Socrates and Sozomenus by Socrates of Constantinople

The history covers the years 305 to 439, and experts believe it was finished in 439 or soon thereafter, and certainly during the lifetime of Emperor Theodosius II, i.e., before 450. In later years he traveled and visited, among other places, Paphlagonia and Cyprus. No certainty exists as to Socrates' precise vocation, though it may be inferred from his work that he was a layman. It is not proved that Socrates of Constantinople later profited by the teaching of the sophist Troilus. Socrates' teachers, noted in his prefaces, were the grammarians Helladius and Ammonius, who came to Constantinople from Alexandria, where in 391 they had been involved in a violent revolt that culminated in the destruction of the Serapeum of Alexandria. Even in ancient times nothing seems to have been known of his life except what can be gathered from notices in his Historia Ecclesiastica, which departed from its ostensible model, Eusebius of Caesarea, in emphasizing the place of the emperor in church affairs and in giving secular as well as church history. He is the author of a Historia Ecclesiastica ('Church History', Ἐκκλησιαστική Ἱστορία) which covers the history of late ancient Christianity during the years 305 to 439. 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( Greek: Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός ), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. Thus, as indicated by Sozomen, Helena’s piety brought prosperity both to her family and to the whole Roman Empire.Socrates of Constantinople ( c. The emperor was also involved in her generous deeds and gave her access to the imperial treasury. His mother only supported him in his plans, led by her devoutness, to which Sozomen pays more attention than his predecessor – he emphasizes Helena’s sensitivity to human poverty and suffering. Conversely, in Sozomen’s account of the recovery of Christ’s Sepulchre and the relics, the main role is played by emperor Constantine, who wished to repay God for his blessings he ordered the search and the construction of the basilica on Mount Golgotha.

Finally, Socrates mentions her piety and discusses the place of her burial.

The empress divided the relics and sent some of them to her son to Constantinople moreover, in the Holy Land, she built three basilicas connected with the life of Christ. She was supported by Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, who, after God’s intervention, distinguished the True Cross from the crosses of the two villains. According to Socrates, Helena travelled to Jerusalem to answer God’s call there, she organized the search for the Sepulchre and the Holy Cross and found them. The emperor, her son, only supported her in her undertakings. In his Ecclesiastical history, Socrates depicts Helena as a pious, strong and independent woman, the mother of the emperor, realizing her own ideas and acting as a tool in the hands of God – the ultimate inspiration of her actions.

Socrates and Sozomenus by Socrates of Constantinople