, and he died as an infidel. But their fathers, Avia and Amos, were unfaithful: Theodosius was filled with the fear of God and mercy: why, if the Lord is merciful to us, we hope that he will stand as a bishop for his children in Christ. A good person is a merciful person who, by helping others, helps himself and, by treating someone else, heals his own wounds. For he who knows how to forgive recognizes himself as a man: he follows the path of Christ the Savior, Who, having accepted flesh, chose to come into the world as a Redeemer rather than as a judge. The Psalmist said beautifully: “I rejoice that the Lord has heard my voice and my prayer” (Ps 114:1). Reading this psalm, we hear, as it were, Theodosius himself speaking. “I rejoice,” he exclaims, “I recognize this pious voice - and truly “I rejoice”, for I fulfilled my duties with diligence, defended enemies, did not hate the enemy, forgave persecutors and did not destroy those who sought the kingdom. This voice of an unmediocre, but perfect in the law man: “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). But let us hear what he loved: since it is a kind of love here is silent, then, of course, it speaks of Divine love, the kind in which we love that which is most desirable, that which we can desire: “You shall love the Lord your God” (Deut. 6:5), says Scripture. So, the pious soul, filled with the Holy Spirit, departing from the earth to those on high and on high, as if in response to a question from those who met her, said: “I rejoice.” And what could be more perfect than this? Angels or archangels asked about what she had done on earth (for only God knows what is hidden); to which she answered: “I rejoice”: that is, she fulfilled the law and did not transgress the Gospel, offering herself to death every day as “sheep doomed to the slaughter” (Ps. 43:23). And therefore I believe that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor the present, nor the future, Neither height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39). The Lord Jesus commands us to keep this commandment of the law in the Gospel when he says to Peter: “Simon the Jonah! do you love me? And he answered: “So Lord! You know that I love You." And again he asked him: “Simon Ionin! do you love me? Peter said the same in response: “So Lord! You know that I love You." And the third time he was asked about the same thing, he exclaimed: “Lord! You know everything; You know how much I love You” (John 21:15–17). So, this threefold answer was a confirmation of love and the threefold destruction of this denial. If we want, we will find a threefold answer here: “I rejoice that the Lord heard my voice, my prayer; He has inclined His ear to me, and therefore I will call on Him all my days” (Ps. 114:1-2). And it is beautifully said: “I rejoice,” because I have already completed the course of my life. Why does the apostle, already in suffering, say: “I have fought the good fight, I have kept the course, I have kept the faith. But now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:7–8). Great is our Lord, who has given us the deeds with which the conqueror is crowned! “I rejoice,” he says, “trusting that the Lord has heard my voice and my prayer.” “I rejoice,” and for this reason the Lord turned His ear to me, in order to raise the one lying on his feet and raise the dead. Because God, inclining His ear, does not hear bodily, but out of condescension for our weakness deigns to listen to us. He bows His ear to us, so that our prayer may enter into Him. Giving mercy does not require a voice: the One who heard Moses did not need a voice, although he was silent and exclaimed, turning to Him with only wordless groans. The Lord can listen to blood that has no voice or tongue. Blood exclaimed, turning to Him in martyrdom and fratricide. “I rejoice,” he says, and therefore I fulfilled the will of the Lord, calling on Him all the days of my life. For to call only on some days, and not on all, is more a sign of an arrogant person than a trustworthy one: and giving thanks for only good deeds is not a sign of true zeal. And therefore the Apostle Paul exhorts: “Give thanks in everything” (1 Thess. 5:18). For we always have something to thank God for, we are never without a Divine gift, every day we owe our lives to Him: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4:7), says the apostle. And since you always accept, then always call, and since everything that you have, you have from God, then always recognize yourself as a debtor: however, I want you to pay your debt with love, and not with coercion. Hear the one who says: “Mortal diseases have seized me” (Ps. 114:3). However, I loved the Lord even in mortal illness. The torments of “hell have come upon me,” have come upon me not with fear, but with love and hope that no sorrow and oppression, no persecution and troubles will separate me from Christ. “But we also glory in our tribulations, knowing that from tribulation comes patience, from patience experience, from experience hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). For as a good ascetic he sought battle, so that he might gain the crown not by his own strength, but by the help of the Lord: because he could not win if he did not call on the one who helps those who fight. The poor man fights to win, but exposes himself to disaster if he does not call on the name of the Lord, and cry out: “Lord, deliver my soul!” (Ps 115:4). Therefore the apostle says: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. Poor