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23rd April 2019

St. George's Day

St George

St. George's Day

  • The Council of Oxford declared, in 1222, that St George’s Day will be on April 23rd.
  • St George did not become the Patron Saint of England until 1348.
  • St George’s Day was declared a national holiday and feast day in 1415, in England.
  • The tradition declined, was not widely celebrated and is no longer a national holiday, following the union with Scotland at the end of the 18th Century.
  • Traditionally it was customary to wear a red rose in one’s lapel and to fly the St George’s flag, a Red Cross of St. George on a white field.
  • In churches across the nation the hymn ‘Jerusalem’ was sung on the 23rd April, or the nearest Sunday to that date.

St. George — A Brief History

The life of St George has passed into legend over the centuries. However, he must have been someone of significant character for his reputation to survive for almost 1,700 years!

There are two main versions of the legend, a Greek and a Latin version; below are the most accepted facts of life of England’s Patron Saint.

  • St George was born in Cappadocia, to Christian parents in A.D. 270.
  • When St. George was fourteen his father died for the faith.
  • After his father's death his mother moved back to Palestine, her homeland, with St. George.
  • A few years after they moved his mother died; he then joined the Roman army, rising to the high rank of Tribunus Militum.
  • He later resigned his military post in protest against his pagan leader, the Emperor Diocletian (245-313 AD), who led Rome’s Great Persecution of Christians.
  • He was imprisoned and tortured because of his rebellion against the Emperor but he remained true to his faith.
  • Diocletian had St George dragged through the streets of Nicomedia, on the 23rd of April 303 AD and St. George was martyred by being beheaded.
  • St George inspired the Emperor’s wife, Alexandra, by bravery and faith, that she too became a Christian and was subsequently martyred for her Christianity, (she is known as St. Alexandra of Rome).

St. George & The Dragon

The legend of St. George & the Dragon was first introduced into Europe in the 11th century AD.

"Silene in Libya was plagued by a venom-spewing dragon dwelling in a nearby pond, poisoning the countryside. To prevent it from affecting the city itself, the people offered it two sheep daily, then a man and a sheep, and finally their children and youths, chosen by lottery. One time the lot fell on the king's daughter. The king offered all his gold and silver to have his daughter spared; the people refused. The daughter was sent out to the lake, dressed as a bride, to be fed to the dragon.

Saint George by chance arrived at the spot. The princess tried to send him away, but he vowed to remain. The dragon emerged from the pond while they were conversing. Saint George made the Sign of the Cross and charged it on horseback, seriously wounding it with his lance. He then called to the princess to throw him her girdle (zona), and he put it around the dragon's neck. When she did so, the dragon followed the girl like a "meek beast" on a leash.

The princess and Saint George led the dragon back to the city of Silene, where it terrified the populace. Saint George offered to kill the dragon if they consented to become Christians and be baptized. Fifteen thousand men including the king of Silene converted to Christianity. George then killed the dragon, beheading it with his sword, and the body was carted out of the city on four ox-carts. The king built a church to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint George on the site where the dragon died and a spring flowed from its altar with water that cured all disease. Only the Latin version involves the saint striking the dragon with the spear, before killing it with the sword."

Source: Wikipedia .

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