Haven’t you and Bede and this travel devotional already visited York and York Minster? Yes we have, but we had to change our schedule because of weather threatening the Christmas Market, and we had all talked about wanting another day in York, so here we are.
What happened in 306 A.D.
Also, there was an 800 lb gorilla in York, at York Minster in fact, and he had not been mentioned, and he has to be mentioned. His name is Caesar Flavius Valaerious Constantinus Augustus, also known as Constantine the Great.
Constantine is a favorite of the GSB team. We even built our Early Christian, Medieval Travel Devotional around him and the Battle at the Milvian Bridge. He was the first Christian Roman Emperor, and he ended the Diocletian persecution of Christians and returned property to the churches and freedom of worship to Christians. Constantine fully supported the church and the spread of Christianity. He is in every sense a Kingdom hero.
Bede wrote of Constantine and his time in Britain :
At this time, Constantius, who, whilst Diocletian was alive, governed Gaul and Spain, a man of extraordinary meekness and courtesy, died in Britain. This man left his son Constantine, born of Helen his concubine, emperor of the Gauls.
Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Bk I, Chp. VIII.
What many don’t realize is that Constantine was first declared emperor in York in 306 A.D. by the Roman army when Constantine’s father, Constantius, died here. That’s what Bede was writing about in the quote above. So, I wanted to go back to the spot at York Minster that commemorates that event.
The streets of old town York
It rained all day, and that was okay. This is England, after all.
The shops on the streets were starting to decorate for Christmas. Walking through the narrow stone streets in the early evening and seeing shops lining the streets that would fit inconspicuously in the 18th century and was the ultimate Christmas market.
After some shopping we all met for tea at Betty’s in the old town and did what the Brits do.
Tea here is not just Earl Grey and hot water. It’s your choice from a buffet of teas, served with a choice of scones with clotted cream and jellies, sandwich appetizers, and macaroons and other sweets. All this is conducive to conversation, of which the GSB team never seems to tire.
I think it was at tea Ann mentioned we should go to Evensong at York Minster because that was one of the three things a local told her one must do while in York (I don’t remember the other two). Since we were going back to York Minster anyway, we decided in favor of Evensong.
Worshipping at York Minster
There is something to be said for worshipping God in a cathedral with vaulted 100 foot ceilings. I am not a fan the organ, and notwithstanding the beautiful voices the organ accompanied, I still prefer drums, guitar, bass, and a keyboard, along with small group singing contemporary praise and worship music.
As I sat there, I tried to understand what floated these worshippers boats spiritually about this sort of church service, if indeed their boats were floating, and what I concluded was that the setting and service was conducive to conveying both the transcendence and immanence of God.
One cannot miss that in York Minster. Even if you do not know the Lord, you can’t ignore him in York Minster. Everything about the place points one to Another, outside what one can see and yet near.
Constantine statue at York Minster
Bede had said only a little about Constantine at York, but what he said is the reason our travel devotional returned to York Minster
So, after the service I walked out of York Minster to the spot where the statue of Constantine commemorates that day in 306 A.D. in York when Constantine was promoted. It would still be six years until he was converted to Christianity at the Milvian Bridge in Rome.
I wonder what Constantine might have thought if someone told him on that day in 306 A.D that he would go back to Rome and become an emperor history would remember as “Constantine the Great,” not for being emperor per se but for being the first Christian Roman Emperor and so successfully serving the church and advancing the spread of Christianity.
The words of King David spoken to the Lord come to mind and would apply equally to Constatine:
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your help makes me great.
You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.2 Samuel 22:36–37
And these words can apply to us. Sometimes the history of the world and the history of the kingdom of God intersect such that both recognize the greatness of a person. That was true with King David and Constantine the Great.
Other times and often, the greatness that comes from serving God is only recognized in the kingdom of God and sometimes only by Him, but it is recognized eternally. That is the greatness we should all seek.
Until tomorrow. GS
