May 21, 2021

Two Common Features in Traditional Icons of Saints Constantine and Helen

 
A common and very noticeable feature in traditional icons of Saints Constantine and Helen is that there is a Cross in between them. However, what many often do not notice is the placement of their hands on this Cross. There is a very specific rule regarding these hand placements: Constantine's hand must hold the Cross above where Helen places her hand on the Cross. Why such a specification? Because this indicates how the Cross was revealed to them - to Constantine was revealed the Cross in the sky above the earth, while to Helen was revealed the Cross in the ground below the earth.

In the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, we have the mystery of the Incarnation of God the Word, uniting heaven and earth, the invisible world with the visible world, the incomprehensible with the comprehensible, the inexpressible with the expressible, the infinite with the finite. Through the revelations of the Cross to Saints Constantine and Helen, everything that the Cross offers takes on a new dimension for the Church of God on earth by allowing it to prosper within a civil government, and through it to bring the light and love of the Holy Trinity to the four corners of the earth.