St. George

Saint George by Gustave Moreau. Español: San Jorge por Gustave Moreau. Galego: San Xurxo por Gustave Moreau

Simple (1955 Calendar): April 23

Who was the real St. George?  When St. George is mentioned, what often comes to mind is the image of the dragon slaying knight.  But St. George's impact extends far beyond the tale of "dragon slayer."  Many of the Christians in the Middle East in modern day Jordan are named George after this holy saint.  Are they named after a fictional knight or is St. George real?

The Church asserts that St. George was a real person and his feast is celebrated on April 23rd.

George from an illustrious family, was a Cappadocian who fought in the Roman army during the third century. He rebuked Diocletian when that ruler began to persecute the Christians and was in consequence tortured and beheaded. The brave and defiant cheerfulness of the young officer during his torture was so great an inspiration to Christians of succeeding centuries that both the East and the West surrounded his bright figure with clusters of beautiful legends. St. George is the patron of England and Christian soldiers. He was especially venerated in Christian Russia.

St. George lived in the early centuries of Christianity and died in c. 303 AD.

"The first piece of evidence of George's existence appeared within the works of the Bollandists Daniel Papebroch, Jean Bolland, and Godfrey Henschen's Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca. George was one of several names listed in the historical text, and Pope Gelasius claimed George was one of the saints 'whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God'" (Catholic Online).

While Emperor Diocletian began to persecute the Christians in 303 AD, St. George rebuked the Emperor.  Despite the Emperor's friendship with George's father, he spared not his cruelty from St. George. For his "crime," St. George was tortured by laceration on a wheel of swords and was ultimately beheaded. This all came after many attempts by the Emperor to George to simply sacrifice to the Roman gods and receive his life, wealth, and fame in the process.  St. George remained steadfast in worshiping the only True God.

On April 23, 303 AD, St. George was decapitated.  He was buried in Lydda and honored by Christians as a martyr. Thus, we see in St. George far more than a "Dragonslayer" - we see an example of final perseverance and the ability to preserve in the midst of the greatest difficulties. His feastday has been celebrated since ancient times and was, for some time, a Holy Day of Obligation in England as Dom Gueranger relates:

CLAD in his bright coat of mail, mounted on his war-steed, and spearing the dragon with his lance, George, the intrepid champion of our Risen Jesus, comes to gladden us today with his feast. From the East, where he is known as the great Martyr,devotion to St George soon spread in the Western Church, and our Christian armies have always loved and honoured him as one of their dearest patrons. His martyrdom took place in Paschal Time; and thus he stands before us as the guardian of the glorious sepulchre, just as Stephen, the Protomartyr, watches near the crib of the Infant God...

As we have already said, devotion to St George dates from a very early period. St Gregory of Tours gives us several proofs of its having taken root in Gaul. St Clotilde had a singular confidence in the holy martyr, and dedicated to him the Church of her dear Abbey of Chelles. But this devotion became more general and more fervent during the Crusades, when the Christian armies witnessed the veneration in which St George was held by the Eastern Church, and heard the wonderful things that were told of his protection on the field of battle. The Byzantine historians have recorded several remarkable instances of the kind; and the Crusaders returned to their respective countries publishing their own experience of the victories gained through the Saint's intercession.

The Republic of Genoa chose him for its patron; and Venice honoured him as its special protector, after St Mark. But nowhere was St George so enthusiastically loved as in England. Not only was it decreed in a Council held at Oxford, in the year 1222, that the feast of the Great Martyr should be observed as one of obligation; not only was devotion to the valiant soldier of Christ encouraged, throughout Great Britain, by the first Norman Kings; but there are documents anterior to the invasion of William the Conqueror, which prove that St George was invoked as the special patron of England even so far back as the ninth century. Edward III did but express the sentiment of the country when he put the Order of the Garter, which he instituted in 1330, under the patronage of the warrior Saint. In Germany, King Frederic III founded the Order of St George in the year 1468. 

Also of note, St. George is revered by both Christians and Muslims - one of the few saints to hold such a place.

So, what is his connection with the dragon?  Click here to read the fascinating story.

Prayer for St. George

St. George, Heroic Catholic soldier and defender of your Faith, you dared to criticize a tyrannical Emperor and were subjected to horrible torture. You could have occupied a high military position but you preferred to die for your Lord. Obtain for us the great grace of heroic Christian courage that should mark soldiers of Christ. Amen

Prayer: 

O God, the merits and prayers of Your blessed martyr George are a source of happiness for us. Grant us as a gift of grace the blessings we seek through him. Through Our Lord . . .

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal