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Watercolor of stone relief by Hallie Cohen |
It is rumored that Helena, the mother of Constantine, was born
in the town of Skript on the Island of Brac. Constantine was, of course, a very
influential personage in the history of early Christianity since he was a Roman
Emperor under whom Christianity thrived. He was the Earl Warren of the Roman
Empire, a liberal put in power by those who sought to perpetuate
conservative values. The
Edict of Milan was a liberal doctrine. A little chapel, at the end of a vineyard outside of the town
of Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, which is a short boat ride from Brac, is constructed out of stone and wood and
like many structures along the small roads of the Dalmatian Coast emanates from Roman times. A cross, a Latin inscription, a bas relief of a bear (possibly symbolizing Constantine himself) and then “ Sainta Elena,” a Croatian variation of
Helena testify to Constantine’s legacy. This little stone sanctuary could also have been a storehouse for grapes and fruits. It partakes both of the
pagan and the religious and its components are a mixture of the eternal and
the changing, the material and the spiritual with seemingly fragile wood beams supporting a slate stone roof. Grapes and blackberries glisten in the light and you can stop and pick warm fresh figs off the trees. The water in the harbor area is crystal clear and on a sunny August afternoon you feel the
urgency of nature in a direct way that characterized the early Christian’s
relationship to God.
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