St. George the Great Martyr, Victory-bearer & Wonderworker
(Commemorated April 23)
[Early life]
The Holy Great Martyr St. George the Victory-Bearer, was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family.
His father was martyred for Christ when George was still a child. His mother, owning lands in Palestine, moved there with her son and raised him in strict piety.
When he became a man, George entered into the service of the Roman army.
He was handsome, brave and valiant in battle, and he came to the notice of the Emperor Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) and joined the imperial guard with the rank of military commander.
[Confessing Jesus Christ]
The pagan Emperor, intensified his persecution against the Christians in the final years of his reign. Diocletian gave all his governors full freedom in their court proceedings against all Christians, and he promised them his full support.
George, when he heard the decision of the Emperor, distributed all his wealth to the poor, freed his servants, and then appeared in the Senate.
The brave soldier of Christ spoke out openly against the Emperor’s designs. He confessed himself a Christian, and appealed to all to acknowledge Christ: “I am a servant of Christ, my God, and trusting in Him, I have come among you voluntarily, to bear witness concerning the Truth.”
“What is Truth?” one of the dignitaries asked, echoing the question of Pontius Pilate. The Saint replied, “Christ Himself, Whom you persecuted, is Truth.”
Stunned by the bold speech of the valiant warrior, the Emperor Diocletian, who had loved and promoted George, attempted to persuade him not to throw away his youth and glory and honours, but rather to offer sacrifice to the gods as was the Roman custom.
George replied, “Nothing in this inconstant life can weaken my resolve to serve God.”
[Tortures]
Then by order of the enraged Emperor the armed guards began to push George out of the assembly hall with their spears, and they then led him off to prison.
But the deadly steel became soft and it bent, just as the spears touched the Saint’s body, and it caused him no harm. In prison they put the martyr’s feet in stocks and placed a heavy stone on his chest.
The next day at the interrogation, powerless but firm of spirit, George again answered the Emperor, “You will grow tired of tormenting me sooner than I will tire of being tormented by you.”
Then Diocletian gave orders to subject the Saint to some very intense tortures. They tied the Great Martyr to a wheel, beneath which were boards pierced with sharp pieces of iron. As the wheel turned, the sharp edges slashed the Saint’s naked body.
At first the sufferer loudly cried out to the Lord, but soon he quieted down, and did not utter even a single groan. Diocletian decided that the tortured one was already dead, and he gave orders to remove the battered body from the wheel, and then went to a pagan temple to offer thanks.
At that very moment it got dark, thunder boomed, and a voice was heard: “Fear not, George, for I am with you.” Then a wondrous light shone, and at the wheel an angel of the Lord appeared in the form of a radiant youth. He placed his hand upon the Martyr, saying to him, “Rejoice!” George then stood up healed.
When the soldiers led him to the pagan temple where Diocletian was, the Emperor could not believe his own eyes and he thought that he saw before him some other man or even a ghost.
In confusion and in terror the pagans looked George over carefully, and they became convinced that a miracle had occurred. Many then came to believe in the Life-Creating God of the Christians.
Two illustrious officials, (Saints) Anatolius and Protoleon, who were secretly Christians, openly confessed Christ. Immediately, without a trial, they were beheaded with the sword by order of the Emperor.
Also present in the pagan temple was Empress Alexandra, the wife of Diocletian, and she also knew the truth. She was on the verge of glorifying Christ, but one of the servants of the Emperor took her and led her off to the palace.
Diocletian became even more furious. He had not lost all hope of influencing George, so he gave him over to new and fearsome torments.
After throwing him into a deep pit, they covered it over with lime. Three days later they dug him out, but found him cheerful and unharmed.
They dressed the Saint in iron sandals with red-hot nails, and then drove him back to the prison with whips. In the morning, when they led him back to the interrogation, cheerful and with healed feet, the Emperor asked if he liked his shoes.
The Saint said that the sandals had been just his size. Then they beat him with ox thongs until pieces of his flesh came off and his blood soaked the ground, but the brave sufferer, strengthened by the power of God, remained unyielding.
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