The life of Saint George is shrouded in legend, so
much so that it is quite difficult to untangle fact from fiction. Much of the problem lies
in the Acta Sancti Georgii (Acts of Saint George) written at a very early date and
outlawed by Pope Gelasius in 496 AD. Meanwhile the Greeks also had a set of Acts which
were more accurate and quoted by Saint Andrew of Crete.
From them and the writings of Metaphrastes, we can piece together that he was born in
Cappadocia of noble, Christian parents and on the death of his father, accompanied his
mother to Palestine, her country of origin, where she had land and George was to run the
estate. He was martyred at Lydda in Palestine (Nicomedia). He held an important post in
the Roman army - the rank of tribune, or perhaps colonel in modern terms - during the
reign of the Emperor Dioclesian (245-313 AD). Dioclesian was a great persecutor of
Christians (from about 302) and when the persecutions began George put aside his office
and complained personally to the Emperor of the harshness of his decrees and the dreadful
purges of Christians. For his trouble, though, he was thrown into prison and tortured. He
would not recant his faith however and the following day he was dragged through the
streets and beheaded. It is uncertain whether he also tore down the Emperor's decrees as
they were posted in Nicomedia. So he was one of the first to perish. The Emperor's wife,
Alexandria was so impressed at the Saint's courage that she became a Christian and so too
was put to death for her trouble.
The
Legends
The legends surrounding
Saint George are very varied. One of them concerns the famous dragon,
with which he is invariably portrayed. According to legend, a pagan
town in Libya was being terrorized by a dragon. The locals kept throwing
sheep to it to placate it, and when it still remained unsatisfied, they
started sacrificing some of the citizenry. Finally the local princess
was to be thrown also to the beast, but Good Saint George came along,
slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair princess. At this the townsfolk
converted to Christianity.
The origin of the legend,
which is very well known, came originally from the way in which the
Greek Church honored George. They venerated him as a soldier saint and
told many stories of his bravery and protection in battle. The western
Christians, joining with the Byzantine ChriSaintians in the Crusades,
elaborated and misinterpreted the Greek traditions and devised their
own version. The Saintory we know today of Saint George and the dragon
dates from the troubadours of the 14th century.
The reason for his being adopted
as the Saint of Battles was partly because he was a soldier, but also
because he is said to have appeared to the Christian army before the
Battle of Antioch. It is also said that he appeared to our English King
Richard I (the Lionheart) during his Crusade against the Saracens,
which served as a great encouragement to the troops.
The
Meaning of the Symbols
The symbols explained are
that the Dragon represented Satan and the Princess represented the Christian
Church. Saint George rescued the pagans from evil by vanquishing it
and saved the Church from being devoured by the insatiable forces of
darkness.
The
Cult of Saint George
The cult of Saint George
goes back a long way - certainly to the 4th century. The Syrian Church
held him in great esteem. The church of Saint George In Velabro - (The
Veil of Gold) - Rome, dating from about that time was built. Saint Clothilde,
in Gaul dedicated a church to him; in Venice, he is the second patron
after Saint Mark; the Greeks hold him in honour. And in 1222 the Council
of Oxford appointed 23rd April as his Feast Day. He became the English
Patron Saint in 14th Century and he became associated with the Order
of the Garter. He is also the patron saint of Moscow in Russia,
and was, until 18th century, patron of Portugal (when they broke
from Spain in 12th century, they had to choose a new patron: their acquaintance
with the English in the Crusades confirmed George as the natural successor
- he remains still "in charge" of the army), and of Aragon.
St George is also the Patron Saint of the Scouting Movement.
