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George the Trophy-bearer

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[[image:George.jpg|right|thumb|The holy [[martyr ]] George slaying the dragon in a 15th-century [[icon ]] from Novgorod, now in the Russian Museum.]]The holy, glorious and right-victorious Great-[[Martyrmartyr]] and Trophy-bearer '''George''' was a Christian Roman soldier killed under [[Diocletian]] at the beginning of the fourth century. Though he was born in Cappadocia, his mother was from Palestine, and thus he is a particular favorite of many Palestinian Christians. He is also the [[patron saint]] of Moscow, Georgia, and England, amongst other places. The Church commemorates George on [[April 23]], and the [[Translation (relics)|translation]] of his [[relics]] on [[November 3]].
==Life==
According to [[Holy Tradition|Tradition]], George was born to a Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the army. His mother was from Lydda, Palestine. She returned to her native city as a widow along with her young son after the martyrdom of George's father, where she provided him with a respectable education and raised him in piety.
The youth, it would seem, followed his father's example in joining the army soon after his coming of age. He proved to be a charismatic soldier and consequently rose quickly through the military ranks of the time. By his late twenties he had gained the titles of ''Tribunustribunus'' (Tribunetribune) and later ''Comescomes'' (Countcount). By that time George had been stationed in [[Nicomedia ]] as a member of the personal guard attached to Roman Emperor [[Diocletian]] (reign 284–305).
In 303, Diocletian issued an edict authorising the systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire. His caesar, Galerius, was supposedly responsible for this decision and would continue the persecution during his own reign (305–311). It is believed that George was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to being a Christian himself and criticised the imperial decision. An enraged Diocletian proceeded in ordering the torture of this apparent traitor and his execution.
Then, after innumerable forms of torture, George was executed by decapitation in front of Nicomedia's defensive wall on April 23, 303. The witness of his suffering convinced Empress [[Alexandra the Empress|Alexandra]] and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to also become Christians, and so they also joined George in martyrdom as consequence. George's body was then returned to Lydda for burial, where Christians soon came to honour George as a martyr.
==George and the Dragondragon==
St. George is often depicted with a dragon or some other serpentine creature under his feet. This comes from a legend whose details may vary according to local tradition.
The tale begins with a dragon making its nest at the spring (or lake) that provides provided a town (either near Beirut or Silena, Libya, often) with water. Consequently, the citizens had to temporarily remove the dragon from its nest in order to collect water. To do so, they offered the dragon a daily human sacrifice. The victim of the day was chosen by drawing lots. Eventually, the "winner" of this lottery happened to be the local princess. The local monarch is occasionally depicted begging for her life with no result. She is offered to the dragon, but at this point a traveling George arrives. He faces the dragon, and, after invoking the name of the [[Holy Trinity]], slays it and saves the princess. The grateful citizens then abandon their ancestral paganism and [[convert ]] to Christianity. The story may or may not be taken entirely literally. For example, the battle between George and the Dragon dragon may represent the battle between Christianity and [[Satan ]] or between St . [[Archangel Michael|Michael]], the archangel, and Lucifer. Dragon-slaying does appear to be a common religious theme; it may be the case that George has served as a christianized Christianized version of older Indo-European deities and their folklore.[[imageImage:Georgedemetrius.jpg|left|thumb|Sts. George and Demetrius standing together]][[Image:George Symvoulas.jpg|thumb|right|Icon of St.George from the Monastery of Christ of Symvoulas, in Cyprus]]
==Iconography==
St. George is most commonly depicted in early icons, mosaics and frescos frescoes wearing the armour of a Roman soldier . After the fall of Constantinople and the association of St . George with the crusades, he is more often portrayed mounted upon a white horse. At the same time St. George began to be associated with St. Demetrius, the other another early martyred Roman soldier. The two Saints saints are often portrayed together mounted upon horses, ; in this respect they are likened to earthly manifestations of the Archangels [[Archangel Michael|Michael]] and [[Archangel Gabriel|Gabriel]]. (Equating George with Michael is understandable, as many icons of Michael also portray him on a horse slaying a dragon.) St. George is always depicted upon a white horse and St. Demetrius on a red horse (or a black horse where the pigment used has decayed). ==Churches==In Lydda in Palestine (his mother's birthplace), a [[church]] dedicated to St. George and containing his relics is associated with miraculous healings. The dedication of the church under the reign of St. [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] (305-337) is commemorated, with the translation of St. George's relics, on November 3. ==Rare icons==Another church, dedicated to St. George recently, is associated with the Monastery of Christ of Symvoulas (Simvulo, Cyprus). This church is in construction and is referred to as "St. [[George of Symvoulas]]" in honour of an ancient icon bearing the same name and is associated with miraculous healings. 
==Hymns==
[[Troparion]] (Tone 4)
 
