of the winds, and having been made unseen for so many years.But the bishop, having learned that the queen had arrived, having gathered the bishops of the province, met her with fitting honor. And he immediately urged the bishops to make the search for the desired wood. But when all were at a loss about the place, and one was relating one suspicion and another another, the bishop of the city urged all to keep quiet, and to offer a more earnest prayer to God concerning this.And when this was done, the place was immediately shown by God to the bishop, in which was established the temple and the statue of the unclean demon.

Then the queen, using her royal authority, having gathered a great crowd of artisans and laborers, ordered the abominable building to be overturned from its foundations, and the dust to be thrown somewhere far away. And when this was done, the divine tomb appeared, and the place of the Skull, and not far off, three separate crosses; and having searched carefully they also found the nails.From there then, helplessness and distress seized the queen, seeking which might be the Lord's cross. But the bishop through faith resolved the distinction. For to a sick woman of prominence, and given up by all, and breathing her last, having brought each of the crosses near, he found the one being sought; for only the shadow of the saving cross approached the sick woman, immediately the breathless and motionless one by divine power straightaway leaped up and crying out with a great voice, and glorifying God.But the queen Helena, crying out with her voice and glorifying God, with great joy and fear having taken up the life-giving cross, carried a certain part with the nails back to her son. And for the rest, having made a silver coffer, she handed it over to the bishop of the city, as a memorial for all generations, and having decreed that a church be built at the life-giving tomb and at holy Golgotha and in Bethlehem at the cave, where our Lord Jesus Christ endured the birth according to the flesh, and on the Mount of Olives, where the Lord, having blessed the disciples, was taken up. And having done many other things in Jerusalem, she returned to her son.And he, having received her with joy, having placed the 4081 portion of the precious cross in a golden case, handed it over to the bishop for safekeeping, having commanded that the finding of the precious cross be celebrated with annual memorials. And of the nails, some he forged into his own helmet, and others he mixed with the bridle of his horse, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: “On that day, that which is on the bridle of the horse will be, holy to the Lord almighty.”And the emperor wrote to bishop Macarius to hasten the construction, and he sent a director of the work with an abundance of money, having instructed him that the holy places be built ambitiously, so that there would not be such beauty in all the earth. And he also wrote to the governors of the province to assist the work in every way from the public account, both in money and expenses and materials. And the emperor was joyfully celebrating the festival of his twentieth anniversary, giving thanks to God for all the good things, which he had done in the times of his reign. And the years are reckoned from the coming of Christ until the finding of the cross, three hundred and fifty-two years. And from Adam until the coming of Christ, five thousand five hundred years. And according to others, five thousand four hundred and seventy-five.And in Aelia Maximonas succeeded the renowned Macarius. And this man was gentle and very distinguished. For in the persecution he endured many tortures for God's sake, and having lost his right eye he was released for the confession of the faith.

And at that time the blessed queen Helena met the end of her life, being eighty years old, having commanded her son many things concerning the [faith] in Christ

2

τῶν ἀνέμων, καὶ ἀφανεῖς γεγονότας ἐπὶ τοσούτους χρόνους.Μαθὼν δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἀφικομένην τὴν βασιλίδα, συναγαγὼν τοὺς τῆς ἐπαρχίας ἐπισκόπους, μετὰ τῆς δε ούσης τιμῆς ἀπήντησεν αὐτῇ. Εὐθέως δὲ παρεκέλευσε τοὺς ἐπισκόπους τὴν ζήτησιν τοῦ ποθουμένου ξύλου ποιήσασθαι. Ἀπορούντων δὲ πάντων ἐπὶ τοῦ τόπου, καὶ ἄλλου ἄλλο ὑποψίας διηγουμένου, ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἐπίσκοπος πάντας παρεκάλει ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, καὶ σπου δαιοτέραν εὐχὴν ὑπὲρ τούτου τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρειν.Τούτου δὲ γενομένου, εὐθέως ἐδείχθη θεόθεν ὁ τόπος τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἵδρυτο τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου δαίμονος ὁ ναὸς καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα.

Τότε ἡ βασίλισσα, τῇ βασιλικῇ αὐθεντίᾳ χρωμένη, συναγαγοῦσα πλῆθος πολὺ τεχνιτῶν καὶ ἐργατῶν, ἐκέλευσεν ἐκ βάθρων ἀνατραπῆναι τὸ μυσαρὸν οἰκο δόμημα, καὶ τὸν χοῦν πόῤῥω που ἀποῤῥιφῆναι. Τούτου δὲ γενομένου, ἀνεφάνη τὸ θεῖον μνῆμα, καὶ ὁ τόπος τοῦ Κρανίου, καὶ οὐ μήκοθεν τρεῖς σταυροὶ κεχωρισμένοι· ἐπιμελῶς δὲ ἐρευνήσαντες εὗρον καὶ τοὺς ἥλους.Ἐκεῖθεν λοιπὸν ἀμηχανία καὶ θλίψις κατέλαβε τὴν βασίλισσαν, ἐπιζητοῦσαν, ποῖος ἄρα εἴη ὁ ∆εσποτικὸς σταυρός. Ὁ δὲ ἐπίσκοπος διὰ πίστεως τὴν διάκρισιν ἔλυσεν. Γυναικὶ γὰρ ἀῤῥωστούσῃ τῶν ἐμφανῶν, καὶ ἀπεγνωσμένῃ ὑπὸ πάντων, καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα πνεούσῃ, προσαγαγὼν ἑκάτερον τῶν σταυρῶν, τὸν ζητούμενον ηὗρεν· μόνον γὰρ ἤγγισεν ἡ σκιὰ τοῦ σωτηρίου σταυ ροῦ τῇ ἀσθενούσῃ, εὐθὺς ἡ ἄπνους καὶ ἀκίνητος θείᾳ δυνάμει παραχρῆμα ἀνεπήδησεν καὶ μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ βοῶσα, καὶ δοξάζουσα τὸν Θεόν.Ἡ δὲ βασίλισσα Ἑλένη τῇ φωνῇ βοῶσα καὶ δοξά ζουσα τὸν Θεὸν, μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγάλης καὶ φόβου ἀν ελομένη τὸν ζωοποιὸν σταυρὸν, μέρος μέν τι σὺν τοῖς ἥλοις ἀνεκόμισε πρὸς τὸν παῖδα. Τῷ δὲ λοιπῷ γλωσ \σόκομον ἀργυροῦν ποιήσασα, παρέδωκε τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς πόλεως, εἰς μνημόσυνον πάσαις γενεαῖς, καὶ θεσπίσασα ἐκκλησίαν γενέσθαι ἐν τῷ ζωοποιῷ μνή ματι καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Γολγοθᾷ καὶ ἐν τῇ Βηθλεὲμ ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ, ἔνθα ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τὴν κατὰ σάρκα γέννησιν ὑπέμεινε, καὶ ἐν ὄρει τῶν Ἐλαιῶν, ἔνθα ὁ Κύριος εὐλογήσας τοὺς μαθητὰς ἀν ελήφθη. Καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ποιήσασα ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, ἀνέστρεψε πρὸς τὸν παῖδα.Ὁ δὲ μετὰ χαρᾶς αὐτὴν ὑποδεξάμενος, τὴν μὲν 4081 τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ μερίδα ἐν χρυσῇ θήκῃ ἀποθέμε νος, παρέδωκε τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ εἰς τήρησιν, ἐνιαυσίαις μνήμαις ἑορτάζειν τὴν ἀνάδειξιν τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ προστάξας. Τῶν δὲ ἤλων τοὺς μὲν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν περι κεφαλαίαν ἐχάλκευσεν, τοὺς δὲ ἀνέμιξε τῷ συμβα ρίῳ τοῦ ἵππου αὐτοῦ, ἴνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· «Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, ἔσται τὸ ἐπὶ τὸν χαλινὸν τοῦ ἵππου, ἅγιον Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι.»Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἔγραψε ἐπισκόπῳ Μακαρίῳ ἐπισπεύδειν τὴν οἰκοδομὴν, καὶ ἄρχοντα τοῦ ἔργου ἀπέστειλε μετὰ δαψιλείας χρημάτων, παραγγείλας αὐτῷ φιλοτίμως κτισθῆναι τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους, ὡς μὴ εἶναι τοιαύτην καλλονὴν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. Ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἡγεμόσι τῆς ἐπαρχίας παντοίως συνελθεῖν τῷ ἔργῳ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου λόγου, ἔν τε χρήμασι καὶ ἀναλώμασι καὶ ὕλαις. Ἦν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς φαιδρῶς ἄγων τῆς εἰκοσαετηρίδος τὴν ἑορτὴν, εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ ὑπὲρ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὧν ἐποίησεν ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ. Συνάγονται δὲ τὰ ἔτη ἀπὸ μὲν Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ἕως τῆς εὑρέσεως τοῦ σταυροῦ, τριακόσια πεντήκοντα δύο ἔτη. Ἀπὸ δὲ Ἀδὰμ ἕως παρουσίας Χριστοῦ, ἔτη πεντακισχίλια πεντακόσια. Καθ' ἑτέρους δὲ πεντακισχίλια τετρακόσια ἐβδομήκοντα πέντε.Ἐν δὲ Αἰλίᾳ τὸν φερώνυμον Μακάριον διεδέξατο Μαξιμωνᾶς. Οὗτος δὲ πρᾶος ἀνὴρ καὶ ἐπίσημος λίαν. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ διωγμῷ πολλὰς βασάνους ὑπέμεινε διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τὸν δεξιὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἀπολέσας ἀπελύθη ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς πίστεως.

Κατ' ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἡ μακαρία Ἑλένη ἡ βασίλισσα τέλος τοῦ βίου ἐχρήσατο, ἐτῶν οὖσα ὀγδοήκοντα, πολλὰ ἐντειλαμένη τῷ παιδὶ περὶ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν

2