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74-600: The Seven Champions of Christendom is an epithet referring to St. George , St. Andrew , St. Patrick , St. Denis , St. James Boanerges , St. Anthony the Lesser , and St. David . They are the patron saints of, respectively, England , Scotland , Ireland , France , Spain , Portugal , and Wales . The champions were depicted in Christian art and folklore in Great Britain as heroic warriors, most notably in
148-557: A basilica in Lydda dedicated to George existed. A new church was erected in 1872 and is still standing, where the feast of the translation of the relics of Saint George to that location is celebrated on 3 November each year. In England, he was mentioned among the martyrs by the 8th-century monk Bede . The Georgslied is an adaptation of his legend in Old High German , composed in the late 9th century. The earliest dedication to
222-471: A congregational mosque , the earliest mention of which comes from the early 15th century. The remains of the smaller Byzantine basilica southwest of the main church, including its apse, were incorporated into the mosque's prayer hall; today a pillar that once stood in the nave of the basilica remains inside the mosque prayer hall with an inscription in Greek. The northern façade of the mosque building faces
296-455: A festum duplex at a church council in 1415, on the date that had become associated with his martyrdom, 23 April. There was wide latitude from community to community in celebration of the day across late medieval and early modern England, and no uniform "national" celebration elsewhere, a token of the popular and vernacular nature of George's cultus and its local horizons, supported by a local guild or confraternity under George's protection, or
370-525: A 1596 book by Richard Johnson titled Famous Historie of the Seaven Champions of Christendom . Richard Johnson was entirely responsible for grouping the seven together, for their epithet, and for most of their adventures in his book. Johnson's book was subsequently rewritten in modern English by W. H. G. Kingston . Legend often portrays God sending James to the Battle of Clavijo to fight against
444-518: A Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them. According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them. In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarized society. George
518-550: A church dedicated to him in Kyiv , c. 1054 . In Bulgaria , George's day ( Bulgarian : Гергьовден ) is celebrated on 6 May, when it is customary to slaughter and roast a lamb. George's day is also a public holiday . In Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Serbian Orthodox Church refers to George as Sveti Djordje ( Свети Ђорђе ) or Sveti Georgije ( Свети Георгије ). George's day ( Đurđevdan )
592-531: A martyr of monotheistic faith. In hagiography , as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and one of the most prominent military saints, he is immortalized in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon . His feast day, Saint George's Day , is traditionally celebrated on 23 April. Historically, the countries of England , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Georgia , Ukraine , Malta , Ethiopia ,
666-465: A soldier saint from early times had its centre in Palestine at Diospolis, now Lydda . St George was apparently martyred there, at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century; that is all that can be reasonably surmised about him. The saint's veneration dates to the 5th century with some certainty, and possibly even to the 4th, while the collection of his miracles gradually began during
740-596: A very common confusion between n and l , from Dagon , whose name two neighbouring villages bear to this day, while one of the gates of Lydda used to be called the Gate of Dagon." Due to the Christian influence on the Druze faith , two Christian saints have become amongst the Druze 's most venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah . Thus, in all the villages inhabited by Druze and Christians in central Mount Lebanon
814-486: Is De Situ Terrae Sanctae by the archdeacon Theodosius, written between 518 and 530. By the end of the 6th century, the center of his veneration appears to have shifted to Cappadocia . The Life of Saint Theodore of Sykeon , written in the 7th century, mentions the veneration of the relics of the saint in Cappadocia. By the time of the early Muslim conquests of the mostly Christian and Zoroastrian Middle East,
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#1732787774683888-462: Is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival on 23 April. Catholic Church feast days: Church of Saint George (Lod) The Church of Saint George ( Arabic : كنيسة القديس جيورجوس or كنيسة مار جريس , Hebrew : כנסיית גאורגיוס הקדוש קוטל הדרקון , "Church of Saint George the dragonslayer") in the city of Lod is a Greek Orthodox church containing a sarcophagus venerated as
962-616: Is also secondary, and inconsistent with the earliest cults of the saint being located in Diospolis . George was executed by decapitation on 23 April 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra of Rome to become a Christian as well, so she joined George in martyrdom. His body was buried in Lydda , where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr. The Latin Passio Sancti Georgii (6th century) follows
