Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Icon of Saint George

Troparion Hymn

As deliverer of captives and defender of the poor, healer of the infirm, champion of kings, victorious Great Martyr George, intercede with Christ our God for our souls’ salvation.

This glorious and victorious saint was born in Cappadocia [modern Central Turkey] the son of wealthy and virtuous parents. His father suffered for Christ and his mother then moved to Palestine. When George grew up, he entered the military, where in his twentieth year, attained the rank of a Tribune [colonel] and as such was in the service of the Emperor Diocletian.

When Diocletian began the terrible persecution against Christians, George came before him and courageously confessed that he is a Christian. The emperor had him thrown into prison and ordered that his feet be placed in a stockade of wooden hobbles and that a heavy stone be placed on his chest. After that, the emperor commanded that George be tied to a wheel under which was a board with large nails and he was to be rotated until his entire body became as one bloody wound. After that, they buried him in a pit with only his head showing above the ground and there they left him for three days and three nights. Then George was given a deadly poison to drink by some magician.

But, through all of these sufferings, George continuously prayed to God and God healed him instantly and saved him from death to the great astonishment of the people. When he resurrected a dead man through his prayer, many then accepted the Faith of Christ. Among these also was Alexandra, the wife of the Emperor Athanasius, the chief pagan priest and the farmers: Glycerius, Valerius, Donatus and Therinus. Finally the emperor ordered George and his wife Alexandra beheaded. Blessed Alexandra died on the scaffold before being beheaded. St. George was beheaded in the year 303 A.D.

The miracles which have occurred over the grave of St. George are without number. Numerous are his appearances, either in dreams or openly, to those who have invoked him and implored his help from that time until today. Enflamed with love for Christ the Lord, it was not difficult for this saintly George to leave all for the sake of this love: rank, wealth, imperial honor, his friends and the entire world. For this love, the Lord rewarded him with the wealth of unfading glory in heaven and on earth and eternal life in His kingdom. In addition, the Lord bestowed upon him the power and authority to assist all those in miseries and difficulties who honor him and call upon his name.

—From The Prologue from Ohrid by Saint Nikolaj Velimirović.

Saint George and the Dragon

Saint 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 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 may represent the battle between Christianity and Satan or between St. 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 version of older Indo-European deities and their folklore.

—From OrthodoxWiki

Feast Day

The Victorious Great-Martyr George’s feast day is celebrated April 23.