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133-406: Botolph of Thorney ( / ˈ b ɒ t ʊ l f / ; also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; later known as Saint Botolph ; died c.  680 ) was an English abbot and saint . He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travel, as well as various aspects of farming . His feast day is celebrated either on 17 June (England) or 25 June (Scotland). Little

266-457: A blessing is similar in some aspects to the consecration of a bishop, with the new abbot being presented with the mitre , the ring, and the crosier as symbols of office and receiving the laying on of hands and blessing from the celebrant. Though the ceremony installs the new abbot into a position of legal authority, it does not confer further sacramental authority- it is not a further degree of Holy Orders (although some abbots have been ordained to

399-550: 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 )

532-475: A contemporary emergency—the revenues of the community were handed over to a lay lord, in return for his protection, early suggested to the emperors and kings the expedient of rewarding their warriors with rich abbeys held in commendam . During the Carolingian epoch, the custom grew up of granting these as regular heritable fiefs or benefices , and by the 10th century, before the great Cluniac reform,

665-453: A lesser rank, whom he fitted for the universities. His table, attendance and officers were an honour to the nation. He would entertain as many as 500 persons of rank at one time, besides relieving the poor of the vicinity twice a week. He had his country houses and fisheries, and when he travelled to attend parliament his retinue amounted to upwards of 100 persons. The abbots of Cluny and Vendôme were, by virtue of their office, cardinals of

798-626: 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 a martyr of monotheistic faith. In hagiography , as one of

931-399: 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 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

1064-452: A number of influential works against heresy , and about monastic and liturgical discipline, and Christian philanthropy . In the Tales of Redwall series , the creatures of Redwall are led by an abbot or abbess. These "abbots" are appointed by the brothers and sisters of Redwall to serve as a superior and provide paternal care, much like real abbots. "The Abbot" was a nickname of RZA from

1197-461: 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 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

1330-434: 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 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

1463-409: A question of overlordship, but implied the concentration in lay hands of all the rights, immunities and jurisdiction of the foundations, i.e. the more or less complete secularization of spiritual institutions. The lay abbot took his recognized rank in the feudal hierarchy, and was free to dispose of his fief as in the case of any other. The enfeoffment of abbeys differed in form and degree. Sometimes

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1596-523: A safe journey. An alternative possibility is that the churches were dedicated to the saint because his relics came through the four gates when Edgar moved them from Iken to Westminster Abbey. Beyond the North Sea, Budolfi Church ( Sankt Budolfi kirke ) in Aalborg , Denmark, originally a smallish building, grew to be the major church of the town by the late Middle Ages and is now the cathedral church of

1729-490: 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 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

1862-612: A significant contribution to Christian hagiography , one of the most well-known being the Life of St. Benedict of Nursia by St. Gregory the Great . During the years 1106–1107 AD, Daniel, a Russian Orthodox abbot, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and recorded his experiences. His diary was much-read throughout Russia , and at least seventy-five manuscript copies survive. Saint Joseph , Abbot of Volokolamsk , Russia (1439–1515), wrote

1995-521: 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 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

2128-652: 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 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

2261-465: A transgression. Examples among the Egyptian monks of this submission to the commands of the superiors, exalted into a virtue by those who regarded the entire crushing of the individual will as a goal, are detailed by Cassian and others, e.g. a monk watering a dry stick, day after day, for months, or endeavoring to remove a huge rock immensely exceeding his powers. When a vacancy occurred, the bishop of

2394-730: 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 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

2527-457: Is a corruption of Godulf, an Anglo-Saxon name. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " St. Botulph ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Abbot The title had its origin in the monasteries of Egypt and Syria , spread through the eastern Mediterranean , and soon became accepted generally in all languages as

2660-431: Is a hierarchy of precedence or authority among abbots. In some cases, this is the result of an abbey being considered the "mother" of several "daughter" abbeys founded as dependent priories of the "mother". In other cases, abbeys have affiliated in networks known as "congregations". Some monastic families recognize one abbey as the motherhouse of the entire order. The title abbé (French; Ital. abate ), as commonly used in

2793-438: 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 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

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2926-399: 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

3059-547: 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

3192-525: 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

3325-406: 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

3458-493: 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 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

3591-512: Is known about the life of Botolph, other than doubtful details in an account written four hundred years after his death by the 11th-century monk Folcard . Botolph was born sometime in the early 7th century to noble Saxon parents who were Christians. He and his brother Adulph were educated by Saint Fursey at Cnobheresburg monastery. They were then sent to study on the Continent, where they became Benedictines . Adulph remained abroad, where he

3724-446: Is made of an abbot of Leicester , c. 1360, who was the most skilled of all the nobility in hare hunting. In magnificence of equipage and retinue the abbots vied with the first nobles of the realm. They rode on mules with gilded bridles, rich saddles and housings, carrying hawks on their wrist, followed by an immense train of attendants. The bells of the churches were rung as they passed. They associated on equal terms with laymen of

3857-594: 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

3990-454: Is proved by their attendance and votes at ecclesiastical councils. Thus at the first Council of Constantinople , AD 448, 23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops . The second Council of Nicaea , AD 787, recognized the right of abbots to ordain their monks to the inferior orders below the diaconate , a power usually reserved to bishops. Abbots used to be subject to episcopal jurisdiction, and continued generally so, in fact, in

4123-490: Is said to have become a Bishop. Botolph, returning to England, found favour with a certain "King of the southern Angles", whose sisters he had known in Germany, and was by him permitted to choose a tract of desolate land upon which to build a monastery. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records for the year 654: "The Middle Angles , under earldorman Peada , received the true faith. King Anna was killed and Botolph began to build

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4256-582: 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

4389-472: Is the patron saint of Lebanese Christians , Palestinian Christians and Syrian Christians . William Dalrymple , who reviewed 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

4522-496: Is the head and chief governor of a community of monks, called also in the East hegumen or archimandrite . The English version for a female monastic head is abbess . In Egypt , the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of the abbot, or archimandrite, was but loosely defined. Sometimes he ruled over only one community, sometimes over several, each of which had its own abbot as well. Saint John Cassian speaks of an abbot of

4655-466: Is to be traced, far more than to the arrogance of abbots, rendered it increasingly frequent, and, in the 6th century, the practice of exempting religious houses partly or altogether from episcopal control, and making them responsible to the pope alone, received an impulse from Pope Gregory the Great . These exceptions, introduced with a good object, had grown into a widespread evil by the 12th century, virtually creating an imperium in imperio, and depriving

4788-434: 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

4921-466: The Golden Legend , by 13th-century Archbishop of Genoa Jacobus de Voragine , George's death was at the hands of Dacian , and about 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

5054-770: 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 , 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

5187-604: The Lateran council , AD 1123. In the East abbots, if in priests' orders and with the consent of the bishop, were, as we have seen, permitted by the second Nicene council , AD 787, to confer the tonsure and admit to the order of reader; but gradually abbots, in the West also, advanced higher claims, until we find them in AD 1489 permitted by Innocent IV to confer both the subdiaconate and diaconate. Of course, they always and everywhere had

5320-685: The Oxford Dictionary of Saints , 64 ancient English churches were dedicated to him, but later research has suggested the true number may have been as high as 71, with a high concentration of dedications in East Anglia. St Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire , known locally as "The Stump", is one of the most famous. Boston, or 'Botolph's town' also gave Boston , Massachusetts its name. St Botolph's Priory in Colchester , Essex ,

5453-589: The Revolution ; but the courtesy title of abbé, having long lost all connection in people's minds with any special ecclesiastical function, remained as a convenient general term applicable to any clergyman. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches , the abbot is referred to as the hegumen . The Superior of a monastery of nuns is called the Hēguménē . The title of archimandrite (literally

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5586-621: The Thebaid who had 500 monks under him. By the Rule of St Benedict , which, until the Cluniac reforms , was the norm in the West, the abbot has jurisdiction over only one community. The rule, as was inevitable, was subject to frequent violations; but it was not until the foundation of the Cluniac Order that the idea of a supreme abbot, exercising jurisdiction over all the houses of an order,

5719-537: The Wu-Tang Clan . Saint George This is an accepted version of this page 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 was a soldier in the Roman army . Of Cappadocian Greek origin, he became