1036-451: Is celebrated on Easter Monday , instead. The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates two additional feasts in honour of George. One is on 3 November, commemorating the consecration of a cathedral dedicated to him in Lydda during the reign of Constantine the Great (305–37). When the church was consecrated, the relics of George were transferred there. The other feast is on 26 November for
1110-547: Is celebrated on 6 May, and is a common slava (patron saint day) among ethnic Serbs . In Egypt , the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria refers to George ( Coptic : Ⲡⲓⲇⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲅⲉⲟⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ or ⲅⲉⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ ) as the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates his martyrdom on the 23rd of Paremhat of the Coptic calendar , equivalent to 1 May. The Copts also celebrate the consecration of the first church dedicated to him on
1184-552: Is described as a prophetic figure in Islamic sources. George is venerated by some Christians and Muslims because of his composite personality combining several biblical, Quranic and other ancient mythical heroes. In some sources he is identified with Elijah or Mar Elis, George or Mar Jirjus and in others as al-Khidr . The last epithet meaning the "green prophet", is common to Christian, Muslim, and Druze folk piety. Samuel Curtiss who visited an artificial cave dedicated to him where he
1258-525: Is equivalent to saying he has been sent to a madhouse. It is singular that the Moslem Arabs adopted this veneration for St George, and send their mad people to be cured by him, as well as the Christians, but they commonly call him El Khudder – The Green – according to their favourite manner of using epithets instead of names. Why he should be called green, however, I cannot tell – unless it is from
1332-461: Is granted. Al-Thaʿlabi states that George was from Palestine and lived in the times of some disciples of Jesus . He was killed many times by the king of Mosul, and resurrected each time. When the king tried to starve him, he touched a piece of dry wood brought by a woman and turned it green, with varieties of fruits and vegetables growing from it. After his fourth death, the city was burnt along with him. Ibn al-Athir 's account of one of his deaths
1406-406: Is identified with Elijah, reports that childless Muslim women used to visit the shrine to pray for children. Per tradition, he was brought to his place of martyrdom in chains, thus priests of Church of St. George chain the sick especially the mentally ill to a chain for overnight or longer for healing. This is sought after by both Muslims and Christians. According to Elizabeth Anne Finn 's Home in
1480-593: Is not clearly documented, with nothing to support the notion that it was rebuilt by Richard the Lionhearted . It seems that the Greek Orthodox continued using the still standing eastern part of the church, with the choir and the tomb of St George, possibly along with the smaller buildings southwest of the ruined cathedral. In 1266 Lydda fell to the Mamluk sultan Baibars . Clermont-Ganneau speculated that
1554-594: Is on 23 April. In the Tridentine calendar of 1568, it was given the rank of "Semidouble". In Pope Pius XII 's 1955 calendar this rank was reduced to "Simple", and in Pope John XXIII 's 1960 calendar to a "Commemoration" . Since Pope Paul VI 's 1969 revision , it appears as an "optional memorial ". In some countries such as England, the rank is higher – it is a Solemnity (Roman Catholic) or Feast ( Church of England ): if it falls between Palm Sunday and
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#17327877746831628-415: Is parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus , stating, "When he died, God sent stormy winds and thunder and lightning and dark clouds, so that darkness fell between heaven and earth, and people were in great wonderment." The account adds that the darkness was lifted after his resurrection. A titular church built in Lydda during the reign of Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337) was consecrated to "a man of
1702-479: Is seen as a guardian of the Druze community and a symbol of their enduring faith and resilience. Additionally, Saint George is regarded as a protector and healer in Druze tradition. The story of Saint George slaying the dragon is interpreted allegorically, representing the triumph of good over evil and the protection of the faithful from harm. In the General Roman Calendar , the feast of George
1776-717: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ." He asked the priest at the shrine "Do you get many Muslims coming here?" The priest replied, "We get hundreds! Almost as many as the Christian pilgrims. Often, when I come in here, I find Muslims all over the floor, in the aisles, up and down." The Encyclopædia Britannica quotes G. A. Smith in his Historic Geography of
1850-692: The English Reformation . Belief in an apparition of George heartened the Franks at the Battle of Antioch in 1098, and a similar appearance occurred the following year at Jerusalem. The chivalric military Order of Sant Jordi d'Alfama was established by king Peter the Catholic from the Crown of Aragon in 1201, Republic of Genoa , Kingdom of Hungary (1326), and by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor . Edward III of England put his Order of
