Saint George
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
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Saint George (c. 275/281-303), also known as George of Lydda, was born in Cappadocia, now in modern-day Turkey. His father was Greek and his mother was from Lydda. Little information is known of Saint George’s personal life, but tradition holds that he enrolled as a soldier in the Roman army of occupation and was known for his skills and bravery. During the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian (242-312 C.E). He converted to Christianity after he had risen to the rank of commander, so when Diocletian instituted the systematic persecution of Christians, George openly declared his faith and refused to take part in the exterminations. Due to this act of insubordination, he was severely tortured. He did not recant, and his defiance resulted in his beheading in 303 C.E. As one of the early martyrs, George was canonized by Pope Gelasius in 494 C.E. He went on to become one of the most venerated saints, with many patronages, ranging from agriculture, field workers, and soldiers, to horsemen, and those afflicted with skin diseases. The stories of his life contain some variations, but the tales of his heroism have inspired thousands of images of him in Catholic churches, as well as many beautiful holy icons in the Orthodox tradition, where he is given the official title of "The Great Martyr." His feast day is celebrated on April 23rd.
Saint George is best known for the legend of his killing a dragon that had been terrorizing the town of Silene, near a lake in Libya, and rescuing Sabra, the daughter of a Libyan king, by slaying the creature. In Catholic tradition this story is often said to symbolize the victory of good over evil, and the dragon may be said to have symbolized either Satan or the evil emperor Diocletian. The veneration of Saint George became popular during the 6th century, and in the 14th century, at the time of the Black Death, his reputation rose again when he was listed among a group of saints known as the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Also around this time, his story became closely associated with the nation of England and with military matters. King Edward I (1239-1307) commissioned banners that bore his emblem, a red cross on a white field, and King Edward III (1312-1377), who was said to have owned a holy relic of his blood, declared him to be the patron saint of England. The Royal Military Order of Saint George for the Defense of the Faith and the Immaculate Conception was established by Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, in 1726. An Imperial Russian Order of Saint George was instituted in 1769 by Empress Catherine II. In 1914, as the First World War raged, an apparition of Saint George, accompanied by heavenly angels and a host of ghostly archers, was reported by many soldiers to have guided British troops as they retreated from Mons, Belgium. In 1940, during World War Two, King George VI inaugurated the George Cross for "acts of the greatest heroism, not in the presence of the enemy." In 2019 The Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr was established to assist Orthodox Christians who are under religious persecution.
In modern popular iconography Saint George is usually depicted as mounted upon a white horse slaying a dragon with his lance. He generally wears a tunic or carries a shield emblazoned with the red cross for which he is known. His influence can be seen at the present time in the Union Jack flag of Great Britain, which combines the red cross of Saint George of England with the diagonal blue cross of Saint Andrew of Scotland. In 1817, a new pattern for the British gold sovereign coin was first minted, featuring the then-reigning monarch, King George III (1738-18290), on the obverse and an image of his patron, Saint George, slaying the dragon on the reverse. Both of these images were designed by Benedetto Pistrucci. In 1825 Saint George was removed from the sovereign coin, but he was reinstated in 1871, with the obverse bearing the likeness of Queen Victoria, and in 1893, he also became the image on the reverse of the gold half-sovereign coin. Pistrucci's Saint George has appeared on British gold sovereigns, under every monarch, to this day, and thus every British citizen has access to a ready-made magical talisman featuring this saint, who is called upon for protection, defeating enemies, bringing peace, and also for health matters involving the skin.
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- Image: Leonard Porter