5852-427: The refectory , and be content with the ordinary fare of the monks, unless he had to entertain a guest. These ordinances proved, however, generally ineffective to secure strictness of diet, and contemporaneous literature abounds with satirical remarks and complaints concerning the inordinate extravagance of the tables of the abbots. When the abbot condescended to dine in the refectory, his chaplains waited upon him with

5985-444: The vestry , and a chapter was held, and the bishop or his delegate preached a suitable sermon . Before the late modern era, the abbot was treated with the utmost reverence by the brethren of his house. When he appeared either in church or chapter all present rose and bowed. His letters were received kneeling, as were those of the pope and the king. No monk might sit in his presence, or leave it, without his permission, reflecting

6118-551: 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 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

6251-581: The Catholic Church on the European continent, is the equivalent of the English "Father" (parallel etymology), being loosely applied to all who have received the tonsure . This use of the title is said to have originated in the right conceded to the king of France, by the concordat between Pope Leo X and Francis I (1516), to appoint commendatory abbots ( abbés commendataires ) to most of

6384-531: The City walls: St Botolph Billingsgate , which was destroyed in the Great Fire and never rebuilt; St Botolph's, Aldersgate , St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate , where the poet John Keats was baptised , and St Botolph's Aldgate . It is believed that these dedications were made because the churches provided places for incoming travellers to give thanks for their safe arrival and for outgoing travellers to pray for

6517-524: 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 is described as a prophetic figure in Islamic sources. George

6650-532: The Empress Alexandra. When George finally died, the wicked Dacian was carried away in a whirlwind of fire. In later Latin versions, 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

6783-639: 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 the shrine and praying together." Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995. "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem , and discovered that

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6916-634: 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 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

7049-536: 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

7182-749: The President's House at Boston College . The University of Cambridge 's poetry journal in the 1950s was called St Botolph's Review . It was named for St Botolph's Church, Cambridge as one of its founders, Lucas Myers, lived at the rectory of St Botolph's Church in Cambridge . A second edition of the journal was published in 2006. "St Botolph's College" has been used as a hypothetical college in Cambridge University communications and Tripos examinations. The parish of Buttsbury in Essex

7315-478: The Roman church. In the process of time, the title abbot was extended to clerics who had no connection with the monastic system, as to the principal of a body of parochial clergy; and under the Carolingians to the chief chaplain of the king, Abbas Curiae , or military chaplain of the emperor, Abbas Castrensis. It even came to be adopted by purely secular officials. Thus the chief magistrate of

7448-678: 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

7581-596: 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

7714-400: The West till the 11th century. The Code of Justinian (lib. i. tit. iii. de Ep. leg. xl.) expressly subordinates the abbot to episcopal oversight. The first case recorded of the partial exemption of an abbot from episcopal control is that of Faustus, abbot of Lerins, at the council of Arles, AD 456; but the exorbitant claims and exactions of bishops, to which this repugnance to episcopal control

7847-491: The abbeys in France. The expectation of obtaining these sinecures drew young men towards the church in considerable numbers, and the class of abbés so formed – abbés de cour they were sometimes called, and sometimes (ironically) abbés de sainte espérance ("abbés of holy hope; or in a jeu de mots , "of St. Hope") – came to hold a recognized position. The connection many of them had with

7980-537: The birthplace of George and some Jews who regarded it as the burial place of the Prophet Elias . According to Hanauer, in his day 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

8113-427: The bishop of all authority over the chief centres of influence in his diocese . In the 12th century, the abbots of Fulda claimed precedence of the archbishop of Cologne . Abbots more and more assumed almost episcopal state, and in defiance of the prohibition of early councils and the protests of St Bernard and others, adopted the episcopal insignia of mitre , ring, gloves and sandals. It has been maintained that

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8246-608: The church at Ikanho". Botolph founded the monastery of Icanho. Icanho, which means 'ox hill', has been identified as Iken , located by the estuary of the River Alde in Suffolk; a church still remains on top of an isolated hill in the parish. At the time, the site was a tidal island all but surrounded by water, but Botolph attracted other monks and hermits and together they turned areas of marsh and scrub into productive grazing and farm land. The monks built several structures, and

8379-510: The church was of the slenderest kind, consisting mainly in adopting the title of abbé, after a remarkably moderate course of theological study, practising celibacy and wearing distinctive dress, a short dark-violet coat with narrow collar. Being men of presumed learning and undoubted leisure, many of the class found admission to the houses of the French nobility as tutors or advisers. Nearly every great family had its abbé. The class did not survive

