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B.c., the roman empire has been ruled by pagans. then in 312 a.d., helena's son constantine has a dramatic change of faith. >> the story goes that on the eve of a great battle outside rome, he has a vision. >> he sees a cross of light in the sky and he hears a voice tell him, by this you will conquer. he takes it to mean by the symbol of the cross. by christianity, he's going to become the lone emperor, the supreme figure in the known world. >> he wins the battle and becomes the first christian emperor. >> christianity is very much a minority cult practice, probably no more than 10% of the emp...

Waterford cross arrived in ireland, she will continue her tour of the holy land. with the backing of her son, the emporor constantine she will transform the landscape. she builds churches on the side of christ's birth in beth leham and one to commonerate his last moment on earth. >> constantine made it legal to practice christianity. helena gave christians places to practice. before her arrival there were no christian buildings in this land. they met here to commemorate jesus assension but secretly met in caves. after helena christians can come

And the relic of the cross were exceptionally important for the spread of christianity. the fact that this relic was created around that time goes to support how important that moment was. >> for hundreds of years after the legend of helena's discovery, the true cross continues to play a central role in the story of christianity. and though the relic is only 1,000 years old, others may prove far older. >> the first step in a long journey to investigate and to see if any of them can go back as far as the time of helena or maybe even the time of christ. >> the church in holy jerusalem they conti...

Based on the archaeological evidence, this would be a logical place just outside the city walls. romans liked that for crucifixion. there is no better candidate than right here. >> the church has been rebuilt several times, but its core goes back to the fourth century. >> we are deep, deep inside the lowest level inside the church. and this is the place where tradition says helena found the

Mom. ♪ in the year 327 a.d., helena, the empress of rome, begins a pioneering mission in the holy land. according to christian tradition, she has come to find the cross jesus died on. >> helena was doing something actually at the time quite radical in the history of christianity. she wanted to hold in her hands something that has been close to jesus. >> her pilgrimage could change the course of christian history.