Christianity was becoming Roman. Rome was becoming Christian. But Rome's rebirth as a sacred city of Christendom required a transfer of holiness from Christianity's first holy city. Constantine dispatched his mother, Helena, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Helena returned with a precious collection of Christian relics. And I'm just about to witness the most monumental treasure of them all. This is one of the Empress Helena's most extraordinary finds. The Scala Sancta. This staircase is believed to be from the palace of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. Jesus walked down these steps after he was sentenced to death. Unlike the remote pagan gods, the Christian God had a son whom he had sacrificed for humanity. And what Jesus Christ had touched, his followers also wanted to touch. For centuries, pilgrims have climbed these steps on their knees as an act of piety, to get closer to Christ and honour his suffering.


基督教逐渐地融入罗马（逐渐罗马化）；而罗马城也开始升起基督信仰。但要复兴罗马，使之成为基督教的神圣之城，那它还必须同基督教第一圣城（指耶路撒冷）来个交接，把这种神圣性转移到罗马来。君士坦丁于是派遣他的母亲海伦娜到耶路撒冷朝圣。海伦娜归来之时，带着一笔宝贵的基督教遗物。我马上就要亲眼目睹这些遗物当中意义最为重大的珍宝。海伦娜皇后找到的最最不凡的物品之一便是——神圣阶梯(Scala Sancta)。通常认为这阶梯是来自耶路撒冷的本丢彼拉多(Pontius Pilate)宫殿。耶稣在被判处死刑后，就沿着这些台阶往下走。不同于异教信仰中遥不可及的神灵，基督教的上帝有个儿子；并且他将自己的独子当作祭品，令之为人类舍身。因此，但凡基督（上帝的儿子耶稣）触碰过的，他的信徒们也想触摸看看。数个世纪以来，朝圣者跪着爬上这些台阶以表虔诚，为的是更加靠近基督，同时铭记他遭受的苦难。 Pontius Pilate：钉死耶稣的古代罗马的犹太总督。