man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank my God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:23–25). The one who wins is the one who trusts in God's grace, and not the one who is proud of his virtue. And why not hope for grace, having a merciful bishop? “The Lord is merciful and righteous, and our God is merciful” (Ps. 115:5). Here the Psalmist mentioned mercy twice, but truth once. In the middle of deep mercy lies truth: for if sins abound, let mercy also abound. The Lord has an abundance of all virtues: because “the Lord has strength” (Ps. 23:10). However, truth is combined with mercy, and mercy with truth; for it is written: “Do not be truthful” (Eccl. 7:17) [1], that is, unnecessary. What is above measure, although good, will not be counted as real good to you. Keep the measure so that you can receive it according to the measure. However, mercy does not hinder righteousness, because mercy itself is truth: “He was wasteful, he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 112:9). The righteous remembers his duty to help the poor and weak. Therefore, the Lord, approaching baptism, may He forgive us the sins of the weak and infirm, says, turning to John: “Forgive now; for this is how it becomes for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). From this it is clear that truth is mercy, and mercy is truth. Because if Divine mercy did not support us, then how could we little ones live at the very beginning of our entry into the world, when, coming out of our mother’s womb, we plunge from warm into cold and from wet, like fish, into dry; when it’s like a gentle wave throws us out of the sea and puts us in the theater of this life? We cannot find a reason for this, but it is Divine grace alone that acts. The Lord alone protects infants or, of course, those who recognize themselves as infants with a humble heart. For humility is commendable, which delivers those in need and those lying down. Such humility was known to David, who exclaimed: “Behold, I have sinned, I have acted lawlessly; and these sheep, what did they do? Let Your hand turn against me and against my father’s house” (2 Samuel 24:17). With these words, David acknowledged that his kingdom was from God, brought repentance, admitted sin and asked for forgiveness, and with this humility achieved salvation. Christ humbled himself in order to exalt everyone: and thus he who imitates the humility of Christ achieves the peace of Christ. Theodosius showed himself to be humble, having sinned, asked for forgiveness, and therefore his soul returned to its rest, as the Scripture says: “Return, my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has prospered you” (Ps. 115:6). He speaks beautifully, addressing the soul: “Return,” so that it, as one exercising in everyday labors, “returns” and enters into its peace. At the end of the run, the horse returns to its stall. The ship, after sailing, docks at the harbor. But what do these words mean: “to your rest,” if not the same as what the Lord Jesus says in the Gospel: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). We accept what is promised to us as if by inheritance: for the Lord is faithful and will not take away what he has prepared for his servants. If our faith is preserved, our promise is preserved. Look, man, at the grace of Christ towards you: while you still crawl on earth, you have an inheritance in heaven. Therefore let your heart be where your wealth is. This is the rest of the righteous, but the wicked will not enter it, just as the Lord says: “I swore in My wrath that they should not enter My rest.” (Ps. 94.11). Those who do not know the ways of the Lord are unworthy. Whoever, on the contrary, has performed a good deed and service is told: “Return to your rest.” It’s good to get away from the peace of the world, to calm down in the heavenly. This is the peace to which the prophet hurried, saying: “Who would give me wings like a dove? I would fly away and calm down” (Ps. 54:7). Saint David knew this peace, so he wanted to turn his soul to it. This is the peace of the Great Sabbath, thanks to which the saints, clinging to God and listening to His wise destinies, are above the sensory world. This is the rest of the Sabbath, with which God rested from all the affairs of the world. Now Theodosius, freed from the cares of this age, rejoices, raising his spirit to this eternal peace: he rejoices, for the Lord has captured his soul from death, which he often endured in this disastrous life, being overwhelmed by waves of sins: he rejoices that he freed his eyes from tears: illness, sadness and groans are gone. “And God,” it is written, “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death; there will be no more crying, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Rev. 21:4). And if there is no death, then he will not feel the blows of the fall, but will please God in the land of the living. Not so there as here, where man is clothed with a mortal body, subject to fall and sin. Therefore, this country is the country of the living, where the soul is located, created in the image and likeness of God. And therefore the flesh returns to the earth, but the soul, to which it is said: “Return, my soul, to your rest,” hurries to higher peace. Theodosius hurried to enter that peace, hurried to that city of Jerusalem, about which it is said: “And the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it” (Rev. 21:24). The glory received there is true glory and the blessed kingdom that the apostle desired, saying: “then we are pleased and wish better to leave the body and dwell with the Lord. And therefore we earnestly strive, whether in or out, to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:8-9.) So, having left the dubious feat, he enjoys unceasing light and eternal peace, rejoices in the fruits of Divine reward for what has been created in the body. Theodosius loved the Lord his God and therefore was honored with the community of saints. In conclusion of my speech, I will say that I also loved this merciful man, meek in his rule, kind-hearted and humble, whom the Lord Himself loves, saying: “This is the one I will look to: the humble and contrite in spirit, and the one who trembles at My word” (Is. 66:2). I loved this man, who favored those who accuse rather than those who hang out with him. Who, having laid aside the royal insignia, publicly in the Church mourned his sin, created through the deception and cunning of others, with groans and tears asking for forgiveness. What common people are ashamed of, the Emperor was not ashamed of - he brought public repentance, and every day he regretted his sin. Having won a glorious victory, he decided to abstain from the holy mysteries until his sons arrived, simply because his enemies were defeated in the battle. I fell in love with a husband who, with his last breath, sought me in spirit, who, parting with his body, cared more about the state of the Churches than thought about his own dangers. I confess that I loved this husband and therefore I sympathize with him with all my heart and continue this speech for consolation. I loved and hope that the Lord will accept the voice of my prayer for his pious soul. “Mortal diseases have seized me, the torments of hell have overtaken me” (Ps. 114:3), because many are in poverty, but not many have a means of deliverance. The priest is in misery in everyone, he is tormented in everyone who is guilty: for what others endure, he also endures; on the contrary, when others are freed from distress, he is also freed. My heart grieves that the husband we can hardly find has been taken from us. But it is only fitting to pray to You, Lord, that You may present him to us as Your children. You, protect the babies, save those who trust in you, grant perfect peace to Your servant Theodosius, the peace prepared for Your saints. Let his soul return to where it came from, where it cannot feel the sting of death, where it knows that this death is the end of guilt, and not of nature. Our Theodosius died, but died for sin, so as not to belong to this evil place: he died, but will be resurrected to perceive the most perfect life. I loved him, and for this I am accompanying him even to the land of the living, and I will not leave him until I lead him with tears and prayers to the holy mountain of the Lord, where his very deeds call him, where there is eternal life, where there is no decay or any damage, where there is no groaning, illness and community of the dead, but where there is a true country of the living, where this mortal is clothed in immortality and the corruptible is adorned with incorruptibility. Great is the peace that fulfills the desire of the lover. Wonderful promise! And therefore the one hundred and fourteenth psalm begins with hallelujah, while higher in the fourteenth psalm the perfection of man is described. But although a perfect man is presented there, he is nevertheless subject to sin. Here is true perfection, where vice ceases and the grace of eternal peace shines. The one hundred and fourteenth psalm represents the gifts of love, therefore the Passover of the Lord in the fourteenth month took on the form of a festival: for the one celebrating Easter must be perfect, must love the Lord Jesus, who, loving the people with His perfect love, voluntarily offered Himself as a sacrifice. So let us also love when necessary, let us not avoid death itself for the name of the Lord, let illness not turn us away and let us not be afraid of anything: “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Great is the mystery of the number, that the Father gave up His only begotten Son to death for us, when the moon shone with its full light. The Church celebrating the Passover of the Lord is like “the moon is perfect forever” (Ps. 89:38) [2]. Whoever here celebrates the Easter of Jesus Christ well will abide in eternal light. Who triumphed more magnificently than the one who turned away the errors of the pagans, closed their temples and destroyed the temples? For this, King Josiah was preferred to his predecessors. So, now Theodosius is in the light and rejoices with the saints. It embraces Gratian, no longer suffering from wounds, for he has found an avenger, Gratian, who, although he was kidnapped by an unworthy death before him, his soul finds peace. There both of them, filled with piety and mercy, enjoy good fellowship. It is beautifully written about these: “day gives speech to day” (Ps. 18:3). Maxim, on the contrary, and Eugene in hell, how “the night of the night transmits knowledge,” teach by their deplorable example how cruel it is to use weapons against the Sovereign. It is beautifully said about such people: “I saw a terrible wicked man, expanding like a rooted many-branched tree; But he passed, and behold, he was no more” (Ps. 36:35–36). The pious one passed from the darkness of this world to the eternal light, and, of course, it was not the wicked one who ceased to be so. Now Theodosius, of blessed memory, recognizes himself as a king, being