Entre a cruz e o império:

Helena Augusta e a construção da geografia sagrada no cristianismo tardo-antigo

Authors

• Ludmila Caliman Campos Vinhas Alcuri Faceli

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36704/rhp.v4i7.9801

Keywords:

Roman Empire, Late Antique Christianity, Helena Augusta, Symbolic Power, Sacred Geography

Abstract

This article examines the role of Helena Augusta in the consolidation of Christianity as the central religion of the Roman Empire during the 4th century, emphasizing the institutionalization of relic worship and the construction of the empire's sacred geography. Starting with the religious and political transformations following the Edict of Milan (313), the study explores how Helena—through her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the discovery of the True Cross, and the foundation of sanctuaries such as the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity—contributed to the legitimization of Christian power and the symbolic reconfiguration of imperial space. Drawing on patristic and historiographical sources, the article demonstrates that Helena's actions were not merely devotional, but strategic, combining faith, imperial motherhood, and political authority in shaping the Christian identity of the empire.

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