There are many saints honored in the Roman Catholic Church, (close to 11,000 according to one estimate), but St. George, who many countries claim as their patron (including England and Ukraine) is unique in as much as he is recognized and revered by both Muslims and Christians.  Among Christians, he is part of the martyrology of the Roman Catholic Church and is also celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.

Given the breadth of devotion to him, little factual evidence is known about St. George including the date of his birth.  What is known is that he lived in the third century A.D. and his parents were Christians of the nobility. They raised their son, George, or Georgios, to follow their faith.

Because his father had been a Roman officer, it was not surprising that George joined the army of the emperor Diocletian as soon as he was of age.  He served honorably and rose to the rank of Tribunus, even serving as part of the emperor’s imperial guard.

At first, Diocletian’s friendship with George’s father spared the young man from the emperor’s utter hatred of Christians.  But when Diocletian issued an edict of persecution against Christians in 303, George simply could not comply.  In front of his peers, the young man gave all his possessions to the poor, tore up the document, and publicly declared his faith in Christ.

This the emperor could not overlook.  However, he tried to give George every opportunity to renounce his faith, including offering him land, money and slaves in return for offering sacrifice to the Roman gods.  George refused and eventually, the emperor had no choice but to order his execution on or near April 23, 303 A.D.

 

Shortly after his death, a basilica was built over the place of his burial and marvelous stories began to be told of him. Perhaps the most famous is “St. George and the Dragon.” According to the legend, there was a fierce dragon that made his nest next to a spring that supplied a certain town in Libya with water.  In order to be able to get near it, the townsfolk sacrificed sheep to it, causing the dragon to leave the spring long enough for the people to draw their water.  When the supply of sheep had been exhausted, they instead began sacrificing young maidens; this continued until the daughter of the king drew the short straw.  It is said that before she could be devoured, St. George appeared, made the Sign of the Cross, and slew the dragon.  Having thus been saved, everyone in the town abandoned their pagan ways and converted to Christianity.

 

During the Middle Ages, Crusaders, who saw in St. George a symbol of good overcoming evil, were mostly responsible for making this martyr into a holy warrior.  The most frequent depiction of St. George is as a medieval knight overcoming a dragon. Patron of knights and soldiers, his feast day is celebrated April 23.