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Saint George
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Saint George
Saint George (Ancient Greek: Γεώργιος, romanized: Geṓrgios; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr, born in Cappadocia in Anatolia, who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George’s mother Saint Polychronia is believed to have come from Syria Palaestina and his father Saint Gerontios is believed to be of Syrian Cappadocian origin. He became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, but was executed as part of the Diocletianic persecution. He is one of the most venerated saints, heroes, and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is also prominently venerated by the Druze, and by some Muslim groups, as a martyr of monotheistic faith.
In hagiography, he is immortalised in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon and as one of the most prominent military saints. In Roman Catholicism, he is also venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His feast day, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. Historically, the countries of Portugal, England, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta, Ethiopia, the regions of Catalonia and Aragon, and the cities of Moscow and Beirut have claimed George as their patron saint, as have several other regions, cities, universities, professions, and organizations. The Church of Saint George in Lydda, now Lod in Israel, has a sarcophagus traditionally believed to contain St. George's relics.
The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794) argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia, a notorious 4th-century Arian bishop who was Athanasius of Alexandria's most bitter rival, and that it was he who in time became George of England. This identification is seen as highly improbable. Bishop George was slain by Gentile Greeks for exacting onerous taxes, especially inheritance taxes. J. B. Bury, who edited the 1906 edition of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it". He adds that "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to the region of the myth". Saint George in all likelihood was martyred before the year 290.
Little is known about George's life. According to Christian tradition, his father was Saint Gerontios from Cappadocia and his mother Saint Polychronia was from Lydda of Palestine.
Before the Aswan Dam was flooded, excavations were carried out in Qasr Ibrim in Nubia. In 1964, a Coptic manuscript was discovered under a column in the ruins of the cathedral of Qasr Ibrim. This manuscript is dated between 350 and 500 and represents the oldest tradition of the legend of St George. According to this text, St George's father Gerontius was from Cappadocia and was in the service of the Roman Empire in Nobatia. His wife Polychronia was a Christian. George is said to have been born during the reign of Aurelian, i.e. between 270 and 275. Polychronia raised George as a Christian and had him baptised in secret, as Gerontius disapproved of this as he was a pagan.
It is thought that he was, like his father, a Roman military officer, who was martyred under Roman emperor Diocletian in one of the pre-Constantinian persecutions of the 3rd or early 4th century. Beyond this, early sources give conflicting information.
Herbert Thurston in The Catholic Encyclopedia states that, based upon an ancient cultus, narratives of the early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting the historical existence of St. George", although no faith can be placed in either the details of his history or his alleged exploits.
The Diocletianic Persecution of 303, associated with military saints because the persecution was aimed at Christians among the professional soldiers of the Roman army, is of undisputed historicity. According to Donald Attwater,
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Saint George
Saint George (Ancient Greek: Γεώργιος, romanized: Geṓrgios; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr, born in Cappadocia in Anatolia, who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George’s mother Saint Polychronia is believed to have come from Syria Palaestina and his father Saint Gerontios is believed to be of Syrian Cappadocian origin. He became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, but was executed as part of the Diocletianic persecution. He is one of the most venerated saints, heroes, and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is also prominently venerated by the Druze, and by some Muslim groups, as a martyr of monotheistic faith.
In hagiography, he is immortalised in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon and as one of the most prominent military saints. In Roman Catholicism, he is also venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His feast day, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. Historically, the countries of Portugal, England, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta, Ethiopia, the regions of Catalonia and Aragon, and the cities of Moscow and Beirut have claimed George as their patron saint, as have several other regions, cities, universities, professions, and organizations. The Church of Saint George in Lydda, now Lod in Israel, has a sarcophagus traditionally believed to contain St. George's relics.
The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794) argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia, a notorious 4th-century Arian bishop who was Athanasius of Alexandria's most bitter rival, and that it was he who in time became George of England. This identification is seen as highly improbable. Bishop George was slain by Gentile Greeks for exacting onerous taxes, especially inheritance taxes. J. B. Bury, who edited the 1906 edition of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it". He adds that "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to the region of the myth". Saint George in all likelihood was martyred before the year 290.
Little is known about George's life. According to Christian tradition, his father was Saint Gerontios from Cappadocia and his mother Saint Polychronia was from Lydda of Palestine.
Before the Aswan Dam was flooded, excavations were carried out in Qasr Ibrim in Nubia. In 1964, a Coptic manuscript was discovered under a column in the ruins of the cathedral of Qasr Ibrim. This manuscript is dated between 350 and 500 and represents the oldest tradition of the legend of St George. According to this text, St George's father Gerontius was from Cappadocia and was in the service of the Roman Empire in Nobatia. His wife Polychronia was a Christian. George is said to have been born during the reign of Aurelian, i.e. between 270 and 275. Polychronia raised George as a Christian and had him baptised in secret, as Gerontius disapproved of this as he was a pagan.
It is thought that he was, like his father, a Roman military officer, who was martyred under Roman emperor Diocletian in one of the pre-Constantinian persecutions of the 3rd or early 4th century. Beyond this, early sources give conflicting information.
Herbert Thurston in The Catholic Encyclopedia states that, based upon an ancient cultus, narratives of the early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting the historical existence of St. George", although no faith can be placed in either the details of his history or his alleged exploits.
The Diocletianic Persecution of 303, associated with military saints because the persecution was aimed at Christians among the professional soldiers of the Roman army, is of undisputed historicity. According to Donald Attwater,
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