:You were bound for good deeds, O martyr of Christ: George;
:by faith you conquered the torturer's godlessness.
:You were offered as a sacrifice pleasing to God;
:thus you received the [[crown ]] of victory.:Through your intercessions[[intercession]]s, forgiveness of sins [[sin]]s is granted to all.
[[Kontakion]] (Tone 4)
 
:God raised you as his own gardener, O George,
:for you have gathered for yourself the sheaves of virtue.
:Through your intercessions, forgiveness of sins is granted to all.
==Sources and external links==*[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_George&oldid=61244612 Wikipedia:Saint George]]*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101184 Hagiography of Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George] ([[OCA]])*[http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_sharesaintgeorge/george/learn St. index_html April 23: Feast of the Holy Great Martyr Georgethe Trophy-Bearer] ([[GOARCH]])*[http://www.pinetreeweb.com/nors-stgeorge.htm A Russian site with several good icons of Saint George]as an emblem of the National Organization of Russian Scouts*[http://wwwcatholicsaints.catholicinfo/saint-forum.comgeorge/saints/saintg05.htm Saint George] [[Roman Catholic ]] Patron Saints Index ==External links==*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103161 Dedication of the Church of the Greatmartyr George in Lydia] (OCA)*[http://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints_view?contentid=29 George the Great Martyr & Triumphant] (GOARCH)*[http://www.westsrbdio.org/en/prologue/407-april-23 Saint George, the Holy and Great Martyr](''[[Prologue from Ohrid]]'')*[http://www.westsrbdio.org/en/prologue/682-november-3 The Holy Great-martyr George] (''Prologue from Ohrid'')*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130101175015/http://comeandseeicons.com/g/hsw02saintsg.htm Icon ''Archive of'' "Come and See Icons"] (several icons of St. George)*[http://www.asna.ca/alaska/aleut/life-st-george.pdf Life of St. George- Great Martyr and Victory Bearer (PDF)] (in the Aleut language, 1868)*[https://www.prayer-bracelet.com/blog/saint-george-and-the-dragon/ Saint George and the Dragon] (Blog)*[https://www.prayer-bracelet.com/blog/who-were-saint-george-and-john-chrysostom/ Saint George and John Chrysostom] (Several very nice icons Blog)  ;Archaeological articles:*[http://archaeology.kiev.ua/byzantine/art/grotowski.htm ''"The Legend of St. George)Saving A Youth from Captivity and Its Depiction in Art"''] by Piotr Grotowski, Crakow University.*[http://archaeology.kiev.ua/byzantine/icon/chlenova1.htm Byzantine Relief "St. George with the Scenes of His Life"], by Larissa Chlenova, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kiev 
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Ante-Nicene Saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine Saints]]
[[Category:Martyrs]]
[[Category:4th-century saints]]
 
[[el:Γεώργιος, Άγιος]]
[[fr:Georges le Tropéophore]]
[[pt:Jorge, o Vitorioso]]
[[ro:Gheorghe purtătorul de biruinţă]]
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