went to attend the dedication. It was the greatest synod of bishops, after that of Nicæa, that had ever assembled. There were present prelates from all the Roman provinces in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eusebius says he was there and delivered several orations. He also shortly afterwards went to Constantinople and delivered another oration in the emperor's presence. About this time (A. D. 330) he founded Constantinople.[1]
Constantine continued to build churches and compose religious discourses up to his last days.[2] In the thirty-first year of his reign, and the sixty-third of his age, he fell sick, and desired the bishop where he was, in Nicomodia, to baptize him, which was done; and he thought this ceremony had the effect to purify and purge his soul from past errors. He put on white robes, refusing to wear purple any more, made some noble bequests, and died on the last day of the feast of Pentecost, May 22, 337. His body was laid in a golden coffin in the great Church of the Apostles at Constantinople, which he had built and designed for his sepulchre.
The religious belief of this wonderful man is a matter of deep interest. His theories are expressed in his own words, and his faith we may know by his deeds.
In a great oration addressed by him to the Assembly of the Saints, he declares that Providence rules all things like fate; that justice is ever done, and that men receive here what they merit
- ↑ "Of all the events of his life," says Dean Stanley, "this choice is the most convincing and enduring proof of his real genius. No city, chosen by the art of man, has been so well chosen, and so permanent."
- ↑ The emperor used to preach in his palace halls to thousands of people, who would gather there out of curiosity to hear him.