1924-565: The Frankish materials present in secondary use at the nearby Jindas Bridge (1273) were taken from the demolished part of the Lydda church, which Adrian Boas sees as part of the wider Mamluk custom of marking the triumph over the Christians by recycling their masonry for their own constructions. During the Mamluk period, the ruined western part of the Crusader church has been converted into
1998-700: The Golden Legend , would go on to become very influential, as it remains the most familiar version in English owing to William Caxton 's 15th-century translation. In the medieval romances, the lance with which George slew the dragon was called Ascalon, after the Levantine city of Ashkelon , today in Israel. The name Ascalon was used by Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II, according to records at Bletchley Park . Iconography of
2072-668: The Moors , while George is usually thought of as being a knightly dragon -slayer. The legend of Patrick casting all of the serpents out of Ireland is also quite famous. While the stories of each of these saints were popular in Europe during the Middle Ages , it was Johnson who was the first to group them together. Four of the Seven Champions—;Andrew, George, James, and Denis—died as martyrs . Richard Johnson
2146-432: The medieval times. The story of the defeat of the dragon is not part of Saint George's earliest hagiographies, and seems to have been a later addition. The earliest text which preserves fragments of George's narrative is in a Greek hagiography which is identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the 5th century. An earlier work by Eusebius , Church history , written in
2220-412: The 1480s: "The rest of the church has been cut off from the choir by a wall, and they have made that part of it into a fair mosque in honour of Mahomet, and adorned it with a lofty tower. The door stood over against us, so that we could see into the courtyard of the mosque, and into the mosque itself, and it was like Paradise for cleanliness and beauty." The current Church of St. George incorporates only
2294-571: The 4th century, contributed to the legend but did not name George or provide significant detail. The work of the Bollandists Daniel Papebroch , Jean Bolland , and Godfrey Henschen in the 17th century was one of the first pieces of scholarly research to establish the saint's historicity, via their publications in Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca . Pope Gelasius I stated in 494 that George
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2368-571: The Garter under the banner of George, probably in 1348. The chronicler Jean Froissart observed the English invoking George as a battle cry on several occasions during the Hundred Years' War . In his rise as a national saint, George was aided by the very fact that the saint had no legendary connection with England, and no specifically localised shrine, as that of Thomas Becket at Canterbury: "Consequently, numerous shrines were established during
2442-469: The Holy Land , p. 164, saying: "The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George with the prophet Elijah, at Lydda confound his legend with one about Christ himself. Their name for Antichrist is Dajjal , and they have a tradition that Jesus will slay Antichrist by the gate of Lydda. The notion sprang from an ancient bas-relief of George and the Dragon on the Lydda church. But Dajjal may be derived, by
2516-536: The Holy land (1866): St George killed the dragon in this country; and the place is shown close to Beyroot . Many churches and convents are named after him. The church at Lydda is dedicated to George; so is a convent near Bethlehem , and another small one just opposite the Jaffa gate , and others beside. The Arabs believe that George can restore mad people to their senses, and to say a person has been sent to St. George's
2590-514: The Saints ) also known as Legenda Aurea (the Golden Legend ). Its 177 chapters (182 in some editions) include the story of George, among many others. After the invention of the printing press, the book became a best seller. The establishment of George as a popular saint and protective giant in the West, that had captured the medieval imagination, was codified by the official elevation of his feast to
2664-678: The Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter. George is very much honoured by the Eastern Orthodox Church, wherein he is referred to as a "Great Martyr", and in Oriental Orthodoxy overall. His major feast day is on 23 April (Julian calendar 23 April currently corresponds to Gregorian calendar 6 May). If, however, the feast occurs before Easter , it
2738-596: The Seljuk Sultan Mesud II and Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II are also named in the inscriptions. A shrine attributed to prophet George can be found in Diyarbakır , Turkey. Evliya Çelebi states in his Seyahatname that he visited the tombs of prophet Jonah and prophet George in the city. The reverence for Saint George, who is often identified with Al-Khidr, is deeply integrated into various aspects of Druze culture and religious practices. He
