On May 6, the Orthodox holiday of St. George the Victorious is celebrated almost throughout the world. Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, St. George is considered the patron saint of Moscow, which is reflected from the XIV-XV centuries in Moscow heraldry. Revered in many countries, this saint has become a symbol of courage and perseverance for many centuries.
The Life of St. George
The biography of St. George begins with the fact that he was born in the city of Beirut, at the foot of the Lebanese mountains, in a pious and wealthy family. During military service, he was able to stand out among other warriors with his strength, courage, intelligence, beauty and military posture. Quite quickly going up the career ladder, he reached the rank of millennial commander and became close to the emperor Diocletian. This ruler was a talented commander, but a passionate adherent of Roman paganism, in connection with which he is noted in history as one of the most cruel and ardent persecutors of Christians.
Holy Great Martyr George
Once in court, George heard inhuman and cruel sentences of extermination of Christians. Compassion for these innocent people inflamed in him. Anticipating the terrible torment, George distributed everything that he had to the poor, gave free rein to his slaves and came to see Diocletian. Standing in front of him, George declared himself a Christian and began to convict the emperor of injustice and cruelty. After inconclusive persuasion, the emperor gave the order to subject his millennium commander to the same torment as the Christians. The torturers of George excelled in cruelty, inventing more and more tortures, but he patiently endured the suffering and praised the Lord. In the end, the emperor ordered the saint to be cut off. So the martyr George went to the Lord in the year 303, in Nicomedia, in the new style on May 6. The feast of St. George since then is celebrated on this day. The relics of the saint were laid in the temple of the city of Lida, in Palestine. His head was preserved in a Roman temple, also dedicated to the feat of St. George.
George the Victorious
George was named the Victorious for his courage, steadfastness and spiritual victory over his tormentors, who could not force him to renounce the title of Christian, as well as for miraculous help to people in danger. On the feast of St. George the Victorious, his military exploits are recalled. On the icons he is depicted riding a horse and a killing spear of a serpent. This image is based on folk traditions and posthumous miracles of St. George. The essence of the legend is that near the hometown of George appeared a terrible beast devouring people. The superstitious people of those places began to give him a sacrifice by lot to satisfy his fury. Once the choice fell on the daughter of the ruler of that region, she was tied on the shore of the lake and left in horror to wait for the appearance of the monster. When the beast came out of the water and began to approach the numbed girl, suddenly a bright husband appeared between them on a white horse, killed a snake and saved the girl. By such a miraculous occurrence, the great martyr George stopped the sacrificial killings of people, converted to Christianity the inhabitants of the area that were formerly pagans.
The veneration of St. George in Russia
St. George is considered the patron saint of warriors. His image on a horse is a symbol of victory over the devil, which has long been called the "ancient serpent." This image has become part of the coat of arms of Moscow, it has been displayed on coins of different countries for many years. On the holiday of St. George the Victorious, they also recall the story when he revived the deceased single ox from a poor farmer. This and other miracles served as an occasion to commemorate him also as a patron of cattle breeding and a protector from predators.
Before the revolution, on the Orthodox holiday of St. George the Victorious, the Russian village residents all went to churches for church service. After the procession, a prayer service to the holy great martyr, sprinkling of houses and pets with holy water drove cattle for the first time after a long winter on pastures. Another day on which the feast of St. George the Victorious is celebrated is popularly called "Autumn George", or "St. George's Day." Until Boris Godunov came to power, on this day the serfs had the right to transfer to another landowner.
St. George Awards
Inextricably linked with the name of the saint is one of the symbols of victory and military glory - the St. George ribbon, symbolizing military valor and courage. The combination of three black stripes, meaning smoke, and two orange, symbolizing the flame, for about 250 years. The appearance of the tape is directly related to the appearance of the main award of Russia - the Order of St. George, established in 1769. The order looked like a white enamelled cross. Not only an officer, but also a simple soldier could receive this award for combat feat. "St. George" was of four degrees, the highest of which before the revolution was owned by only 25 military leaders. Of these, only one Mikhail Kutuzov was a gentleman of all four degrees. In the post-revolutionary time, the order was abolished by the Bolsheviks as a royal award, and the ribbon, as a symbol of valor and courage, was preserved and used in the awards of the Great Patriotic War. The Order of St. George was restored in all four degrees in 2000 and again is the highest award in Russia. Since 2005, St. George’s ribbons began to be distributed before the Victory Day on May 9 to everyone in the world as a memory of the bloodiest war in the history of the fatherland. So the symbol had another meaning - the memory of those who sacrificed for the salvation of the homeland the most valuable that he had - their life.
Feast of St. George
The special veneration of the Victorious in Russia began in 1030, when Yaroslav the Wise, after defeating the miracle, laid the foundation for the St. George Church near Novgorod. In 1036, defeating the Pechenegs, he founded the monastery of St. George. During the consecration of the temple on November 26, a princely decree throughout Russia prescribed annually to celebrate the feast of St. George the Victorious. The consecration of the St. George Church is one of the very first Old Russian holidays.
The day of the death of St. George - May 6 - is still honored no less. Many see the symbolism in the fact that the final defeat of fascist Germany happened on the day of memory of St. George the Victorious. The surrender of May 8, 1945 was also accepted by George - Marshal Zhukov, who had previously led many victorious battles during this terrible war.
George the patron
St. George is especially revered in many countries, such as Georgia, where even the name of the country (George) is taken in his honor. According to legend, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, a revered saint in Georgia, is the cousin of the described warrior husband. She especially revered George, bequeathed to Christians to love this saint. Since the 9th century, mass construction of churches in honor of St. George took place. There is a lot of evidence of his appearance in various battles. The St. George Cross is depicted on the Georgian flag.
St. George is also a revered saint in England (since the reign of King Edmund III). The English flag itself looks like the St. George Cross. Very often, the image of St. George is used in classical English literature.
It is with great joy that they celebrate the holiday - Day of St. George the Victorious - in the Arab countries. There are many folk legends about the miracles of George, one of which is about Saracen, who shot from a bow at the icon of the saint. As soon as this happened, the detractor's hand was swollen, and he began to die of pain, but, on the advice of a Christian priest, he burned butter in front of the icon of George and anointed the swollen hand with oil. Immediately after this, he received healing and believed in Christ, for which he was put to a painful death from his fellow workers. History did not preserve the name of this Saracen, but it is depicted on local snake icons as a small figure with a lamp on a horse behind George.