in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus and seeing his church. Now he reigns, receiving into his arms Gratian and Pulcheria, his sweetest pledges, seeing Flaccilla, enjoying the presence of his father and talking with Constantine - Constantine, to whom, at his last death, all sins were remitted by the grace of baptism and who now occupies an excellent place, since he was the first of the emperors to believe and left behind him to his successors a legacy of faith. During his time this prophetic word was fulfilled: “at that time even on horse harnesses it will be written: “Holy to the Lord”” (Zechariah 14:20). His mother, Blessed Helen, discovered this through the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Blessed is Constantine with such a mother who sought for him the help of the Divine gift, so that between battles he would be safe and undaunted. This great woman gained more for the emperor than she could have received from him. A mother caring for her children, having ceded the Roman kingdom to her son, hurried to Jerusalem and inquired about the place of Christ’s suffering. Blessed Helen, having arrived in Jerusalem, began to visit holy places and, under the inspiration of the Spirit, looked for the tree of the cross, and, approaching Calvary, she said to herself: I see here the place of battle, but I do not see victory; I look for signs of salvation and do not find them. I am on the throne, but the cross of the Lord is in the dust; I am in golden robes, but the sign of Christ’s victory is in ruins; Is it still hidden, is eternal life still hidden? How can I imagine myself being redeemed when I don’t see redemption itself? I see, devil, that, of course, you blocked the sword with which you were cut. But Isaac dug up wells that were blocked from foreigners and did not allow the water to be hidden. So, it is necessary to dig up the ruin here, so that the life of the world will appear, so that the sword will be drawn, and with it the head of the true Goliath will be cut off, so that the earth will open and salvation will shine forth. Why did you, devil, hide the tree, was it so that you could be defeated again? Mary conquered you, without corruption she gave birth to the Conqueror, who by His crucifixion triumphed over you and conquered you by His death. You are defeated even now by the fact that a woman reveals your deceit: Mary, as the Most Holy One, bore the Lord, and I will seek His cross; she showed the one born, and I - the resurrected one; through her God appeared among people, and I, to heal our sins, will pluck out the Divine sign from the ruins. So, having dug up the ground, he finds three crosses abandoned among the ruins and hidden from the enemy. But the sign of Christ’s victory could not disappear: she comes into doubt as a woman, but the Holy Spirit assures her that the two thieves were crucified with Christ. Why is she looking for the middle tree, since the crosses could accidentally be mixed up. He clarifies the Gospel and finds that on the middle cross there was an inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:19). From this inscription she found the saving cross. Pilate responded to the demand of the Jews: “What I wrote, I wrote” (John 19:22), that is, I wrote not what you like, but what future times could know, I wrote not for you, but for posterity, and as if I said so: so that Elena, reading this, would know the cross of the Lord. Having found the inscription, she bowed to the King, and not to the tree, as the pagans delude themselves with delusion, she bowed to the one hanging on the tree, indicated in the inscription, she bowed, I say, to the One who exclaimed about his persecutors: “Father, let them go.” Elena was in a hurry to touch the means of immortality, fearing to trample on the sacrament of salvation, but in a hurry with joy, she did not know what to do. However, she reached the truth, found the tree, and grace shone. Christ blessed women in Mary, and the Spirit - in Helen: for he taught her what as a woman she did not know, and led her on a path that no mortal could know. She was looking for the nails with which the Lord was crucified and, having found it, she used one of them for a bridle and the other for a diadem: one for beauty, and the other for demonstrating her faith and piety. Blessed be Mary, may she deliver Eve: blessed be Helen, may the emperors be redeemed. So, she sent her son Constantine a diadem, decorated with precious stones and enriched with the stone of the atonement of the cross, and also a bridle. Constantine used all this, and this use passed on to subsequent kings. So, the beginning of the faithful Emperors is holy when in check. And this was arranged so that persecution would end and piety would come. Helen acted prudently when she erected a cross on the heads of the kings, so that the cross of Christ would be worshiped among the kings. This act should not be attributed to daring and fury, but to piety: for through this honor was made to the holy atonement. So, this most elegant nail of the Roman Empire rules the whole world and adorns the heads of sovereigns, and turns them into preachers from persecutors. A nail is rightly placed on the head so that there is help where we have feelings. There is a crown on the head, and a bridle in the hands. The crown is from the cross, let faith shine, and the bridle is also from the cross, let power rule and be dissolved by moderation. May the Christian Sovereigns also receive this from the generosity of the Lord, so that in imitation of the Roman