Constantine Asks the Bishops for Baptism

“The time has come that I have long hoped for, with an earnest desire and prayer that I might obtain the salvation of God. The hour has come when I too may have the blessing of that seal which gives immortality, the hour when I may receive the seal of salvation. I had thought to do this in the waters of the river Jordan, where our Savior, as an example for us, is recorded to have been baptized. But God, who knows what is good for us, is pleased that I should receive this blessing here. “So let it be done without delay. For if it is the will of him who is Lord of life and death that my life here should be prolonged, and if I am to gather from now on with the people of God and join with them in prayer as a member of his church, I will set for myself from this time a way of life that befits his service.” [a]

When he had finished speaking, the leaders of the church performed the sacred ceremonies in the usual way, gave him the necessary instruction, and made him a partaker of the rite of the mysteries. So Constantine, first of all rulers, was born anew and made perfect in a church dedicated to the martyrs of Christ. Having been given the divine seal of baptism in this way, he rejoiced in spirit, was renewed, and was filled with heavenly light. His soul was gladdened by the fervor of his faith, and he was amazed at the display of the power of God. When the ceremony was over, he dressed himself in shining imperial robes, brilliant as light, and lay down on a couch of the purest white, refusing ever again to put on the purple.