His Own Tomb in the Church of the Apostles

The emperor consecrated all these buildings out of a desire to keep alive forever the memory of the apostles of our Savior. But he had another purpose in putting up this building, a purpose unknown at first but plain to everyone afterward. He had in fact chosen this spot with his own death in view. With an extraordinary fervor of faith he expected that his body would share their title with the apostles themselves, and that so, even after death, he would, together with them, be the object of the devotions that would be offered in their honor in this place. So he had twelve coffins set up in this church, like sacred pillars, in honor and memory of the number of the apostles, and his own was placed in the center, with six of theirs on either side of it. In this way, as I said, he had wisely provided an honorable resting place for his body after death. He had made this decision secretly long before, and now he consecrated this church to the apostles, believing that this tribute to their memory would be of no small benefit to his own soul. And God did not disappoint him of what he so eagerly expected and desired. For after he had completed the first services of the feast of Easter, and had spent this sacred day of our Lord in a way that made it an occasion of joy and gladness for himself and for everyone, the God through whose help he did all these things, and whose zealous servant he remained to the end of his life, was pleased at a happy time to take him away to a better life. [a]