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THE emperor, always intent on the advancement of religion, erected
the most beautiful temples to God in every place, particularly in
metropolises, such as Nicomedia in Bithynia, Antioch on the river
Orontes, and Byzantium. He greatly improved this latter city, and
constituted it the equal of Rome in power, and participation in the
government; for, when he had settled the affairs of the empire
according to his own mind, and had rectified foreign affairs by wars
and treaties, he resolved upon founding a city which should be called
by his own name, and should be equal in celebrity to Rome. With this
intention, he repaired to a plain at the foot of Troy, near the
Hellespont, above the tomb of Ajax, where, it is said, the
Achaians had their naval stations and tents while besieging Troy; and
here he laid the plan of a large and beautiful city, and built the
gates on an elevated spot of ground, whence they are still visible from
the sea to those sailing by. But when he had advanced thus far, God
appeared to him by night, and commanded him to seek another spot. Led
by the hand of God, he arrived at Byzantium in Thrace, beyond
Chalcedon in Bithynia, and here he was desired to build his city and
to render it worthy of the name of Constantine. In obedience to the
words of God, he therefore enlarged the city formerly called
Byzantium, and surrounded it with high walls. He also erected
magnificent dwelling houses southward through the regions. Since he
was aware that the former population was insufficient for so great a
city, he peopled it with men of rank and their households, whom he
summoned hither from the eider Rome and from other countries. He
imposed taxes to cover the expenses of building and adorning the city,
and of supplying its inhabitants with food, and providing the city with
all the other requisites. He adorned it sumptuously with a
hippodrome, fountains, porticos, and other structures. He named it
New Rome and Constantinople, and constituted it the imperial capital
for all the inhabitants of the North, the South, the East, and the
shores of the Mediterranean, from the cities on the Ister and from
Epidamnus and the Ionian gulf, to Cyrene and that part of Libya
called Borium.
He constructed another council house which they call senate; he
ordered the same honors and festal days as those customary to the other
Romans, and he did not fail studiously to make the city which bore his
name equal in every respect to that of Rome in Italy; nor were his
wishes thwarted; for by the assistance of God, it had to be confessed
as great in population and wealth. I know of no cause to account for
this extraordinary aggrandizement, unless it be the piety of the
builder and of the inhabitants, and their compassion and liberality
towards the poor. The zeal they manifested for the Christian faith
was so great that many of the Jewish inhabitants and most of the
Greeks were converted. As this city became the capital of the empire
during the period of religious prosperity, it was not polluted by
altars, Grecian temples, nor sacrifices; and although Julian
authorized the introduction of idolatry for a short space of time, it
soon afterwards became extinct. Constantine further honored this newly
compacted city of Christ, named after himself, by adorning it with
numerous and magnificent houses of prayer. And the Deity also
cooperated with the spirit of the emperor, and by Divine
manifestations persuaded men that these prayer houses in the city were
holy and salvatory. According to the general opinion of foreigners and
citizens, the most remarkable church was that built in a place formerly
called Hestiae. This place, which is now called Michaelium, lies
to the fight of those who sail from Pontus to Constantinople, and is
about thirty five stadia distant from the latter city by water, but if
you make the circuit of the bay, the journey between them is seventy
stadia and upwards. This place obtained the name which now prevails,
because it is believed that Michael, the Divine archangel, once
appeared there. And I also affirm that this is true, because I
myself received the greatest benefits, and the experience of really
helpful deeds on the part of many others proves this to be so. For
some who had fallen into fearful reverses or unavoidable dangers,
others with disease and unknown sufferings, there prayed to God, and
met with a change in their misfortunes. I should be prolix were I to
give details of circumstance and person. But I cannot omit mentioning
the case of Aquilinus, who is even at the present time residing with
us, and who is an advocate in the same court of justice as that to
which we belong. I shall relate what I heard from him concerning this
occurrence and what I saw. Being attacked with a severe fever,
arising from a yellowish bile, the physicians gave him some foreign
drug to drink. This he vomited, and, by the effort of vomiting,
diffused the bile, which tinged his countenance with a yellow color.
Hence he had to vomit all his food and drink. For a long time he
remained in this state; and since his nourishment would not be quiet in
him, the skill of the physicians was at a loss for the suffering.
Finding that he was already half dead, he commanded his servant to
carry him to the house of prayer; for he affirmed earnestly that there
he would either die or be freed from his disease. While he was lying
there, a Divine Power appeared to him by night, and commanded him to
dip his foot in a confection made of honey, wine, and pepper. The
man did so, and was freed from his complaint, although the
prescription was contrary to the professional rules of the physicians,
a confection of so very hot a nature being considered adverse to a
bilious disorder. I have also heard that Probianus, one of the
physicians of the palace, who was suffering greatly from a disease in
the feet, likewise met with deliverance from sickness at this place,
and was accounted worthy of being visited with a wonderful and Divine
vision. He had formerly been attached to the Pagan superstitions,
but afterwards became a Christian; yet, while he admitted in one way
or another the probability of the rest of our doctrines, he could not
understand how, by the Divine cross, the salvation of all is
effected. While his mind was in doubt on this subject, the symbol of
the cross, which lay on the altar of this church, was pointed out to
him in the Divine vision, and he heard a voice openly declaring that,
as Christ had been crucified on the cross, the necessities of the
human race or of individuals, whatsoever they might be, could not be
met by the ministration of Divine angels or of pious and good men; for
that there was no power to rectify apart from the venerated cross. I
have only recorded a few of the incidents which I know to have taken
place in this temple, because there is not time to recount them all.
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