8512-458: The church, and proceed barefoot to meet the members of the house advancing in a procession. After proceeding up the nave , he was to kneel and pray at the topmost step of the entrance of the choir, into which he was to be introduced by the bishop or his commissary , and placed in his stall. The monks, then kneeling, gave him the kiss of peace on the hand, and rising, on the mouth, the abbot holding his staff of office . He then put on his shoes in

8645-579: The church, have caused themselves to be called abbots, and presumed to attribute to themselves a title, as well as estates, to which they have no just claim. In conventual cathedrals, where the bishop occupied the place of the abbot, the functions usually devolving on the superior of the monastery were performed by a prior . In the Roman Catholic Church, abbots continue to be elected by the monks of an abbey to lead them as their religious superior in those orders and monasteries that make use of

8778-556: 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

8911-435: The clergy, of appointing the most powerful people of a parish stewards, or, rather, patrons, of their churches; who, in process of time, from a desire of gain, have usurped the whole right, appropriating to their own use the possession of all the lands, leaving only to the clergy the altars, with their tenths and oblations, and assigning even these to their sons and relations in the church. Such defenders, or rather destroyers, of

9044-983: 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

9177-492: 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 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

9310-405: 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 the dedication of a local church. When the English Reformation severely curtailed the saints' days in the calendar, Saint George's Day

9443-413: The designation of the head of a monastery. The word is derived from the Aramaic av meaning "father" or abba , meaning "my father" (it still has this meaning in contemporary Hebrew: אבא and Aramaic: ܐܒܐ) In the Septuagint , it was written as "abbas". At first it was employed as a respectful title for any monk, but it was soon restricted by canon law to certain priestly superiors. At times it

9576-411: The diocese chose the abbot out of the monks of the monastery , but the right of election was transferred by jurisdiction to the monks themselves, reserving to the bishop the confirmation of the election and the benediction of the new abbot. In abbeys exempt from the archbishop's diocesan jurisdiction, the confirmation and benediction had to be conferred by the pope in person, the house being taxed with

9709-594: The diocese of Aalborg. Botolph is remembered in the names of the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom and Boston , Massachusetts, in the United States. Boston was originally Botolphston (from "Botolph's stone" or "Botolph's town"). In Boston, Massachusetts, Botolph gives his name to the St Botolph Club , a private club, a street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood , and

9842-464: The dishes, a servant, if necessary, assisting them. When abbots dined in their own private hall, the Rule of St Benedict charged them to invite their monks to their table, provided there was room, on which occasions the guests were to abstain from quarrels, slanderous talk and idle gossiping. The ordinary attire of the abbot was according to rule to be the same as that of the monks. But by the 10th century

9975-586: 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 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

10108-415: The early pilgrims, and the early dedications of churches to George, going back to the fourth century, "there seems, therefore, no ground for doubting 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

10241-418: The episcopacy). Once he has received this blessing, the abbot not only becomes father of his monks in a spiritual sense, but their major superior under canon law, and has the additional authority to confer the ministries of acolyte and lector (formerly, he could confer the minor orders, which are not sacraments, that these ministries have replaced). The abbey is a species of "exempt religious" in that it is, for

10374-449: The expenses of the new abbot's journey to Rome . It was necessary that an abbot should be at least 30 years of age, of legitimate birth, a monk of the house for at least 10 years, unless it furnished no suitable candidate, when a liberty was allowed of electing from another monastery, well instructed himself, and able to instruct others, one also who had learned how to command by having practised obedience. In some exceptional cases an abbot

10507-606: The first Augustinian monastery in England, was built on an earlier Anglo-Saxon church dedicated to Botolph. St Botolph's Church in Hardham , West Sussex , houses some of the most ancient surviving wall paintings in Britain, including the earliest known depiction of St. George in England. In Botolph's role as a patron saint of travellers, four City of London churches were dedicated to him, all of which were close to gates in

10640-533: 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 a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them. According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad

10773-424: The great feudal families, as late as the 13th century and later, with the head of the community retaining the title of dean. The connection of the lesser lay abbots with the abbeys, especially in the south of France, lasted longer; and certain feudal families retained the title of abbés chevaliers ( Latin : abbates milites ) for centuries, together with certain rights over the abbey lands or revenues. The abuse

