Constantine's parents were the Emperor Constantius Chorus and Empress Helena. Chlorus had further children by another wife, but by Helena, he had only the one, Constantine. Constantine fought two great battles when he came to the throne: one against Maxentius, a tyrant in Rome, and the other against Licinius not far from Byzantium. At the battle against Maxentius, when Constantine was in great anxiety and uncertainty about his chances of success, a shining cross, surrounded by stars, appeared to him in the sky in full daylight. On the cross were written the words: 'In this sign, conquer!' ("En Touto Nika").

The spiritual method of interpreting the Old Testament has been in use by the Orthodox Church for centuries. The Church may, therefore, be accused of not even considering other studies (archaeological, cultural, historical, or literary studies) concerning the Old Testament. At no time in history was the opportunity so great to measure the Old Testament as it is in the present, and in the study of the Old Testament, there is certainly much that can be measured. It would be erroneous to insist that the Church was not interested in using other studies to measure the Old Testament given that the Church:

On the other hand, however, neither the Old Testament nor the Church can convince the unbeliever of the Old Testament's Divine inspiration and authority. In fact, one who does not accept Divine Inspiration of the Old Testament, may subscribe to many views. Among the many possibilities which they may subscribe to, two could be:

The place of the Old Testament in the Orthodox Church is a problem 'as old as the Church itself.' The two major problems were whether the Old Testament was to be included in the Biblical Canon, and which version of the Old Testament was to be used. This 'problem' was not an issue for the authors of the New Testament, nor the Early Christian Church. In fact, the place of the Old Testament in the Church was defined by the Church from very early in the Christian centuries. The Church fought the Gnostics (heretics) and the Marcionites (heretics) vehemently against their attempts to exclude the Old Testament from the Canon, and was victorious in this endeavor.

During His life Christ answered the Scribes and Pharisees who were complaining because He received sinners and ate with them, said that this is also what the good shepherd does when he loses one sheep, he leaves the other ninety-nine in the open country and goes to the mountains to look for the lost sheep. And when he finds it he puts it on his shoulders and rejoices. Then he comes home and inviting all his friends, urges them to rejoice with him, because he has found the lost sheep (St. Luke 15:4-6).

In the Gospels we often see Christ blessing the people. A characteristic case is the blessing which He gave to the children. It says, "And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them" (St. Mark 10:16). In this sense all the miracles which Christ performed have the element of blessing, but chiefly those which He did by laying His hands on the limbs of their bodies, as in the curing of Peter's mother-in-law (Saint Peter the Apostle was married) when "He touched her hand, and the fever left her" (Saint Matthew 8:15).