notes to self 2 April 1999 (no foolin')
2005.04.01 16:17


the saintly patronessing of woman architects
1999.04.02

In an almost defeatist search [yesterday] to see if I could find out more as to whether Constantina, the daughter of Constantine, could be considered the true architect of early Christian churches, I quickly, through the Internet, checked up on all the links I have seen in the recent past. I was particularly interested in confirming the role of Constantina regarding the initial building over the tomb of St. Agnes. In the process, I actually found St. Helena, Constantine the Great's mother and Constantina's grandmother. It was actually St. Helena that began the early Christian church building campaign, most notable in Palestine itself.

Finding St. Helena as architect is a satisfying discovery, and the more confounding because I "found" Helena on Holy Thursday, and hence began to write about her on Good Friday, which is extremely and uncannily significant because St. Helena is most known for discovering the True Cross(!). Best of all, Helena's story is chock full of many relevant issues pertaining to woman in design and building.

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