10906-541: The head of the enclosure) used to mean something similar. In the East , the principle set forth in the Corpus Juris Civilis still applies, whereby most abbots are immediately subject to the local bishop. Those monasteries which enjoy the status of being stauropegic will be subject only to a primate or his Synod of Bishops and not the local bishop. Although currently in the Western Church

11039-516: The heads of some monasteries converted at the Reformation into collegiate foundations. Of these the most noteworthy is Loccum Abbey in Hanover , founded as a Cistercian house in 1163 by Count Wilbrand of Hallermund, and reformed in 1593. The abbot of Loccum, who still carries a pastoral staff, takes precedence over all the clergy of Hanover, and was ex officio a member of the consistory of

11172-419: The hierarchical etiquette of families and society. The highest place was assigned to him, both in church and at table. In the East he was commanded to eat with the other monks. In the West, the Rule of St Benedict appointed him a separate table, at which he might entertain guests and strangers. Because this permission opened the door to luxurious living, Synods of Aachen decreed that the abbot should dine in

11305-440: The highest distinction, and shared all their pleasures and pursuits. This rank and power was, however, often used most beneficially. For instance, we read of Richard Whiting , the last abbot of Glastonbury , judicially murdered by Henry VIII , that his house was a kind of well-ordered court, where as many as 300 sons of noblemen and gentlemen, who had been sent to him for virtuous education, had been brought up, besides others of

11438-437: 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 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

11571-591: The kingdom. The governing body of the abbey consists of the abbot, prior and the "convent", or community, of Stiftsherren (canons). In the Church of England , the Bishop of Norwich , by royal decree given by Henry VIII , also holds the honorary title of "Abbot of St. Benet." This title hails back to England's separation from the See of Rome, when King Henry, as supreme head of the newly independent church, took over all of

11704-408: 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 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

11837-463: The monasteries, mainly for their possessions, except for St. Benet, which he spared because the abbot and his monks possessed no wealth, and lived like simple beggars, deposing the incumbent Bishop of Norwich and seating the abbot in his place, thus the dual title still held to this day. Additionally, at the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury , there is a threefold enthronement, once in

11970-611: The monastery grew. Botolph also worked as an itinerant missionary in East Anglia, Kent and Sussex. The Life of St Ceolfrith , written around the time of Bede by an unknown author, mentions an abbot named Botolph in East Anglia , "a man of remarkable life and learning, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit ". Ceolfrith visited him about the year 670. Botolph is supposed to have been originally buried at his foundation of Icanho, but in 970 Edgar I of England gave permission for

12103-412: The monastery would be a mere priory, headed by a prior who acts as superior but without the same degree of legal authority that an abbot has. The abbot is chosen by the monks from among the fully professed monks. Once chosen, he must request blessing: the blessing of an abbot is celebrated by the bishop in whose diocese the monastery is or, with his permission, another abbot or bishop. The ceremony of such

12236-411: The monks were directly subject to the lay abbot; sometimes he appointed a substitute to perform the spiritual functions, known usually as dean ( decanus ), but also as abbot ( abbas legitimus , monasticus , regularis ). When the great reform of the 11th century had put an end to the direct jurisdiction of the lay abbots, the honorary title of abbot continued to be held by certain of

12369-423: The most part, answerable to the pope, or to the abbot primate, rather than to the local bishop. The abbot wears the same habit as his fellow monks, though by tradition he adds to it a pectoral cross. Territorial abbots follow all of the above, but in addition must receive a mandate of authority from the pope over the territory around the monastery for which they are responsible. In some monastic families, there

12502-530: The parallel rank of Archpriest or Protopresbyter . Normally there are no celibate priests who are not monastics in the Orthodox Church, with the exception of married priests who have been widowed . Since the time of Catherine II the ranks of Abbot and Archimandrite have been given as honorary titles in the Russian Church, and may be given to any monastic, even if he does not in fact serve as

12635-659: 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 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ." He asked

12768-414: 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 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

12901-416: The power of admitting their own monks and vesting them with the religious habit. The power of the abbot was paternal but absolute, limited, however, by the canon law . One of the main goals of monasticism was the purgation of self and selfishness, and obedience was seen as a path to that perfection. It was sacred duty to execute the abbot's orders, and even to act without his orders was sometimes considered

13034-637: The precedence was yielded to the abbot of Glastonbury, until in AD 1154 Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear) granted it to the abbot of St Alban's, in which monastery he had been brought up. Next after the abbot of St Alban's ranked the abbot of Westminster and then Ramsey. Elsewhere, the mitred abbots that sat in the Estates of Scotland were of Arbroath , Cambuskenneth , Coupar Angus , Dunfermline , Holyrood , Iona , Kelso , Kilwinning , Kinloss , Lindores , Paisley , Melrose , Scone , St Andrews Priory and Sweetheart . To distinguish abbots from bishops, it

13167-468: 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 the Holy Land , p. 164, saying: "The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George with

13300-413: 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 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

13433-450: 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 a very common confusion between n and l , from Dagon , whose name two neighbouring villages bear to this day, while one of

13566-557: The remains of Botolph to be transferred to Burgh , near Woodbridge , to prevent them from being destroyed by invading Danes. They remained for some fifty years before being transferred to their own tomb at Bury St Edmunds Abbey on the instructions of Cnut . The saint's relics were later transferred again, along with those of his brother Adulph, to Thorney Abbey , although his head was transferred to Ely Abbey and various body parts to other houses, including Westminster Abbey . Many English churches are dedicated to Botolph. According to

13699-403: The republic at Genoa was called Abbas Populi . Lay abbots (M. Lat. defensores , abbacomites , abbates laici , abbates milites , abbates saeculares or irreligiosi , abbatiarii , or sometimes simply abbates ) were the outcome of the growth of the feudal system from the 8th century onwards. The practice of commendation , by which—to meet

13832-684: The rest of the Byzantine Empire – though the martyr is not mentioned in the Syriac Breviarium – and 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

13965-768: The right to wear mitres was sometimes granted by the popes to abbots before the 11th century, but the documents on which this claim is based are not genuine (J. Braun, Liturgische Gewandung , p. 453). The first undoubted instance is the bull by which Alexander II in 1063 granted the use of the mitre to Egelsinus, abbot of the monastery of St Augustine at Canterbury. The mitred abbots in England were those of Abingdon , St Alban's , Bardney , Battle , Bury St Edmunds , St Augustine's Canterbury , Colchester , Croyland , Evesham , Glastonbury , Gloucester , St Benet's Hulme , Hyde , Malmesbury , Peterborough , Ramsey , Reading , Selby , Shrewsbury , Tavistock , Thorney , Westminster , Winchcombe , and St Mary's York . Of these

14098-518: The rule was commonly set aside, and we find frequent complaints of abbots dressing in silk, and adopting sumptuous attire. Some even laid aside the monastic habit altogether, and assumed a secular dress. With the increase of wealth and power, abbots had lost much of their special religious character, and become great lords, chiefly distinguished from lay lords by celibacy . Thus we hear of abbots going out to hunt, with their men carrying bows and arrows; keeping horses, dogs and huntsmen; and special mention

14231-808: 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

14364-408: 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 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

14497-422: 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

14630-627: The superior of a monastery. In Greek practice the title or function of Abbot corresponds to a person who serves as the head of a monastery, although the title of the Archimandrite may be given to any celibate priest who could serve as the head of a monastery. In the German Evangelical Church , the German title of Abt (abbot) is sometimes bestowed, like the French abbé , as an honorary distinction, and survives to designate

14763-420: The system was firmly established. Even the abbey of St Denis was held in commendam by Hugh Capet . The example of the kings was followed by the feudal nobles, sometimes by making a temporary concession permanent, sometimes without any form of commendation whatever. In England the abuse was rife in the 8th century, as may be gathered from the acts of the council of Cloveshoe . These lay abbacies were not merely

14896-483: The term (some orders of monks, as the Carthusians for instance, have only priors ). A monastery must have been granted the status of an abbey by the pope, and such monasteries are normally raised to this level after showing a degree of stability—a certain number of monks in vows, a certain number of years of establishment, a certain firmness to the foundation in economic, vocational and legal aspects. Prior to this,

