Here is a fairly complete list of his patronages from Wikipedia, Patronages of Saint George
His Feast Day is the only Feast of a National Patron of the United Kingdom that gets ignored. St Andrew (30 November, Scotland), St Patrick (17 March, Northern Ireland), and St David (1 March, Wales) are all either public holidays or are honoured very publicly. In the case of St George, it is considered 'racist' to honour him, because it might imply that one is actually proud of being English!
It
is uncertain when Saint George was born and historians continue to
debate to this day. However, his death date is estimated to be April 23
303 A.D.
George
was born to a Gerontios and Polychronia, a Roman officer and a Greek
native of Lydda. Both were Christians from noble families of the Anici
and George, Georgios in the original Greek, was raised to follow their faith.
When
George was old enough, he was welcomed into Diocletian's army. by his
late 20's, George became a Tribunus and served as an imperial guard for
the Emperor at Nicomedia.
On
February 24, 303 A.D., Diocletian, who hated Christians, announced that
every Christian the army passed would be arrested and every other
soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods.
George refused to abide by the order and told Diocletian, who was angry but greatly valued his friendship with George's father.
When George announced his beliefs before his peers, Diocletian was unable to keep the news to himself.
In
an effort to save George, Diocletian attempted to convert him to
believe in the Roman gods, offered him land, money and slaves in
exchange for offering a sacrifice to the Roman gods, and made several
other offers that George refused.
Finally,
after exhausting all other options, Diocletian ordered George's
execution. In preparation for his death, George gave his money to the
poor and was sent for several torture sessions. He was lacerated on a
wheel of swords and required resuscitation three times, but still George
did not turn from God.
On
April 23, 303 A.D., George was decapitated before Nicomedia's outer
wall. His body was sent to Lydda for burial, and other Christians went
to honor George as a martyr.
Saint George and the Dragon
There
are several stories about George fighting dragons, but in the Western
version, a dragon or crocodile made its nest at a spring that provided
water to Silene, believed to be modern-day Lcyrene in Libya.
The
people were unable to collect water and so attempted to remove the
dragon from its nest on several occasions. It would temporarily leave
its nest when they offered it a sheep each day, until the sheep
disappeared and the people were distraught.
This
was when they decided that a maiden would be just as effective as
sending a sheep. The townspeople chose the victim by drawing straws.
This continued until one day the princess' straw was drawn.
The
monarch begged for her to be spared but the people would not have it.
She was offered to the dragon, but before she could be devoured, George
appeared. He faced the dragon, protected himself with the sign of the
Cross, and slew the dragon.
After saving the town, the citizens abandoned their paganism and were all converted to Christianity.
Interesting Facts
- Saint George stands out among other saints and legends because he is known and revered by both Muslims and Christians.
- It is said Saint George killed the dragon near the sea in Beirut, thus Saint George bay was named in his honor.
- Saint George's feast day is celebrated on April 23, but if it falls before Easter, it is celebrated Easter Monday.
- The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates three St. George feast days each year -April 23 as is expected, November 3, to commemorate the consecration of a cathedral dedicated to him in Lydda, and on November 26, for when a church in Kiev was dedicated to him.
- In Bulgaria, his feast day is celebrated May 6 (Old Calendar 23 April) with the slaughter and roasting of a lamb.
- In Egypt, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria calls St. George the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates on May 1. There is a second celebration November 17, in honour of the first church dedicated to him.
- Saint George is the patron saint of England and Catalonia and his cross can be found throughout England.
- In older works, Saint George is depicted wearing armour and holding a lance or fighting a dragon, which represents Christ's enemies.
Prayer for St. George
And here is a short video about him.
"Considered rascist to honour him" is outdated since about the 1990's - it's a convenient complaining tool of the right wing media in England but not accurate. A lot of places in England have sorts of things like street parties. He gets massively referenced in the build up to "super weekend" in March/April (end of the Six Nations tournament) which is a massive deal in sport. As part of British values he will usually get talked about and referenced in PSHE (personal, social and health education) in schools. Celebrating it is understated, as is the English way.
ReplyDeleteKey point to note: Catholic churches are banned from flying the St George Cross as only the Church of England has that right.