The Church calls Saint Constantine (306-337) “the Equal of the Apostles,” and historians call him “the Great.” He was the son o the Caesar Constantius Chlorus, who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain during a time when Christianity was illegal and Christians were typically persecuted by the Roman Empire. Saint Constantine's mother was Saint Helen, a Christian of humble birth. After his father died, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain. Most likely, because of his mother's influence, his first act as new emperor was to make it legal to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him.