His Father’s Christian Household

Such, then, is said to have been the character of Constantine’s father, as we have briefly described it. And anyone who will pay attention to the circumstances can learn what kind of death was granted him for such devotion to God, and how far the one he honored made his lot differ from that of his colleagues in the empire. For over a long time he gave many proofs of royal virtue, acknowledging the supreme God alone and condemning the many gods of the ungodly, and he fortified his household by the prayers of holy men. After this he spent the rest of his life in remarkable peace and quiet, enjoying what is counted blessedness: “neither troubling others nor being troubled ourselves.”

So throughout his quiet and peaceful reign he dedicated his whole household, his children, his wife, and his servants, to the one supreme God, so that the company gathered within the walls of his palace was no different from a church of God. There too were God’s ministers, who offered constant prayers for their prince. And this at a time when, under most rulers, it was not allowed to have any dealings with the worshipers of God, not even so much as to exchange a word with them. [a]