2812-556: The church. Intercession to George of Edathua is believed to be efficacious in repelling snakes and in curing mental ailments. The sacred relics of George were brought to Antioch from Mardin in 900 and were taken to Kerala, India, from Antioch in 1912 by Mar Dionysius of Vattasseril and kept in the Orthodox seminary at Kundara, Kerala. H.H. Mathews II Catholicos had given the relics to St. George churches at Puthupally, Kottayam District, and Chandanappally, Pathanamthitta district. George
2886-983: The colour of his horse. Gray horses are called green in Arabic. The mosque of Nabi Jurjis, which was restored by Timur in the 14th century, was located in Mosul and supposedly contained the tomb of George. It was however destroyed in July 2014 by the occupying Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , who also destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Sheeth ( Seth ) and the Mosque of the Prophet Younis ( Jonah ). The militants claimed that such mosques have become places for apostasy instead of prayer. George or Hazrat Jurjays
2960-467: The courtyard ( sahn ), and makes use of the south wall of the Crusader church. The ceiling of the mosque is vaulted and made in the shape of a cross. On the eastern side of the prayer hall remains a remnant of a Byzantine apse. Beneath the mosque are underground halls, built by the Crusaders and used as reservoirs for the church and city residents. The mosque and minaret were mentioned by Felix Fabri in
3034-474: The dedication of a local church. When the English Reformation severely curtailed the saints' days in the calendar, Saint George's Day was among the holidays that continued to be observed. In April 2019, the parish church of São Jorge, in São Jorge , Madeira Island , Portugal, solemnly received the relics of George, patron saint of the parish. During the celebrations the 504th anniversary of its foundation,
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3108-473: The exact site of the main Byzantine church, reusing some of its surviving masonry, and having the same internal measurements of 47 metres east to west, and 24 metres north to south. The three-aisled basilica also terminated in three semi-circular apses, with the second of five bays forming the transept. In 1177, a detachment of Saladin 's army attacked the town and the inhabitants survived by taking refuge on
3182-554: The general course of the Greek legend, but Diocletian here becomes Dacian, Emperor of the Persians . His martyrdom was greatly extended to more than twenty separate tortures over the course of seven years. Over the course of his martyrdom, 40,900 pagans were converted to Christianity, including the Empress Alexandra. When George finally died, the wicked Dacian was carried away in a whirlwind of fire. In later Latin versions,
3256-558: The highest distinction", according to the church history of Eusebius ; the name of the titulus "patron" was not indicated. The Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr located in the city is believed to have housed his remains. The veneration of George spread from Syria Palaestina through Lebanon to the rest of the Byzantine Empire – though the martyr is not mentioned in the Syriac Breviarium – and
3330-531: The historical existence of St. George", although no faith can be placed in either the details of his history or his alleged exploits. The Diocletianic Persecution of 303, associated with military saints because the persecution was aimed at Christians among the professional soldiers of the Roman army , is of undisputed historicity. According to Donald Attwater , No historical particulars of his life have survived, ... The widespread veneration for St George as
3404-443: The horseman with spear overcoming evil was widespread throughout the Christian period. George ( Arabic : جرجس , Jirjis or Girgus ) is included in some Muslim texts as a prophetic figure. The Islamic sources state that he lived among a group of believers who were in direct contact with the last apostles of Jesus . He is described as a rich merchant who opposed erection of Apollo 's statue by Mosul 's king Dadan. After confronting
3478-409: The king, George was tortured many times to no effect, was imprisoned and was aided by the angels. Eventually, he exposed that the idols were possessed by Satan, but was martyred when the city was destroyed by God in a rain of fire. Muslim scholars had tried to find a historical connection of the saint due to his popularity. According to Muslim legend, he was martyred under the rule of Diocletian and
3552-532: The late fifteenth century," Muriel C. McClendon has written, "and his did not become closely identified with a particular occupation or with the cure of a specific malady." In the wake of the Crusades, George became a model of chivalry in works of literature, including medieval romances . In the 13th century, Jacobus de Voragine , Archbishop of Genoa, compiled the Legenda Sanctorum , ( Readings of
3626-531: The literature in 1999, tells us that J. E. Hanauer in his 1907 book Folklore of the Holy Land: Muslim, Christian and Jewish "mentioned a shrine in the village of Beit Jala , beside Bethlehem , which at the time was frequented by Christians who regarded it as the birthplace of George and some Jews who regarded it as the burial place of the Prophet Elias . According to Hanauer, in his day
