Constantine and the Oak of Mamre

I think it necessary to describe what Constantine did about the place called the oak of Mamre. This place is now called Terebinthus. It lies about two miles from Hebron, which is to the south of it, but nearly thirty miles from Jerusalem. It is recorded that here the Son of God appeared to Abraham, with two angels who had been sent against Sodom, and foretold the birth of his son. Here every year, in the summer, the people of the country and of the regions around Palestine, the Phoenicians and the Arabians, gather to hold a splendid feast; and many others, both buyers and sellers, come there for the fair. Indeed, this feast is eagerly attended by all nations: by the Jews, because they boast of their descent from the patriarch Abraham; by the pagans, because angels appeared to men there; and by Christians, because he who was later born of a virgin for the salvation of mankind showed himself there to a godly man. The place was also honored, as was fitting, with religious rites. Here some prayed to the God of all; some called on the angels, poured out wine, burned incense, or offered an ox, a he-goat, a sheep or a rooster. Each person made some fine product of his labor, kept it carefully through the whole year, and offered it as he had promised, as provision for that feast for himself and his household. And whether out of honor for the place or from fear of divine anger, they all kept away from their wives, even though during the feast the women took more than usual care over their beauty and adornment. Nor, if the women happened to appear and take part in the public processions, did they behave at all loosely. Nor did they act improperly in any other way, although the tents stood next to one another and they all lay down to sleep mixed together. [a]

The place is open, farmed country without houses, except for the buildings around Abraham’s old oak and the well he dug. No one drew water from that well during the feast. Following pagan custom, some set burning lamps beside it; some poured in wine or threw in cakes; and others threw in coins, myrrh or incense. For this reason, I suppose, the water was made useless by being mixed with the things thrown into it. Once, while the pagans were celebrating these customs in the manner described, and with the merrymaking that was the established custom, Constantine’s mother-in-law was present to pray, and she told the emperor what was being done. When he received this information, he rebuked the bishops of Palestine in no uncertain terms, because they had neglected their duty and had allowed a holy place to be defiled by unclean drink offerings and sacrifices. He expressed his godly reproof in a letter he wrote on the subject to Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, to Eusebius Pamphilus, and to the bishops of Palestine. He commanded these bishops to meet with the bishops of Phoenicia about the matter and to give orders that the altar formerly set up there be torn down to its foundations, that the carved images be destroyed by fire, and that a church worthy of so ancient and so holy a place be built. Finally, the emperor ordered that no drink offerings or sacrifices be offered on the spot, but that it be devoted solely to the worship of God according to the law of the church; and that if anyone tried to bring back the former rites, the bishops were to report the offender, so that he might receive the heaviest punishment. The governors and the priests of Christ strictly enforced the orders contained in the emperor’s letter.