15029-620: The throne the chancel as the diocesan bishop of Canterbury , once in the Chair of St. Augustine as the Primate of All England , and then once in the chapter-house as Titular Abbot of Canterbury. There are several Benedictine abbeys throughout the Anglican Communion . Most of them have mitred abbots. "The Abbot" is one of the archetypes traditionally illustrated in scenes of Danse Macabre . The lives of numerous abbots make up

15162-563: The title "abbot" is given only abbots of monasteries, the title archimandrite is given to "monastics" (i.e., celibate) priests in the East, even when not attached to a monastery, as an honor for service, similar to the title of monsignor in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church , only monastics are permitted to be elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Married priests are elevated to

15295-462: 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, 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

15428-422: 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 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

15561-511: Was allowed to name his own successor. Cassian speaks of an abbot in Egypt doing this; and in later times we have another example in the case of St Bruno. Popes and sovereigns gradually encroached on the rights of the monks, until in Italy the pope had usurped the nomination of all abbots, and the king in France, with the exception of Cluny, Premontré and other houses, chiefs of their order. The election

15694-704: 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, 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

15827-784: Was applied to various priests, e.g. at the court of the Frankish monarchy the Abbas palatinus ("of the palace"') and Abbas castrensis ("of the camp") were chaplains to the Merovingian and Carolingian sovereigns' court and army respectively. The title of abbot came into fairly general use in western monastic orders whose members include priests. An abbot (from Old English : abbod , abbad , from Latin : abbas ("father"), from Ancient Greek : ἀββᾶς ( abbas ), from Imperial Aramaic : אבא / ܐܒܐ ( 'abbā , "father"); compare German : Abt ; French : abbé )

15960-612: Was buried in Lydda , where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr. The Latin Passio Sancti Georgii (6th century) follows 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

16093-422: Was definitely recognised. Monks, as a rule, were laymen, nor at the outset was the abbot any exception. For the reception of the sacraments , and for other religious offices, the abbot and his monks were commanded to attend the nearest church. This rule proved inconvenient when a monastery was situated in a desert or at a distance from a city, and necessity compelled the ordination of some monks. This innovation

16226-651: 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 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

16359-408: Was for life, unless the abbot was canonically deprived by the chiefs of his order, or when he was directly subject to them, by the pope or the bishop, and also in England it was for a term of 8–12 years. The ceremony of the formal admission of a Benedictine abbot in medieval times is thus prescribed by the consuetudinary of Abingdon. The newly elected abbot was to put off his shoes at the door of

16492-534: Was initially called Botolfvespirie , meaning Botolph's Pear Tree. It is sometimes surmised that the name refers to a tree under which St Botolph preached. There is a St Botolph's Brook on the boundary between Colchester and the village of West Bergholt . Despite there being a St Botolph's church in Colchester, J. Horace Round , the Victorian historian, agreed with the earlier theory that in this case Botolph

16625-409: Was localized in Diospolis (Lydda) , in Palestine. The first description of Lydda as a pilgrimage site where George's relics were venerated 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

16758-518: 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 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,

16891-478: 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 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

17024-420: Was not confined to the West. John, patriarch of Antioch at the beginning of the 12th century, informs us that in his time most monasteries had been handed over to laymen, beneficiarii , for life, or for part of their lives, by the emperors. Giraldus Cambrensis reported ( Itinerary , ii.iv) the common customs of lay abbots in the late 12th-century Church of Wales: for a bad custom has prevailed amongst

17157-481: Was not introduced without a struggle, ecclesiastical dignity being regarded as inconsistent with the higher spiritual life, but, before the close of the 5th century, at least in the East, abbots seem almost universally to have become deacons , if not priests. The change spread more slowly in the West, where the office of abbot was commonly filled by laymen till the end of the 7th century. The ecclesiastical leadership exercised by abbots despite their frequent lay status

17290-496: 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 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

17423-513: Was ordained that their mitre should be made of less costly materials, and should not be ornamented with gold, a rule which was soon entirely disregarded, and that the crook of their pastoral staff (the crosier) should turn inwards instead of outwards, indicating that their jurisdiction was limited to their own house. The adoption of certain episcopal insignia ( pontificalia ) by abbots was followed by an encroachment on episcopal functions, which had to be specially but ineffectually guarded against by

17556-666: 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 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

17689-462: 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

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