3700-640: The monastery was "a sort of madhouse. Deranged persons of all the three faiths are taken thither and chained in the court of the chapel, where they are kept for forty days on bread and water, the Eastern Orthodox priest at the head of the establishment now and then reading the Gospel over them, or administering a whipping as the case demands." In the 1920s, according to Tawfiq Canaan 's Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine , nothing seemed to have changed, and all three communities were still visiting
3774-536: The northeast corner of the original site. During the second part of the nineteenth century, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem received permission from the Ottoman authorities to build a church on the site of the medieval ruins. The 19th-century church was built over the remains of the 12th-century Crusader structure, occupying the east end of its nave and northern aisle, from which
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#17327877746833848-531: The persecutor is the Roman emperor Decius , or a Roman judge named Dacian serving under Diocletian. The earliest known record of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon occurs in the 11th century, in a Georgian source, reaching Catholic Europe in the 12th century. In the Golden Legend , by 13th-century Archbishop of Genoa Jacobus de Voragine , George's death was at the hands of Dacian , and about
3922-583: The region east of the Black Sea . By the 5th century, the veneration of George had reached the Christian Western Roman Empire , as well: in 494, George was canonized as a saint by Pope Gelasius I , among those "which are known better to God than to human beings." The early cult of the saint was localized in Diospolis (Lydda) , in Palestine. The first description of Lydda as a pilgrimage site where George's relics were venerated
3996-489: The region of the myth". Saint George in all likelihood was martyred before the year 290. There is little information on the early life of George. Herbert Thurston in The Catholic Encyclopedia states that, based upon an ancient cultus , narratives of the early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting
4070-554: The regions of Catalonia and Aragon , and the city of Moscow have claimed George as their patron saint, as have several other regions, cities, universities, professions, and organizations. The Church of Saint George in Lod (Lydda), Israel , has a sarcophagus traditionally believed to contain St. George's remains. Very little is known about George's life. It is thought that he was a Roman military officer of Cappadocian Greek descent, who
4144-443: The relics were brought by the new Bishop of Funchal, D. Nuno Brás . George is renowned throughout the Middle East, as both saint and prophet. His veneration by Christians and Muslims lies in his composite personality combining several biblical, Quranic and other ancient mythical heroes. Saint George is the patron saint of Lebanese Christians , Palestinian Christians and Syrian Christians . William Dalrymple , who reviewed
4218-403: The roof of the fortified church, which seems to indicate that by this time it had a stone roof. After reconquering the land from the Crusaders in the aftermath of the 1187 Battle of Hattin , Saladin had the cathedral of Lydda and castle of Ramle demolished in 1191 . The territory around Lydda changed hands repeatedly during the next eight decades, and the state of the church during this time
4292-408: The saint in England is a church at Fordington, Dorset , that is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great . George did not rise to the position of "patron saint" of England, however, until the 14th century, and he was still obscured by Edward the Confessor , the traditional patron saint of England, until in 1552 during the reign of Edward VI all saints' banners other than George's were abolished in
4366-441: The seventh of the month of Hatour of the Coptic calendar usually equivalent to 17 November. In India, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , one of the oriental catholic churches ( Eastern Catholic Churches ), and Malankara Orthodox Church venerate George. The main pilgrim centres of the saint in India are at Aruvithura and Puthuppally in Kottayam District, Edathua in Alappuzha district, and Edappally in Ernakulam district of
4440-480: The shrine and praying together." Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995. "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem , and discovered that the place was very much alive. With all the greatest shrines in the Christian world to choose from, it seemed that when the local Arab Christians had a problem – an illness, or something more complicated – they preferred to seek the intercession of George in his grubby little shrine at Beit Jala rather than praying at
4514-422: The southern state of Kerala . The saint is commemorated each year from 27 April to 14 May at Edathua. On 27 April after the flag hoisting ceremony by the parish priest, the statue of the saint is taken from one of the altars and placed at the extension of the church to be venerated by devotees till 14 May. The main feast day is 7 May, when the statue of the saint along with other saints is taken in procession around
