St. Helena’s Pursuits

The Living Wood. By Louis de Wohl.

As far as historical epochs in the annals of Christianity go, the era of the Emperor Constantine is one of the greatest. It is a hinge point of history: Christianity entered it as a persecuted sect and exited it as the predominant religion of the Roman Empire. It is fascinating that the historic and apostolic Churches (Catholic and Orthodox) remember the period as one of liberation, and Protestants largely treat it as a period of apostasy. In a sense, the difference between the two is primarily one of emphasis. Protestants have emphasized the insincere converts who flooded in at the time, as well as the imperial/governmental entanglements and interference that marked the period. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches, by contrast, cannot but emphasize the good that came from the cessation of governmental persecution that had marked the first 300 years of Christianity, as well as the mass of conversions that made it the religion of the empire. Both emphases can be true. As a Catholic, I see Constantine, who legalized Christianity in the empire, and his mother, Helena, as heroic figures, even if they were flawed (as are all people). May God raise up more like them.

Louis de Wohl, a German-born Catholic novelist well known during the middle of the 20th century, tells their story through an historical novel, The Living Wood (1947), centered on the life of St. Helena. Historical novels are an interesting literary genre — they blend details of history (dates, places, people, events) with the imagination of fiction to make the period come alive. Some are tethered closely to history; others take great liberties. The older, less documented, or more obscure periods and people necessarily require authors to take more liberties. Here, de Wohl was required to do that because much of the personality traits and attitudes of Constantine and Helena have been lost over time.

De Wohl worked extensively in this genre, and The Living Wood is an enjoyable read. When approaching any good novel, the reader must suspend his critical faculties and simply experience the world the author attempts to present. For an historical novel, this can be more challenging, but overall, de Wohl keeps us flipping the pages. He hooks us on the drama of the times and the charisma of his characters. Whether he ultimately presents something close to the historical reality or something more fictional is of no account. He uses actual persons and events to craft a compelling story that is largely in line with the Christian understanding of those times and the hagiography of St. Helena. As such, the story is primarily about her, with Constantine serving as a supporting cast member. Yes, Constantine gets in some good stage time, as it were, but the arc of this tale follows one remarkable woman over the course of her long life.

The “Living Wood” in the novel is a motif that connects two things: the sacred wood in the old Celtic tradition and the wood of the Holy Cross, from which the branches of Christianity grew. According to legend, St. Helena herself embodied both traditions and fulfilled her destiny late in life by going to Jerusalem in search of — and finding — the “True Cross” upon which Christ was crucified.