George
![[Saint George holy card]](stg05033.jpg "15kb jpg holy card of Saint George, artist unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
- Also
known as
- Victory Bringer
- Memorial
- 23
April (Roman Catholic); 3
November (Russian Orthodox); fourth Sunday in June (Malta);
third Sunday in July (Gozo)
- Profile
- Soldier.
Martyr.
That's all we know for sure.
Several stories have been attached to Saint George, the best known of which
is the Golden
Legend. In it, a dragon
lived in a lake near Silena, Libya. Whole armies
had gone up against this fierce creature, and had gone down in painful
defeat. The monster ate two sheep
each day; when mutton was scarce, lots were drawn in local villages, and
maidens were substituted for sheep.
Into this country came Saint George. Hearing the story on a day when a princess
was to be eaten, he crossed himself, rode to battle against the serpent, and
killed it with a single blow with his lance. George then held forth with a
magnificent sermon, and converted
the locals. Given a large reward by the king,
George distributed it to the poor,
then rode away.
Due to his chivalrous
behavior (protecting women, fighting evil, dependence on faith and might of
arms, largesse to the poor), devotion to Saint George became popular in the Europe
after the 10th
century. In the 15th
century his feast day was as popular and important as Christmas. Many of
his areas of patronage have to do with life as a knight on horseback. The
celebrated Knights of the Garter are actually Knights of the Order
of Saint George. The shrine built for his relics
at Lydda, Palestine
was a popular point of pilgrimage
for centuries. One of the Fourteen
Holy Helpers.
- Died
- tortured
and beheaded
c.304
at Lydda, Palestine
- Patronage
- Amersfoort, Netherlands;
Aragon;
agricultural workers;
archers;
armourers;
Beirut, Lebanon;
Boy Scouts;
butchers;
Canada;
Cappadocia;
Catalonia;
cavalry;
chivalry;
Constantinople;
Crusaders;
England
(by Pope
Benedict
XIV); equestrians;
Ethiopia;
farmers;
Ferrara, Italy;
field hands;
field workers;
Genoa, Italy;
Georgia;
Germany;
Gozo;
Greece;
Haldern, Germany;
Heide, Germany;
herpes;
horsemen;
horses;
husbandmen;
Istanbul;
knights;
lepers;
leprosy;
diocese
of Limburg, Germany;
Lithuania;
Malta;
Modica, Sicily;
Moscow, Russia;
Order of the Garter;
Palestine;
Palestinian Christians;
plague;
Portugal;
Ptuj, Slovenia;
riders;
saddle makers;
saddlers;
Senj, Croatia;
sheep;
shepherds;
skin diseases;
skin rashes;
soldiers;
syphilis;
Teutonic Knights;
Venice
- Representation
- armor;
banner;
buckler;
dragon;
horse
- Prayers
- Novena in
honor of...
- Images
- Gallery
of images of Saint George [45 images, 1,474 kb]
- Additional
Information
- Google
Directory
Christian
Biographies, by James Keifer
Saint George Greek
Orthodox Church, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Russian Scouting and
Saint George [russian]
Saint George and Scouting,
by Lewis P Orans
Columbia Encyclopedia,
by Herbert Thurston
The Saints: A Concise
Biographical Dictionary, by John Coulson
Saint Jordi
Domestic
Church, by Catherine Fournier
Lives of the Saints,
by Father
Alban
Butler
Master of
Guillebert de Mets
Saint George Melkite Greek
Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Catholic Encyclopedia
For All The Saints,
by Katherine Rabenstein
Vietnamese
Eucharistic Youth Society
The Passion of Saint George,
by E A W Budge
Saint Theododius
Abba Theodotus
Ethiopic Miracles of Saint
George
Military Martyrs, by
David Woods
Greek Miracles of Saint
George, by J Aufhauser
New Catholic
Dictionary
In God's Garden,
by Amy Steedman
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- Readings
- Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another: he gave up the
rank of tribune to enlist as a soldier for Christ. Eager to encounter the
enemy, he first stripped away his worldly wealth by giving all he had to he
poor. Then, free and unencumbered, bearing the shield of faith, he plunged
into the think of the battle, an ardent soldier for Christ.
Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid
to strip ourselves of out worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a
strong defense of the faith.
Dear brothers, let us not only admire the courage of this fighter in
heaven's army, but follow his example. Let us be inspired to strive for the
reward of heavenly glory.
We must now cleanse ourselves, as Saint Paul tells us, from all defilement
of body and spirit, so that one day we too may deserve to enter that temple
of blessedness to which we now aspire.