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#17327877746834588-425: The tomb of the fourth-century Christian martyr Saint George . The church sits adjacent to the Great Mosque of Lod . The church building is based on the partially rebuilt Crusader -period church, which had itself been built over part of the remains and footprint of the Byzantine-period predecessor. The church of Saint George was first established in Lod by the Byzantines and stood in the 5th-7th centuries. It
4662-436: The year 287. The tradition tells that a fierce dragon was causing panic at the city of Silene, Libya , at the time George arrived there. In order to prevent the dragon from devastating people from the city, they gave two sheep each day to the dragon, but when the sheep were not enough they were forced to sacrifice humans, elected by the city's own people. Eventually, the king's daughter was chosen to be sacrificed, and no one
4736-456: Was a soldier in the Roman army . Of Cappadocian Greek origin, he became a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian , but was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints, heroes, and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades . He is respected by Christians, Druze , as well as some Muslims as
4810-399: Was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God." The most complete version, based upon the fifth-century Greek text but in a later form, survives in a translation into Syriac from about 600. From text fragments preserved in the British Library , a translation into English was published in 1925. In the Greek tradition, George
4884-408: Was born to noble Christian parents, in Cappadocia . After his father died, his mother, who was originally from Lydda , in Syria Palaestina (a part of the Byzantine Empire), returned with George to her hometown. He went on to become a soldier for the Roman army ; but, because of his Christian faith, he was arrested and tortured, "at or near Lydda, also called Diospolis "; on the following day, he
4958-432: Was he who in time became George of England. This identification is seen as highly improbable. Bishop George was slain by Gentile Greeks for exacting onerous taxes, especially inheritance taxes. J. B. Bury , who edited the 1906 edition of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall , wrote "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it". He adds that "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to
5032-402: Was killed three times but resurrected every time. The legend is more developed in the Persian version of al-Tabari wherein he resurrects the dead, makes trees sprout and pillars bear flowers. After one of his deaths, the world is covered by darkness which is lifted only when he is resurrected. He is able to convert the queen but she is put to death. He then prays to God to allow him to die, which
5106-427: Was martyred under Roman emperor Diocletian in one of the pre-Constantinian persecutions of the 3rd or early 4th century. Beyond this, early sources give conflicting information. Edward Gibbon argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia , a notorious 4th-century Arian bishop who was Athanasius of Alexandria 's most bitter rival, and that it
5180-409: Was paraded and then beheaded, and his body was buried in Lydda. According to other sources, after his mother's death, George travelled to the eastern imperial capital, Nicomedia , where he was persecuted by one Dadianus . In later versions of the Greek legend, this name is rationalised to Diocletian , and George's martyrdom is placed in the Diocletian persecution of AD 303. The setting in Nicomedia
5254-465: Was probably shaped as a basilica whose three aisles terminated at the east end in semi-circular apses. Beside the main church, the complex also contained a second, smaller one just southwest of it. The Christian site was destroyed in 614 by the Sasanids during the war which led to them conquering Jerusalem . The Byzantine basilica may have had just one apse with two irregular pastophoria (chambers) . The Crusaders established their cathedral at
5328-532: Was the inventor of the ideas that the other three were martyrs, and that any of the Champions besides George and James were knights-errant . St. George Saint George ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Γεώργιος , translit. Geṓrgios ; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda , was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity . According to tradition, he
5402-462: Was the patron saint of Mosul. Along with Theodosius , he was revered by both Christian and Muslim communities of Jazira and Anatolia . The wall paintings of Kırk Dam Altı Kilise at Belisırma dedicated to him are dated between 1282 and 1304. These paintings depict him as a mounted knight appearing between donors including a Georgian lady called Thamar and her husband, the Emir and Consul Basil, while
5476-424: Was willing to take her place. George saved the girl by slaying the dragon with a lance. The king was so grateful that he offered him treasures as a reward for saving his daughter's life, but George refused it and insisted he give them to the poor. The people of the city were so amazed at what they had witnessed that they all became Christians and were baptized. Saint George's encounter with a dragon , as narrated in
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