C David Priest

Glory, Laud, and Crown C David Priest

The expression "Our idols have feet of clay" can be appropriately applied to Emperor Constantine, an ambitious ruler who used Christianity to consummate his power. Constantine secured for himself an image, not based upon a knowledge of Christ, but on his own life as he had lived it. His life... his actions and dictates... contradicted the basic tenets of this foundling faith. Emperor Constantine was simultaneously a murderer and the leader of the Christian world, and was only baptized on his death bed-he dabbled in pagan beliefs for the better part of his life. While Constantine may have achieved power and glory, he found no true sense of inner peace. That the Christian faith honors Constantine with sainthood is largely due to the efforts of his mother, Helena, who brought the world from the darkness of a crucified Jesus into the light of a resurrected Christ. Because of her, the glory, laud, and crown rightfully came to the crucified Jesus and not to worldly kings. If the arc of history indeed bends towards truth and justice, then Glory, Laud, and Crown stands witness to that. The justice is apparent in the fact that Christianity survived despite Emperor Constantine's self-serving agenda.