Emperor it can be said: “I placed a crown of pure gold on his head” (Ps. 20:4). The Church rejoices about this, but the Jew is ashamed and not only ashamed, but also contrite in spirit, because he himself is guilty of his own contrition, having outraged Christ, recognizing Him as king: by calling him the king of the Jews, the unbeliever admits his wickedness. It is, the Jews exclaim, that we crucified Jesus, and Christians rise after death, and the dead reign. We crucified Christ, and kings worship Him. And this very nail is revered. We used it to kill, but it is a means of salvation and torments demons with some invisible force. It seemed to us that we had won, but now we admit ourselves defeated. Christ has risen, and His resurrection has been recognized by the kings; He lives again, although invisible. Now we face a great and cruel war against Him. The kingdoms serve him and the authorities are servile: We despised him, and how will we now resist the kings? The iron of His feet is worshiped by kings, but the Photinians deny His Divinity; Emperors prefer the nail of the cross to their diadem, but Arians reduce His power. Why is it holy when in check, if not because it curbs the fury of emperors, restrains the willfulness of tyrants who have become like misogynist horses? Through this curbing, Helen calls out to all emperors, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God: “Do not be like a horse, like a foolish mule” (Ps. 31:9). For the power, receptive to vice, like cattle, encouraged them to lust. They did not know God, but the cross of the Lord restrained the flow of their wickedness, raising their eyes to heaven, that they might seek Christ the Savior. So, we have stripped ourselves of the furrow of unbelief and accepted the curbing of faith and piety, imitating the one who says: “Take My yoke upon you...; For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30). This was imitated by the Christian emperors, with the exception of Julian alone, who, having given himself up to philosophy, abandoned the Author of his salvation. These prophetic words were fulfilled: “and the nations will come to your light, and kings to the radiance rising above you” (Is. 60:3). Moreover, Gratian and Theodosius will go, being protected not by the weapons of soldiers, but by their deeds, and no longer clothed in purple, but in the robe of glory. Here they rejoiced at the liberation of many, all the more there they are now consoled by the recollection of their pious deeds, and the fact that they forgave many: they now enjoy the unspeakable light and, having received a better abode than here, they exclaim: “O Israel! How great is the house of God, and how spacious is the place where he dwells! It is great and has no end!” (Var. 3.24–25). “It is good for a man when he bears the yoke in his youth; sits alone and is silent, for He has placed it on him” (Lamentations 3:27–28). Having suffered a heavy yoke in his youth, he finally calms down and, being removed from embarrassment, says: “I lie down calmly and sleep, for You, Lord, alone allow me to live in safety” (Ps. 4:9). Poor Lazarus bore a heavy yoke in his youth, and therefore, according to the testimony of Scripture, he rests in Abraham’s bosom. Theodosius also bore a heavy yoke from his youth, when the murderers of his father plotted against his life, when he suffered for piety, when he accepted imperial power during the invasion of the barbarians. He bore a heavy yoke, may he drive out the tyrants from the Roman Empire, but here - in labor, there - in peace. But let us turn to his august body. You, Honorie, cry and with your tears testify to pious zeal, you cry that you are letting your father’s body go a long distance. But the forefather Jacob, in order to save the people from the danger of severe famine, left home and, already in his old age, was not too lazy to wander: after his death in a foreign country, accompanied by his son, he was taken a few days later to his father’s tomb. And for such a journey, Jacob was rather approved than condemned. You also cry, august emperor, that you will not see off the venerable remains until the city of Constantine. In this case, you are equal with us: we are all overwhelmed by just pain, everyone would like to be with you to see you off. But Joseph’s journey to the province was not a long distance: here he had to cross many countries and cross seas. But even this would not be difficult for you if you were not held back by the republic, which good emperors preferred to both parents and children. This is why your father made you emperor, and the Lord confirmed the same, so that you would fight not for one of your parents, but for all of them. Do not fear that the victorious remains will be without respect anywhere. Italy, which has seen glorious victories, does not think about this, I say, Italy, which, again delivered from tyrants, glorifies the author of its freedom, does not think about this, nor does the city of Constantine, which sent him to victory another time and could not then hold him back. This city expected victorious celebrations upon his return: it expected the emperor, surrounded by Gallic and other troops. But now Theodosius returns to him with greater power and glory: now he is led by many angels, and the face of saints accompanies him. Blessed is this city, which in its arms will have the pledge of a heavenly inhabitant! 1 In modern Synod. translation: “don’t be mad” - Ed. 2 In modern Synod. translation: “hard as the moon” - Ed. You might be interested in: