George the Victorious years of life. Brief life of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious

Name: Saint George

Date of Birth: between 275 and 281

Age: 23 years old

Place of Birth: Lod, Syria Palestine, Roman Empire

A place of death: Nicomedia, Bithynia, Roman Empire

Activity: Christian saint, great martyr

Family status: wasn't married

George the Victorious - biography

St. George the Victorious is a beloved saint of many Christian churches, including the Russian one. At the same time, nothing reliable can be said about his life, and the main miracle, single combat with a snake, was clearly attributed to him later. Why did an ordinary Roman soldier from a provincial garrison receive such fame?

The life of George has come down to us in several versions, which does not add clarity to the biography of the saint. He was born either in Beirut, or in the Palestinian Lydda (now Lod), or in Caesarea Cappadocia in present-day Turkey. There is also a reconciling version: the family lived in Cappadocia until its head, Gerontius, was put to death for his faith in Christ. His widow Polychronia and her son fled to Palestine, where her relatives owned a vast estate near Bethlehem. All of George's relatives were Christians, and his cousin Nina later became the baptist of Georgia.

By that time, Christianity had gained a strong position in the Roman Empire, while undermining its ideological basis - the belief in the godlikeness of the emperor. The new ruler Diocletian, who restored the unity of the state with a firm hand, also decisively took up religious affairs. First he expelled Christians from the Senate and from officer positions; It is surprising that it was at this time that George, who did not hide his faith, went to serve in the army and made an incredibly fast career. The Life claims that at just over 20 years old he became the “chief of a thousand” (komit) and the head of the emperor’s security.

He lived at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia (now Izmit), was rich, handsome, and brave. The future seemed bright. But in 303, Diocletian and three of his comrades, with whom he shared power, began open persecution of Christians. Their churches were closed, crosses and holy books were burned, and priests were sent into exile. All Christians holding government positions were forced to make sacrifices to the pagan gods; those who refused faced cruel torture and execution. The authorities hoped that the meek followers of Christ would show humility, but they were greatly mistaken. Many believers sought to become martyrs in order to quickly get to heaven.

As soon as the edict against Christians was posted in Nicomedia, a certain Eusebius tore it from the wall, cursing the emperor with all his might, for which he was burned at the stake. Soon, George followed his example - at a palace festival, he turned to Diocletian himself, convincing him to stop persecution and believe in Christ. Of course, they immediately threw him into prison and began to torture him. At first they pressed his chest with a heavy stone, but a heavenly angel saved the young man.

Having learned the next day that George had survived, the emperor ordered him to be tied to a wheel studded with sharp nails. When the wheel began to rotate, the bleeding martyr prayed until he lost consciousness. Deciding that he was about to die, Diocletian ordered him to be untied and taken to his cell, but there an angel miraculously healed him. Seeing the unharmed prisoner the next morning, the emperor became furious, and his wife Alexandra (in fact, the empress's name was Prisca) believed in Christ.

Then the executioners threw their victim into a stone well and covered him with quicklime. But the angel was on the alert. When Diocletian ordered the bones of the martyr to be brought from the well, they brought him the living George, who loudly praised the Lord. They put red-hot iron boots on George, beat him with sledgehammers, tortured him with whips made of ox sinew - everything was useless. The emperor decided that witchcraft was saving George, and ordered his sorcerer Athanasius to give the martyr water to drink, removing all the spells.

This did not help either - moreover, the martyr resurrected the dead man on a dare, which the pagan sorcerer could not do, which is why he left in shame. Not knowing what to do with George, he was put in prison, where he continued to preach the faith of Christ and perform miracles - for example, he revived a peasant’s fallen ox.

When the best people of the city, including Empress Alexandra, came to the emperor to ask for the release of George, Diocletian, in a rage, ordered not only the martyr, but also his wife, to be “beheaded with the sword.” Before his execution, he offered his former favorite to renounce for the last time, and he asked to be taken to the temple of Apollo. The emperor happily agreed, hoping that George would make a sacrifice to the sun god. But he, standing in front of the statue of Apollo, made the sign of the cross over it, and a demon flew out of it, screaming loudly in pain. Immediately all the statues in the temple fell to the ground and broke.

Having lost patience, Diocletian ordered the convicts to be immediately led to execution. Along the way, the exhausted Alexandra died, and George, smiling, prayed to Christ for the last time and lay down on the scaffold. When the executioner cut off George's head, a wonderful fragrance spread around, and many in the gathered crowd immediately fell to their knees and confessed the true faith. The faithful servant of the executed Pasikrates took his body to Lydda and buried him there in the family tomb. George's body remained incorrupt, and soon healings began to take place at his grave.

This story is reminiscent of many lives of martyrs of that era. It seems that Diocletian did nothing but invent the most sophisticated tortures for Christians. In fact, the emperor continuously fought, built, visited different provinces and almost never visited the capital. Moreover, he was not bloodthirsty: his son-in-law and co-ruler Galerius was much more zealous in persecution. And they lasted only a few years, after which Christianity came into force again and soon became the state religion.

Diocletian still saw these times - he renounced power, lived on his estate and grew cabbage. Some legends call George’s tormentor not him, but the Persian king Dacian, or Damian, adding that after the execution of the saint, he was immediately incinerated by lightning. The same legends show great ingenuity in describing the tortures to which the martyr was subjected. For example, Yakov Voraginsky in the “Golden Legend” writes that George was torn with iron hooks “until his guts came out,” poisoned, and thrown into a cauldron with molten lead. Another legend said that George was placed on a red-hot iron bull, but through the prayer of the saint he not only instantly cooled down, but also began to proclaim praise to the Lord.

The cult of George, which arose already in the 4th century around his tomb in Lydda, gave rise to many new legends. One declared him the patron of rural labor - only because his name means “farmer” and was in ancient times an epithet of Zeus. Christians tried to replace the popular god of fertility Dionysus, whose sanctuaries were everywhere turned into temples of St. George.

The holidays of Dionysus - Great and Small Dionysia, celebrated in April and November - turned into days of memory of George (today the Russian Church celebrates them on May 6 and December 9). Like Dionysus, the saint was considered the master of wild animals, the “shepherd of wolves.” He also became the patron saint of warriors, like his colleagues Theodore Tiron and Theodore Stratelates, who also suffered during the persecution of Diocletian.

But the most popular legend made him a snake fighter. It said that near the city of Lasya, somewhere in the East, a snake lived in a lake; To prevent him from destroying people and livestock, the townspeople every year gave him the most beautiful of the maidens to be eaten. One day the lot fell on the king’s daughter, who was “dressed in purple and fine linen,” adorned with gold and taken to the shore of the lake. At this time, Saint George rode past on horseback, who, having learned from the maiden about her terrible fate, promised to save her.

When the monster appeared, the saint “struck the snake with force in the larynx, struck it and pressed it to the ground; The saint’s horse trampled the serpent underfoot.” In most icons and paintings, the snake does not look scary at all, and George does not strike him too actively; this is explained by the fact that, through his prayer, the reptile became numb and completely helpless. The serpent is depicted in different ways - usually it is a winged and fire-breathing dragon, but sometimes it is a worm-like creature with the mouth of a crocodile.

Be that as it may, the saint immobilized the snake, ordered the princess to tie it with her belt and took him to the city. There he announced that he had defeated the monster in the name of Christ and converted all the inhabitants - either 25 thousand or as many as 240 - to the new faith. After which he killed the snake, cut it into pieces and burned them. This story puts George on a par with such mythical snake fighters as Marduk, Indra, Sigurd, Zeus and especially Perseus, who in the same way saved the Ethiopian princess Andromeda, who was given to be devoured by a snake.

He also reminds us of Christ, who also defeated the “ancient serpent,” which means the devil. Most commentators believe that the fight against the serpent of George is an allegorical description of the victory over the devil, which is achieved not with weapons, but with prayer. By the way, the Orthodox tradition believes that the saint performed his “miracle about the serpent” posthumously, which makes the allegory not only of the serpent, but also of its conqueror.

All this did not prevent Christians from sincerely believing in the reality of George and the miracles he performed. In terms of the number of relics and relics, he is perhaps ahead of all other saints. At least a dozen of George’s heads are known; the most famous is in the Roman basilica of San Giorgio in Velabro, along with the sword with which the dragon was killed. The guardians of the saint's tomb in Lod claim that they have the original relics, but no one has seen them for several centuries, since the church where the tomb is located was devastated by the Turks.

The right hand of George is kept in the monastery of Xenophon on Mount Athos, another hand (and also the right one) is in the Venetian basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore. In one of the Coptic monasteries in Cairo, pilgrims are shown things that allegedly belonged to the saint - boots and a silver cup.

Some of his relics are placed in Paris, in the chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, where they were brought from the Crusades by King Louis the Saint. It was these campaigns, when Europeans first found themselves in George’s native lands, that made him the patron of chivalry and the art of war. The famous crusader, King Richard the Lionheart, entrusted his army to the patronage of the saint and raised a white banner with a red St. George's Cross over it. Since then, this banner has been considered the flag of England, and George is its patron. Portugal, Greece, Lithuania, Genoa, Milan, and Barcelona also enjoy the patronage of the saint. And, of course, Georgia - the first temple in his honor was built there in the 4th century according to the will of his relative, St. Nina.

Under Queen Tamara, the St. George Cross appeared on the banner of Georgia, and “White George” (Tetri Giorgi), reminiscent of the pagan lunar god, appeared on the coat of arms. In neighboring Ossetia, his connection with paganism turned out to be even stronger: Saint George, or Uastirdzhi, is considered the main deity here, the patron saint of male warriors. In Greece, St. George's Day, celebrated on April 23, has become a joyful celebration of fertility. The veneration of the saint has crossed the borders of the Christian world: Muslims know him as Jirjis (Girgis), or El-Khudi, the famous sage and friend of the Prophet Muhammad. Sent to Mosul to preach Islam, he was executed three times by the evil ruler of the city, but was resurrected each time. Sometimes he is considered immortal and is depicted as an old man with a long white beard.

In Slavic countries, George (Yuri, Jiri, Jerzy) has been loved for a long time. In the 11th century, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise received his name in baptism, who erected monasteries in Kyiv and Novgorod in honor of St. George and named two cities after him - the present-day Tartu (Yuryev) and the White Church (Yuryev Russky). “Autumn” and “spring” George in the Russian tradition bear little resemblance to each other. The first, Yegor the Brave, also known as the Victorious, is a hero-warrior who resisted the torture of the “king of Demyani” and defeated the “fierce serpent, the fiery fierce one.” The second is the protector of livestock, the giver of the harvest, who opens the field. Russian peasants addressed him in “Yuriev’s songs”:

Yegory, you are our brave one,
You save our cattle
From a predatory wolf,
From the fierce bear,
From the evil beast

If here George looks like the pagan god Veles, the owner of cattle, then in his “military” appearance he is more reminiscent of another deity - the formidable Perun, who also fought with the serpent. The Bulgarians considered him the master of the waters, who freed them from the power of the dragon, and the Macedonians considered him the master of spring rain and thunder. On His-Riya the Spring field was sprinkled with the blood of a lamb to ensure a rich harvest. For the same purpose, the peasants arranged a meal on their plot and buried the scraps in the ground, and in the evening they rolled naked on the sown land and even had sex there.

Spring St. George's Day (Ederlezi) is the main holiday of the Balkan gypsies, a day of miracles and fortune telling. Egor Autumn has its own customs associated with it, but in Rus' it was known primarily as the day when a serf could leave for another master. The abolition of this custom under Boris Godunov was reflected in the bitter saying: “Here’s to you, grandmother, and St. George’s Day!

Russian heraldry reminds us of the popularity of St. George: since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, he has been placed on the coat of arms of Moscow. For a long time, the image of a “rider”, a horseman with a spear, killing a snake, was present on Russian copper coins, which is why they received the name “kopek”. Until now, George is depicted not only on the Moscow coat of arms, but also on the state coat of arms - in a shield on the chest of a double-headed eagle. True, there, unlike ancient icons, he travels to the left and does not have a halo. Attempts to deprive George of holiness by presenting him as a nameless “horseman” are being made not only by our heraldists.

The Catholic Church decided back in 1969 that there was somehow little evidence of the real existence of George. Therefore, he was relegated to the category of “second-class” saints, in whom a Christian is not obliged to believe. However, in England the national saint remains popular.

In Russia, the Order of St. George was one of the highest military awards, which only officers could receive. For the lower ranks, the St. George Cross was established in 1807, on which the same “rider” with a spear was depicted. The owner of this award enjoyed universal respect, not to mention the full holder of the four St. Georges - such was, for example, non-commissioned officer Budyonny, the future Red Marshal. Another Soviet marshal, Georgy Zhukov, also managed to earn two Georgies on the fronts of the First World War; it is symbolic that it was he who led the Victory Parade on a white horse, almost coinciding in date with the day of Yegor Veshny.

The entire centuries-old history of the holy serpent fighter is full of symbols, saturated with ancient mysticism and modern ideology. Therefore, it is not so important whether a warrior named George actually lived in Nicomedia and whether he performed the miracles attributed to him. The important thing is that his image perfectly corresponded to the dreams and aspirations of many people of different nations, which made George a hero without borders.

This saint is numbered among the great martyrs and is one of the most revered in the Christian world. According to his life, he lived in the 3rd century AD. e. and died at the beginning of the 4th century - in 303. George was born in the city of Cappadocia, which at that time was located on the territory of modern Turkey. The second common version is that he was born in the city of Lydda (original name - Diospolis), in Palestine. Currently, this is the city of Lud, located in Israel. And the saint grew up in Cappadocia, in a family of noble and wealthy parents who professed Christianity.

What do we know about St. George the Victorious?

By the age of 20, a physically strong, courageous and educated young man became one of the close associates of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who appointed him a military tribune (commander of 1000 soldiers).

During the outbreak of mass persecution of Christians, he distributed all his property, freed his slaves and announced to the emperor that he was a Christian. He was subjected to painful torture and beheaded in the city of Nicomedia (currently Izmit) on April 23. 303 years (old style).

Transcription of the name of the saint in the folklore of the peoples of the world

In some sources he is also mentioned under the names Yegor the Brave (Russian folklore), Jirjis (Muslim), St. George of Lydda (Cappadocia), and in Greek primary sources as Άγιος Γεώργιος.

In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, one canonical name George (translated from Greek as “farmer”) was transformed into four, different from the point of view of legislation, but united, according to the Orthodox Church: George, Egor, Yuri, Egor. The name of this saint, revered by different nations, has undergone similar transformations in many other countries. Among the medieval Germans he became Jorge, among the French - Georges, among the Bulgarians - Gorgi, among the Arabs - Djerjis. The customs of glorifying Saint George under pagan names have been preserved. The most famous examples are Khizr, Keder (Middle East, Muslim countries) and Uastirdzhi in Ossetia.

Patron of farmers and cattle breeders

The Great Martyr George the Victorious is revered in many countries of the world, but in Rus' the cult of this saint had special significance. George is positioned in our country as the patron saint of Rus' and the entire people. It is no coincidence that his image is included in the coat of arms of the Russian state. Thousands of churches bore (and still bear) his name - both those with a long history and those newly built.

Most likely, the basis of such veneration is the pagan ancient Russian cult of Dazhdbog, who before Epiphany was considered in Rus' the ancestor and patron of the Russian people. Saint George the Victorious supplanted many Russian ancient beliefs. However, the people attributed to him the traits that they had previously attributed to Dazhdbog and the gods of fertility, Yarilo and Yarovit. It is no coincidence that the dates of veneration of the saint (04/23 and 11/03) practically coincide with the pagan celebration of the beginning and completion of agricultural work, which the mentioned gods assisted in every possible way. In addition, it is generally accepted that St. George the Victorious is also the patron and protector of cattle breeding.

Very often, this saint was popularly called George the Water-Bearer, because on the day when the Church commemorates this great martyr, special walks were made for the blessing of water. According to the popular opinion, the water blessed on this day (Yuryev's dew) had a very beneficial effect on the future harvest and on the cattle, which on this day, called Yuryev, were first driven out of the stall after a long winter to pasture.

Guardian of Russian lands

In Rus' they saw George as a special saint and guardian of the Russian lands, elevating him to the rank of a hero-demigod. According to popular beliefs, Saint Yegor, with his words and deeds, “establishes the land of Light Russian” and, having completed this work, takes it under his personal supervision, affirming in it “the baptized faith.”

It is no coincidence that in the Russian “spiritual poems” dedicated to Yegor the Brave, the theme of dragon fighting, especially popular in Europe and symbolizing the triune role of George (G.) as a hero, a preacher of the true faith and a chivalrous defender of innocence doomed to slaughter, is simply omitted. In this monument of writing, G. turns out to be the son of a certain Sophia the Wise - the queen of the city of Jerusalem, in Holy Rus' - who spent 30 years (remember Ilya Muromets) in the dungeon of the “kingdom of Demyanishch” (Diocletian), then, miraculously getting rid of the prison, carried Christianity comes to Rus' and at the end of the road, in an honest list, eradicates infidelism on Russian land.

Saint George on the state symbols of Russia

Almost until the 15th century, this image, without any additions, was the coat of arms of Russia, and its image was embossed in Ancient Rus' on Moscow coins. This holy great martyr began to be considered in Rus' the patron saint of princes.

After the battle that took place on the Kulikovo Field, it was believed that St. George the Victorious was the patron saint of the city of Moscow.

Having taken the place of the state religion, Christianity assigns Saint George the Victorious, together with a number of other great martyrs from the military class (Fyodor Stratilates, Dmitry of Thessaloniki, etc.), the status of the heavenly patron of the army of a Christ-loving and ideal warrior. His noble origin makes this saint a model of honor for the noble class in all Christian states of the world: for princes in Rus', for military nobility in Byzantium, for knights in Europe.

Assigning the symbolism of Jesus Christ to a saint

Stories about cases when Saint George the Victorious appeared as a military leader of the crusader troops in Palestine made him, in the eyes of believers, the commander of the entire army of Christ. The next logical step was the transfer to him of the emblem, which was originally the emblem of Christ himself - a red cross on a white background. It began to be believed that this was the personal coat of arms of the saint.

In Aragon and England, the coat of arms of St. George the Victorious became the official symbols of states for a long time. It still remains on the flag of England ("Union Jack"). For some time it was the coat of arms of the Genoese republic.

It is believed that St. George the Victorious is the heavenly patron of the Republic of Georgia and the most revered saint in this country.

The figure of the holy great martyr on ancient coins

For quite a long time it was believed that the images of St. George the Victorious that appeared on Russian coins and seals in the 13th-14th centuries were stylized images of a certain ancient Byzantine saint George.

But recently, the version that behind the image of St. George in question is hidden is Georgy Danilovich, the Russian Tsar Khan, who ruled in Rus' at the beginning of the 14th century and began the great so-called “Mongol conquest.” He is Genghis Khan.

Who, when and why changed Russian history in this way? It turns out that historians have long known the answers to these questions. This substitution occurred in the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I.

Whose image was minted on Russian coins

In the official documents of the 13th-17th centuries that have come down to us, the horseman on coins and seals who fights with the dragon is interpreted as a symbol of the king or grand duke. In this case we are talking about Rus'. In support of this thesis, historian Vsevolod Karpov provides information that it is in this form that Ivan III is depicted on the wax seal that was sealed with the charter of 1497, which is confirmed by the corresponding inscription on it. That is, on seals and money, a horseman with a sword in the 15th-17th centuries was interpreted as a grand duke.

This explains why St. George the Victorious is often depicted without a beard on Russian money and seals. Ivan IV (the Terrible) ascended the throne at a fairly young age and did not have a beard at that time, so the money and seals bore the imprint of the beardless George the Victorious. And only after Ivan IV matured (after his 20th birthday) did the beard return to coins.

When the personality of the prince in Rus' began to be identified with the image of St. George the Victorious

The exact date is even known, starting from which in Rus' the Grand Duke began to be depicted in the image of St. George the Victorious. These are the years of the reign of Novgorod Prince Yuri Danilovich (1318-1322). Coins of that period, which initially had a one-sided image of a holy horseman with a naked sword, soon received on the reverse side a design called purely in Slavic - “a rider in a crown.” And this is none other than the prince himself. Thus, such coins and seals inform everyone that George the Victorious and Yuri (George) Danilovich are one and the same person.

In the 18th century, the heraldic commission established by Peter I decided to consider that this victorious horseman on Russian emblems is St. George the Victorious. And during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, he officially began to be called a saint.

Russian roots of the “Byzantine saint”

Most historians cannot or do not want to understand that this saint was not Byzantine, but was one of the first state leaders, the tsar-khans, to appear in Rus'.

In the calendar there is a mention of him as the holy Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich, the actual “duplicate” of Georgy Danilovich, whom historians of the Romanov dynasty shoved into the XIII century, along with the great “Mongol” conquest.

Until the 17th century, Rus' knew very well and remembered well who Saint George really was. And then he was simply thrown out, like the memory of the first Russian tsars, replacing it with a “Byzantine saint”. This is where the heaps of inconsistencies in our history begin, which are easily eliminated if we just return to the present history.

Temples erected in honor of St. George the Victorious

Religious religious buildings, the consecration of which took place in honor of this holy great martyr, were erected in many countries of the world. Of course, the vast majority of them were built in countries where the official religion is Christianity. Depending on the denomination, the spelling of the saint's name may vary.

The main buildings are churches, cathedrals and chapels, built in various countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. The most famous of them are:

1.Church of Saint George. Church of St. George the Victorious, belonging to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. Built in Lora. According to legend, it was erected over the tomb of a saint.

The new church building was erected in 1870 on the site of the old basilica with the permission of the Ottoman (Turkish) authorities who controlled the area at that time. The church building is located on the same site as the El-Khidr Mosque, so in terms of area the new building occupies only part of the territory of the former Byzantine basilica.

The church contains the sarcophagus of St. George.

2. Monastery of Xenophon. The right hand (part of the hand) of this holy great martyr in a silver shrine is kept in the monastery of Xenophon (Μονή Ξενοφώντος), located on Mount Athos (Greece). The founding date of the monastery is considered to be the 10th century. Its Cathedral Church is dedicated to St. George the Victorious (the old building - the catholicon - dates back to the 16th century, the new one - to the 19th century).

3. St. George's Monastery. The first monasteries in honor of this saint were founded in Rus' in the 11th century (1030) by Grand Duke Yaroslav in Novgorod and Kyiv. Since the saint was better known in Kievan Rus under the names Yuri and Yegori, the monastery was founded under one of these names - St. Yuriev.

This is one of the most ancient monasteries on the territory of our state, which still operates today. It has the status of a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church. Located near Veliky Novgorod on the Volkhov River.

The main church of the monastery was St. George's Cathedral, the construction of which began in 1119. The work was completed 11 years later and on July 12, 1130 the cathedral was consecrated in the name of this saint.

4. Temple of San Giorgio in Velabro. The religious building of San Giorgio in Velabro (Italian transcription of the name San Giorgio al Velabro) is a temple located on the territory of modern Rome, on the former Velabre swamp. According to legend, it was here that Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were found. This is the oldest Church of St. George the Victorious located in Italy. The severed head and sword that belonged to this saint are buried under the main altar, which is made of marble in the Cosmatesque style. The work dates back to the 12th century.

The holy relics are in the chapel under the altar. There is an opportunity to venerate these relics. Until recently, another shrine was kept here - the personal banner of the saint, but on April 16, 1966 it was donated to the Roman municipality, and now it is kept in the Capitoline Museums.

5. Chapel-reliquary of Sainte-Chapelle. Part of the relics of St. George the Victorious is kept in Sainte-Chapelle (French transcription of the name Sainte Chapelle), a Gothic reliquary chapel located in Paris. The relic was preserved by King Louis the Saint of France.

Temples built in Russia in the XX-XXI centuries

Of those built relatively recently and also consecrated in the name of St. George, mention should be made of the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, which was founded on 05/09/1994 in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the victory of our people in the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill and consecrated on 05/06/1995, as well as the Church of St. George the Victorious in Koptev (Northern Autonomous District, Moscow). It was erected in 1997 in the best traditions of northern Slavic architecture of the 17th century. The construction of the temple was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 850th anniversary of Moscow.

Saint George the Victorious. An icon that has survived centuries

The very first images of this saint that have come down to us are considered to be bas-reliefs and icons dating back to the 5th-6th centuries. On them, George, as befits a warrior, is depicted in armor and always with weapons. However, he is not always depicted riding a horse. The oldest images are considered to be the image of the saint and the icon of St. George the Victorious, discovered in the Coptic monastery temple located in the city of Al Bawiti (Egypt).

It is here that a bas-relief appears for the first time, depicting St. George on horseback. He uses a cross with a long shaft to strike at some monster like a spear. Most likely, it was meant that this was a pagan totem, overthrown by the saint. The second interpretation is that the monster personified universal evil and cruelty.

Later, the icon of St. George the Victorious, on which he is depicted in a similar way, began to appear in an ever-increasing number of variants, and the slain monster was transformed into a serpent. Scientists are inclined to think that initially this composition was not an illustration of a specific event, but was an allegorical image of the victory of the spirit. But it was the image of the snake fighter that became especially popular among the people. And not because of allegorical pathos, but due to the fact that it is very close to mythological and fairy-tale motifs.

Hypothesis of the origin of the story of the saint's victory over the serpent

However, the official church showed extreme caution and a negative attitude towards icons containing allegorical images. In 692, the Council of Trullo officially confirmed this. Most likely, after him the legend about George’s victory over the monster appeared.

In the religious interpretation this icon is called the “Miracle of the Serpent”. St. George the Victorious (a photo of the icon is given in the article) never renounced the true faith, despite all the temptations to which his tormentors subjected him. That is why this icon has miraculously helped Christians in danger more than once. At the moment, the icon of St. George the Victorious exists in several versions. You can see photos of some of them on this page.

Canonical icon depicting this saint

The image, considered classic, represents a saint who sits astride a horse (usually a white one) and slays a serpent with a spear. It is a snake, which is especially emphasized by church ministers and heraldists. Since the dragon in heraldry is always a positive character, but the snake is only negative.

The legend of the saint’s victory over the serpent was interpreted not only in the literal sense (which was what the West was inclined to do, using this interpretation to revive and cultivate the declining institution of chivalry), but also allegorically, when the freed princess was associated with the church, and the overthrown serpent with paganism . Another interpretation that takes place is the victory of the saint over his own ego. Take a closer look - there he is, Saint George the Victorious. The icon speaks for itself.

Why did people recognize Saint George as the guardian of the Russian land?

It would be a mistake to associate the highest popularity of this saint solely with the pagan heritage “transferred” to him and his fairy-tale-mythological recognition. The theme of martyrdom did not leave parishioners indifferent. It is precisely this side of the “feat of spirit” that is dedicated to the story of very numerous icons of St. George, known to the general public much less than the canonical ones. On them, as a rule, the saint himself, depicted in full growth, is located in the center, and along the perimeter of the icon there is, similar to a storyboard, a series of so-called “everyday marks”.

And today we greatly honor St. George the Victorious. The icon, the meaning of which can be interpreted in different ways, has a demon-fighting aspect, which forms the basis of the cult of this saint. It has always been associated in Rus' with an irreconcilable struggle against foreign conquerors. That is why George in the XIV-XV centuries became an extremely popular saint in Rus', symbolizing precisely the fighter-liberator and defender of the people.

Schools of icon painting

In the iconography dedicated to St. George, there are eastern and western directions.

The followers of the first school depict St. George the Victorious in a more spiritual way. The photos allow you to see this. As a rule, this is a young man of very average build, very often beardless, without a helmet or heavy armor, with a thin spear in his hands, sitting on an unrealistic horse (spiritual allegory). Without any visible physical effort, he pierces with his spear a snake with paws and wings that is as unrealistic as his horse (also a spiritual allegory).

The second school depicts the saint in a more down-to-earth and realistic way. This is first and foremost a warrior. A man with well-developed muscles, in full combat gear, in a helmet and armor, with a thick spear on a powerful and quite realistic horse, with a prescribed physical effort, pierces with his heavy spear an almost realistic snake with paws and wings.

A prayer to St. George the Victorious helps people gain faith in victory during the years of difficult trials and enemy invasions, in which they ask the saint to protect the lives of military men on the battlefield, for patronage and protection in military affairs, for the defense of the Russian state.

The image of St. George on coins of the Russian Empire

On coins, the image of a horseman piercing a serpent appears almost immediately after the saint’s martyrdom. The first money known today with such images dates back to the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337).

The same plot can be seen on coins dating back to the reign of Constantius II (337-361).

On Russian coins, the image of a similar horseman appears at the end of the 13th century. Since the warrior depicted on them was armed with a spear, according to the classification that existed at that time he was considered a spearman. Therefore, very soon in colloquial speech such coins began to be called kopecks.

When you have a small Russian coin in your hands, St. George the Victorious will definitely be depicted on its reverse. This is how it was in the Russian Empire, and this is how it is in modern Russia.

For example, consider the two-kopeck coin introduced into circulation in 1757 by Elizabeth I. Its obverse depicts the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious without a robe, but in full armor, slaying a serpent with his spear. The coin was issued in two versions. On the first, the inscription “two kopecks” went in a circle above the image of the saint. In the second, it was transferred to the tape down to the coins.

During the same period, mints issued coins of 1 kopeck, dengu and polushka, which also bore the image of the saint.

The image of a saint on coins of modern Russia

The tradition has been revived in Russia today. The spearman demonstrated by the coin - St. George the Victorious - has firmly settled on Russian metal money of less than 1 ruble.

Since 2006, gold and silver investment coins have been issued in Russia in a limited edition (150,000 pieces), with the image of St. George the Victorious minted on one side. And if it is possible to debate about the images on other coins, who exactly is depicted there, then these coins are directly called: “St. George the Victorious” Coin. Gold, the price of which is always quite high, is a noble metal. Therefore, the cost of this coin is much higher than its face value of 50 rubles. and amounts to more than 10 thousand rubles.

The coin is made of 999 gold. Weight - 7.89 g. At the same time, gold - no less than 7.78 g. The denomination of the silver coin is 3 rubles. Weight - 31.1 grams. The cost of a silver coin ranges from 1180-2000 rubles.

Monuments to St. George the Victorious

This section is for those who wanted to see the monument to St. George the Victorious. Photos of some existing monuments erected to this saint around the world are given below.

There are more and more places in Russia where monuments to the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious are erected. To talk about them all, one would have to write a separate article. We bring to your attention several monuments located in different parts of Russia and beyond its borders.

1. In Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill (Moscow).

2. In Zagreb (Croatia).

3. Bolsherechye city, Omsk region.

George the Victorious (Saint George, George of Cappadocia, George of Lydda; Greek Άγιος Γεώργιος) is a Christian saint, great martyr, the most revered saint of that name and one of the most famous saints in the Christian world. There are many versions of his life, both canonical and apocryphal. According to the canonical life, he suffered during the Great Persecution under the Emperor Diocletian and after eight days of severe torment in 303 (304) he was beheaded. One of the most famous legends about his miracles is the “Miracle of the Serpent.”

Life

Greek legends

According to the Byzantine life set forth by the Monk Simeon Metaphrastus, Saint George was born in the 3rd century in Cappadocia. Some sources name the names of his parents and provide brief information about them: George’s father is the warrior Gerontius (a senator from Armenian Sevastopol, who had the dignity of a stratilate), his mother is Polychronia (owned rich estates near the city of Lydda, Palestine Syria). After the death of their father they moved to Lydda. Having entered military service, George, distinguished by intelligence, courage and physical strength, became one of the commanders and the favorite of Emperor Diocletian. His mother died when he was 20 years old, and he received a rich inheritance. George went to court, hoping to achieve a high position, but when the persecution of Christians began, he, while in Nicomedia, distributed property to the poor and declared himself a Christian before the emperor, he was arrested and began to torture.

• On the 1st day, when they began to push him into prison with stakes, one of them miraculously broke, like a straw. Then he was tied to the posts, and a heavy stone was placed on his chest.
• The next day he was tortured with a wheel studded with knives and swords. Diocletian considered him dead, but suddenly an angel appeared, and George greeted him, as the soldiers did, then the emperor realized that the martyr was still alive. They took him off the wheel and saw that all his wounds were healed.
• Then they threw him into a pit where there was quicklime, but this did not harm the saint.
• A day later, the bones in his arms and legs were broken, but the next morning they were whole again.
• He was forced to run in red-hot iron boots (optionally with sharp nails inside). He prayed all the next night and the next morning again appeared before the emperor.
• He was beaten with whips (ox sinews) so that the skin peeled off his back, but he rose up healed.
• On the 7th day, he was forced to drink two cups of potions prepared by the sorcerer Athanasius, from one of which he was supposed to lose his mind, and from the second - to die. But they didn't harm him. He then performed several miracles (resurrecting the dead and reviving a fallen ox), which caused many to convert to Christianity.

Life icon of St. George. In the marks you can see various tortures, including those that are not on the standard list - for example, how he is burned in a red-hot copper bull

George endured all this torment and did not renounce Christ. After unsuccessful persuasion to renounce and offer a pagan sacrifice, he was sentenced to death. That night the Savior appeared to him in a dream with a golden crown on his head and said that Paradise awaited him. George immediately called a servant, who wrote down everything that was said (one of the apocrypha was written on behalf of this particular servant) and ordered after his death to take his body to Palestine.

At the end of George’s torment, Emperor Diocletian, going down to prison, once again suggested that the tortured former commander of his bodyguards renounce Christ. George said: " Take me to the temple of Apollo" And when this was done (on the 8th day), George stood up to his full height in front of the white stone statue, and everyone heard his speech: “ Is it really for you that I am going to the slaughter? And can you accept this sacrifice from me as God?“At the same time, George made the sign of the cross over himself and the statue of Apollo - and this forced the demon who lived in it to declare himself a fallen angel. After this, all the idols in the temple were crushed.

Enraged by this, the priests rushed to beat George. And the wife of Emperor Alexander, who ran to the temple, threw herself at the feet of the great martyr and, sobbing, asked to be forgiven for the sins of her tyrant husband. She was converted by the miracle that had just happened. Diocletian shouted in anger: “ Cut it off! Cut off the heads! Cut off both!“And George, having prayed for the last time, laid his head on the block with a calm smile.

Together with George, Queen Alexandra of Rome, named in her life as the wife of Emperor Diocletian, suffered martyrdom (the emperor’s real wife, known from historical sources, was named Prisca).

The legends about St. George were told by Simeon Metaphrastus, Andrew of Jerusalem, Gregory of Cyprus. In the tradition of the Byzantine Empire, there is a legendary connection between St. George the Victorious and the holy warriors Theodores - Theodore Stratilates and Theodore Tyrone. Researchers explain this by the fact that Galatia and Paphlagonia, which were centers of veneration of saints Feodorov, were not far from Asia Minor and Cappadocia, where St. George was revered.

There is another connection between Theodore Stratilates and George the Victorious. In Russian spiritual poetic works, Theodore (without specification) is the father of Yegor (George the Victorious). There is also a German medieval poem in which the warrior Theodore is named the brother of George (it is unclear from the context whether Tyrone or Stratelate).

Latin texts

The Latin texts of his life, being originally translations of the Greek ones, over time began to differ greatly from them. They say that, at the instigation of the devil, the Roman Emperor Dacian, ruler of 72 kings, subjected Christians to severe persecution. At this time there lived a certain George from Cappadocia, a native of Melitene, he lived there with a certain pious widow. He was subjected to numerous tortures (the rack, iron tongs, fire, a wheel with iron points, boots nailed to his feet, an iron chest studded with nails on the inside, which was thrown from a cliff, beaten with sledgehammers, a pole was placed on his chest, a heavy stone was thrown on his head, molten lead was poured onto a red-hot iron bed, thrown into a well, 40 long nails were driven in, and burned in a copper bull). After each torture, George was healed again. The torment lasted 7 days. His steadfastness and miracles converted 40,900 people to Christianity, including Queen Alexandra. When, on the orders of Dacian, George and Alexandra were executed, a fiery whirlwind descended from the sky and incinerated the emperor himself.

Reinbot von Thurn (13th century) retells the legend, simplifying it: his 72 kings turned into 7, and countless tortures were reduced to 8 (they are tied up and put a heavy load on his chest; they are beaten with sticks; they are starved; they are cut on the wheel; they are quartered and thrown into a pond; they bring him down the mountain in a copper bull; they drive a poisoned sword under his nails), and finally, they cut off his head.

Yakov Voraginsky writes that they first tied him to a cross and tore him with iron hooks until his intestines came out, and then doused him with salt water. The next day they forced me to drink poison. Then they tied it to the wheel, but it broke; then they threw it into a cauldron of molten lead. Then, through his prayer, lightning came down from heaven and incinerated all the idols, and the earth opened up and swallowed up the priests. The wife of Dacian (proconsul under Diocletian) converted to Christianity after seeing this; she and George were beheaded, and after that Dacian was also incinerated.

Apocryphal texts

The earliest sources of apocryphal tales about St. George include:

• Viennese palimpsest (5th century);
• « Martyrdom of George", mentioned in the Decree of Pope Gelasius (early edition, late 5th - early 6th centuries). Gelasius rejects the acts of martyrdom of St. George as a heretical falsification and classifies George among the saints who are better known to God than to men;
• « Acts of George"(Nessan fragments) (VI century, found in 1937 in the Negev desert).

Apocryphal hagiography dates the martyrdom of George to the reign of a certain Persian or Syrian ruler Dadian. The life “The Suffering of the Glorious Great Martyr George” by Theodore Daphnopatos, who lived in the 10th century, calls Dadian the toparch of Syria and the nephew of Emperor Diocletian. According to this apocrypha, Diocletian ordered the execution of George, while Dadian demanded that the torture be intensified, and Maximian was also present.

Also in the apocrypha about the holy great martyr Nikita Besogon, known since the 11th century, George is mentioned, “tortured by Dadian,” and it is asked that it was he who taught Nikita to destroy the golden pagan idols. The iconographic image of Nikita Besogon from this life, about the demon-devil he defeated, and Maximian’s repeated attempts to execute him as a martyr, which was prevented by miracles, sometimes merges with the image of George.

Apocryphal lives about George report his seven-year torment, triple death and resurrection, hammering nails into his head, etc. For the fourth time, George dies, beheaded by a sword, and heavenly punishment befalls his tormentors.

The martyrdom of St. George is known in Latin, Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic and Arabic translations, which contain various details about the sufferings the saint endured. One of the best texts of his life is in the Slavic Menaion.

In the East

In Islam, George ( Girgis, Girgis, El Khudi) is one of the main non-Koranic figures, and his legend is very similar to Greek and Latin.

He lived at the same time as the Prophet Muhammad. Allah sent him to the ruler of Mosul with a call to accept the true faith, but the ruler ordered him to be executed. He was executed, but Allah resurrected him and sent him back to the ruler. He was executed a second time, then a third (they burned him and threw his ashes into the Tigris). He rose from the ashes, and the ruler and his entourage were exterminated.

The Life of St. George was translated into Arabic at the beginning of the 8th century, and under the influence of Christian Arabs, the veneration of St. George penetrated among Muslim Arabs. The Arabic apocryphal text of the life of St. George is contained in "Stories of Prophets and Kings"(beginning of the 10th century), in it George is called a disciple of one of the apostles of the prophet Isa, whom the pagan king of Mosul subjected to torture and execution, but George was resurrected by Allah each time.

The 14th-century Greek historian John Cantacuzenus notes that in his time there were several temples erected by Muslims in honor of St. George. The 19th century traveler Burckhard says the same thing. Dean Stanley recorded in the 19th century that he saw a Muslim "chapel" on the seashore near the city of Sarafend (ancient Sarepta), which was dedicated to El-Khuder. There was no tomb inside, but only a niche, which was a deviation from Muslim canons - and was explained, according to local peasants, by the fact that El-Khuder did not die, but flies all over the earth, and wherever he appears, people build similar “chapels” "

They note the great similarity of the legend with the story of the resurrecting Chaldean deity Tammuz, known from the “Book of Nabataean Agriculture”, whose holiday falls on approximately the same period, and this similarity was pointed out by its ancient translator Ibn Vakhshiya. Researchers suggest that the special reverence for St. George in the East and his extraordinary popularity were explained by the fact that he was a Christian version of Tammuz - a dying and resurrecting god, similar to Adonis and Osiris. In the mythology of a number of Muslim peoples there is a legend reminiscent of the Miracle of St. George about the serpent. According to some researchers, George, as a mythical character, is a Semitic deity who converted to Christianity, into whose story some changes were made during the adaptation process in order to clear it of unnecessary details and deprive it of an erotic connotation. Thus, the goddess of love of such myths turned into a pious widow, in whose house the holy youth lived, and the queen of the underworld turned into Queen Alexandra, who would follow him to the grave.

Another tomb of the prophet Djerjis is located on the territory of Azerbaijan, in the Beylagan region. The ancient city of Aran-Gala used to be here.

Miracles of St. George

Paolo Uccello. "The Battle of St. George with the Serpent"

One of the most famous posthumous miracles of St. George is the killing of a serpent (dragon) with a spear, which devastated the land of one pagan king in Berit (modern Beirut), although according to chronology this territory had long been under the rule of the Roman Empire. As the legend says, when the lot fell to give the king’s daughter to be torn to pieces by the monster, George appeared on horseback and pierced the snake with a spear, saving the princess from death. The appearance of the saint contributed to the conversion of local residents to Christianity.

This legend was often interpreted allegorically: the princess - the church, the snake - paganism. It is also seen as a victory over the devil - “the ancient serpent” (Rev. 12:3; 20:2).

There is a variant description of this miracle relating to the life of George. In it, the saint subdues the snake with prayer, and the girl destined for sacrifice leads him to the city, where the inhabitants, seeing this miracle, accept Christianity, and George kills the snake with a sword.

Relics

According to legend, Saint George is buried in the city of Lod (formerly Lydda), in Israel. The Church of St. George, which belongs to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, was built over his tomb. The head and sword of the saint are kept under the main altar in the Roman Basilica of San Giorgio in Velabro. This is not the only chapter of St. George; another was kept, as Trifon Korobeinikov writes about it at the end of the 16th century, in the Church of St. George the Victorious in the city of Lod. In 1821, de Plancy describes several heads that were kept in churches and monasteries and were considered the head of St. George the Victorious; they were located: in Venice, Mainz, Prague, Constantinople, Cologne, Rome, Lod, etc.

It is also known that some of the relics are kept in the reliquary church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The relic was preserved by the French king Louis the Saint, after which it was repeatedly served at church festivities in honor of St. George. Other parts of the relics - the right hand, that is, the right arm to the elbow - are kept in a silver shrine on the holy Mount Athos, in the monastery of Xenophon (Greece).

The reality of existence

The reality of the existence of St. George, like many early Christian saints, is in question. Eusebius of Caesarea says:

When the decree concerning the churches [of Diocletian] was first announced, a certain man of the highest rank, according to worldly ideas, moved by zeal for God and prompted by ardent faith, seized the decree nailed in Nicomedia in a public place, and tore it into pieces as blasphemous and most impious. . This happened when there were two rulers in the city: one was the eldest and the other, who occupied the fourth level in government after him. This man, who became famous in this way, endured everything that was required for such an act, maintaining a clear mind and calmness until his last breath.

- Eusebius of Caesarea. Church history. VIII. 5

It is suggested that this martyr, whose name Eusebius does not name, could be Saint George, in which case this is all that is known about him from a reliable source.

An inscription from the year 346 in Greek is mentioned from a church in the city of Isra (Syria), which was originally a pagan temple. It speaks of George as a martyr, which is important, since in the same period there was another George - Bishop of Alexandria (died in 362), with whom the martyr is sometimes confused. Calvin was the first to doubt that George the Victorious should be a revered saint; he was followed by Dr. Reynolds, in whose opinion he and the Bishop of Alexandria were one and the same person. Bishop George was an Arian (that is, for the modern church - a heretic), he was born in a fulling mill in Epiphania (Cilicia), was a supplier of provisions for the army (Constantinople), and when he was convicted of fraud, he fled to Cappadocia. His Arian friends forgave him after paying a fine and sent him to Alexandria, where he was elected bishop (in opposition to St. Athanasius) immediately after the death of the Arian prelate Gregory. Together with Dracontius and Diodorus, he immediately began brutal persecution of Christians and pagans, and the latter killed him, raising an uprising. Dr. Heylyn (1633) objected to this identification, but Dr. John Pettincal (1753) again raised the question of the identity of the Victorious. Dr. Samuel Pegg (1777) answered him in a report given to the Society of Antiquities. Edward Gibbon also believed that St. George the Victorious and the Arian bishop were one and the same person. Sabin Baring-Gould (1866) strongly objected to such an identification of an absolutely real bishop with a holy martyr: “... the improbability of such a transformation makes anyone doubt the truth of this statement. The enmity between Catholics and Arians was too great for an adherent of the latter, and even a persecutor of Catholics, to be mistaken for a saint. The works of Saint Athanasius, in which he painted a far from flattering portrait of his opponent, were quite widespread in the Middle Ages, and such a mistake would have been simply impossible.”

In the 13th century, Jacob of Voraginsky wrote in the Golden Legend:

The Calendar of Bede says that Saint George suffered in Persia in the city of Diospolis; in another place we read that he rests in the city of Diospolis, which was formerly called Lydda and is located near Jaffa. In another place that suffered under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian. In another place, that under Diocletian, emperor of the Persians, in the presence of seventy kings of his state. Here, that under Lord Dacian during the reign of Diocletian and Maximian.

There is also a hypothesis about the existence of two saints named George, one of whom suffered in Cappadocia, and the other in Lydda.

Reverence

Cult of Saint George

This saint has become extremely popular since early Christianity. In the Roman Empire, starting from the 4th century, churches dedicated to George began to appear, first in Syria and Palestine, then throughout the East. In the West of the empire, the cult of St. George also appeared early - no later than the 5th century, as evidenced by both apocryphal texts and lives, and religious buildings known in Rome from the 6th century, in Gaul from the 5th century.

According to one version, the cult of St. George, as often happened with Christian saints, was put forward in opposition to the pagan cult of Dionysus, temples were built on the site of the former sanctuaries of Dionysus, and holidays were celebrated in his honor on the days of Dionysius.

In folk tradition, George is considered the patron saint of warriors, farmers (the name George comes from the Greek γεωργός - farmer) and cattle breeders. In Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia, believers turn to him with prayers for rain. In Georgia, people turn to George with requests for protection from evil, for good luck in hunting, for the harvest and offspring of livestock, for healing from illnesses, and for childbearing. In Western Europe, it is believed that prayers to St. George (George) help get rid of poisonous snakes and contagious diseases. Saint George is known to the Islamic peoples of Africa and the Middle East under the names Jirjis and al-Khidr.

Memory

In the Orthodox Church:

• April 23 (May 6);
• November 3 (16) - renovation (consecration) of the Church of St. George in Lydda (IV century);
• November 10 (23) - the wheeling of the Great Martyr George;
• November 26 (December 9) - consecration of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Kyiv in 1051 (celebration of the Russian Orthodox Church, popularly known as autumn St. George's Day).

In the West, Saint George is the patron saint of chivalry and participants in the crusades; he is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Veneration in Rus'

In Rus', since ancient times, Saint George was revered under the name Yuri or Yegor. In the 1030s, Grand Duke Yaroslav founded the monasteries of St. George in Kyiv and Novgorod and ordered throughout Rus' to “create a feast” of St. George on November 26.

In Russian folk culture, George was revered as the patron saint of warriors, farmers and cattle breeders. April 23 and November 26 (old style) are known as the spring and autumn days of St. George. On spring St. George's day, peasants drove their cattle out to the fields for the first time after winter. Images of St. George have been found since ancient times on grand ducal coins and seals.

According to T. Zueva, the image of St. George, known in legends and fairy tales under the name Yegor the Brave, in folk tradition merged with the pagan Dazhdbog.

Veneration in Georgia

Saint George saving the emperor's daughter
(enamel miniature, Georgia, XV century)

Saint George, together with the Mother of God, is considered the heavenly patron of Georgia and is the most revered saint among Georgians. According to local legends, George was a relative of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the enlightener of Georgia.

The first church in honor of St. George was built in Georgia in 335 by King Mirian at the burial site of St. Nina; from the 9th century, the construction of churches in honor of George became widespread.

The life of the saint was first translated into Georgian at the end of the 10th century. In the 11th century, George the Svyatogorets, when translating the “Great Synaxarion,” completed a brief translation of the life of George.

The Cross of St. George is present on the flag of the Georgian church. It first appeared on Georgian banners under Queen Tamara.

Veneration in Ossetia

In Ossetian traditional beliefs, the most important place is occupied by Uastirdzhi (Uasgergi), who appears as a strong gray-bearded old man in armor on a three- or four-legged white horse. He patronizes men. Women are forbidden to say his name, instead of which they call him Lægty dzuar(patron of men). Celebrations in his honor begin on the third Sunday in November and last for a week. Tuesday of this holiday week is especially revered. The main Orthodox church in North Ossetia is St. George's Cathedral; out of 56 operating Orthodox churches and chapels, 10 are St. George's.

The name of the holiday in honor of George is Dzheorguyba- was borrowed as a result of the significant influence of Georgian Orthodoxy from the Georgian language.

Theonym Uastirdzhi easily etymologized from the Old Ironic form Wasdjerji, Where you- a word that in the early Alan language meant a saint, and the second part is the Ironic version of the name Georgiy. The etymology of the theonym appears even more transparent when analyzing the Digor form Wasgergi.

In Turkey

The main temple of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Fanar quarter of Istanbul was consecrated in honor of the saint.

Since the end of the 20th century, the veneration of St. George in the monastery named after him on the Turkish island of Buyukada (Prinkipo) in the Sea of ​​Marmara has had a special character: on his memory day, April 23, a significant number of Turks who do not profess Christianity flock to the monastery.

Veneration in Greece

In Greece, on April 23, they celebrate Agios Georgios (Greek: Άγιος Γεώργιος) - the feast of St. George, the patron saint of shepherds and grain growers.

In the Slavic tradition

In the folk culture of the Slavs it is called Yegor the Brave - the protector of livestock, the “wolf shepherd”.

In the popular consciousness, two images of the saint coexist: one of them is close to the church cult of St. George - a serpent fighter and a Christ-loving warrior, another, very different from the first, to the cult of the cattle breeder and tiller, the owner of the land, the patron of livestock, who opens the spring field work. Thus, in folk legends and spiritual poems the exploits of the holy warrior Yegoriy (George) are glorified, who resisted the tortures and promises of the “king of Demyanisht (Diocletianish)” and defeated “the fierce serpent, the fiery fierce one.” The motive of the victory of St. George is known in the oral poetry of the Eastern and Western Slavs. Among the Poles, St. Jerzy fights with the “Wawel smoke” (a snake from the Krakow castle). Russian spiritual verse, also following the iconographic canon, ranks Theodore Tyrone among the serpent fighters, whom Eastern and South Slavic traditions also represent as a horseman and protector of cattle.

Images

In art

The iconography of George's miracle about the serpent was probably formed under the influence of ancient images of the Thracian horseman. In the western (Catholic) part of Europe, St. George was usually depicted as a muscular man in heavy armor and a helmet, carrying a thick spear, riding a realistic horse, who, with physical exertion, spears a relatively realistic serpent with wings and paws. In the eastern (Orthodox) lands this emphasis on the earthly and material is absent: a not very muscular young man (without a beard), without heavy armor and a helmet, with a thin, clearly not physical, spear, on an unrealistic (spiritual) horse, without much physical exertion, pierces with a spear an unrealistic (symbolic) snake with wings and paws. The earliest images of the miracle of St. George originate from the territory of Cappadocia, Armenia and Georgia.

Image of St. George remains relevant in the works of contemporary artists. Most of the works are based on a traditional plot - St. George slaying a serpent with a spear. However, despite the canonicity of the plots, each of the works is deeply individual and is a reflection of the author’s subjective perception of the image of the saint.

August Macke, 1912

Zurab Tsereteli, Sculpture on Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow

Icon "Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious". Jewelry house Moiseikin

In heraldry

Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, he has been considered the patron saint of Moscow, since the city was founded by his namesake Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. The image of a horseman slaying a serpent with a spear, which appeared in Moscow heraldry from the turn of the 14th-15th centuries, was perceived in the popular consciousness as the image of St. George; in 1730 this was formalized.

Currently, this figure in the coat of arms of the Russian Federation is described as “a silver horseman in a blue cloak on a silver horse, striking with a silver spear a black dragon overturned and trampled by the horse”, that is, without a direct reference to St. George, and is depicted without a halo.

In accordance with heraldic conventions, the coat of arms does not depict a dragon, but a serpent. In heraldry, the serpent is a negative character, and the dragon is a positive character; they can be distinguished by the number of paws: two for the dragon (wyvern), four for the serpent. The use of references to a dragon instead of a serpent in official documents of the Russian Federation should be regarded as an unfortunate misunderstanding and unprofessionalism of the heraldic service. At the same time, the coat of arms of Moscow speaks of Saint George slaying the serpent:

“The coat of arms of the city of Moscow is an image on a dark red heraldic shield with a width to height ratio of 8:9 of a horseman deployed to the right of the viewer - St. George the Victorious in silver armor and a blue mantle (cloak), on a silver horse, striking the black Serpent with a golden spear.”

The coat of arms of Georgia depicts a red heraldic shield with St. George the Victorious slaying a serpent.

Also in heraldry and vexillology, the St. George Cross is used - a straight red cross on a white field. It is represented on the flags of Great Britain and England, Georgia, and on the flag and coat of arms of Milan. The St. George's cross should not be confused with another Christian symbol - the Scandinavian cross or the St. Andrew's cross.

Flag of England

Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Flag of Georgia

Flag of Milan

Coat of arms of Milan

In toponymy

• The Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise founded and named the following cities in honor of his patron saint George: Yuryev (Gyurgev, now Tartu) and Yuryev Russky (now Belaya Tserkov).
• In 1152, Yury Dolgoruky founded Yuryev-Polsky. By his order, an almost circular fortress was built, which was surrounded by earthen ramparts up to 7 m high that have survived to this day, with wooden walls. In the center of the fortress, St. George's Cathedral was erected in 1234.
• In 1225, the city was founded by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir on the site of the appearance of the icon of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. The city was named after the saint Yuriev-Povolsky, modern name - Yuryevets.

In numismatics

The image of a horseman has been present on Russian coins since the 13th century (later such coins became kopecks), but they cannot be clearly identified with George. Nevertheless, on the reverse of Russian kopecks of the 1997 model, as well as on the gold bullion coin “St. George the Victorious,” a horseman is depicted, the design of which is almost identical to the image of St. George on a Novgorod icon of the 15th century.

An image of St George by the engraver Benedetto Petrucci has also appeared on British sovereigns since 1816.

Russian coin 4 kopecks 1762

British half sovereign issued in Sydney in 1914

Obverse of the gold coin “St. George the Victorious” (issue until 2015)

Reverse of the Armenian coin “New Millennium” (2000) with a nominal value of 2000 drams.

St. George the Victorious- Christian saint, great martyr. George suffered during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian in 303, and after eight days of severe torture he was beheaded. The memory of the Great Martyr George the Victorious is celebrated several times a year: May 6 (April 23, Old Style) - the death of the saint; November 16 (November 3, Old Art.) - consecration of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Lida (IV century); November 23 (November 10, Art. Art.) - suffering (wheeling) of the Great Martyr George; December 9 (November 26, Art. Art.) - consecration of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Kyiv in 1051 (celebration of the Russian Orthodox Church, popularly known as the autumn St. George's Day).

Great Martyr George the Victorious. Icons

Already by the 6th century, two types of images of the Great Martyr George had been formed: a martyr with a cross in his hand, wearing a tunic, over which was a cloak, and a warrior in armor, with a weapon in his hands, on foot or on horseback. George is depicted as a beardless youth, with thick curly hair reaching to his ears, sometimes with a crown on his head.

Since the 6th century, George is often depicted with other martyred warriors - Theodore Tyrone, Theodore Stratelates and Demetrius of Thessalonica. The unification of these saints could also have been influenced by the similarity of their appearance: both were young, beardless, with short hair reaching to the ears.

A rare iconographic depiction - St. George the warrior seated on a throne - arose no later than the end of the 12th century. The saint is represented frontally, sitting on a throne and holding a sword in front of him: he takes out the sword with his right hand, and holds the scabbard with his left. In monumental painting, holy warriors could be depicted on the edges of the domed pillars, on the supporting arches, in the lower register of the naos, closer to the eastern part of the temple, as well as in the narthex.

The iconography of George on horseback is based on the late antique and Byzantine traditions of depicting the triumph of the emperor. There are several options: George the warrior on horseback (without a kite); George the Serpent Fighter (“The Miracle of the Great Martyr George about the Serpent”); George with the youth rescued from captivity (“The Miracle of the Great Martyr George and the Youth”).

The composition “Double Miracle” combined the two most famous posthumous miracles of George - “The Miracle of the Serpent” and “The Miracle of the Youth”: George is depicted on a horse (galloping, as a rule, from left to right), striking a serpent, and behind the saint, on the croup of his horse , - a small figurine of a sitting youth with a jug in his hand.

The iconography of the Great Martyr George came to Rus' from Byzantium. In Rus' it has undergone some changes. The oldest surviving image is the half-length image of the Great Martyr George in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The saint is depicted in chain mail, with a spear; His purple cloak reminds of his martyrdom.

The image of the saint from the Assumption Cathedral is consonant with the hagiographic icon of the Great Martyr George of the 16th century from the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Dmitrov. The saint on the center of the icon is depicted full-length; in addition to the spear in his right hand, he has a sword, which he holds with his left hand, he also has a quiver of arrows and a shield. The hallmarks contain episodes of the saint's martyrdom.

In Rus', the plot has been widely known since the middle of the 12th century. Miracle of George about the serpent.

Until the end of the 15th century, there was a short version of this image: a horseman slaying a serpent with a spear, with an image in the heavenly segment of the blessing right hand of the Lord. At the end of the 15th century, the iconography of the Miracle of St. George about the serpent was supplemented with a number of new details: for example, the figure of an angel, architectural details (the city that St. George saves from the serpent), and the image of a princess. But at the same time, there are many icons in the previous summary, but with various differences in details, including in the direction of the horse’s movement: not only the traditional left to right, but also in the opposite direction. Icons are known not only with the white color of the horse - the horse can be black or bay.

The iconography of the Miracle of George about the serpent was probably formed under the influence of ancient images of the Thracian horseman. In the western (Catholic) part of Europe, St. George was usually depicted as a man in heavy armor and helmet, carrying a thick spear, on a realistic horse, who, with physical exertion, spears a relatively realistic serpent with wings and paws. In the eastern (Orthodox) lands this emphasis on the earthly and material is absent: a not very muscular young man (without a beard), without heavy armor and a helmet, with a thin, clearly not physical, spear, on an unrealistic (spiritual) horse, without much physical exertion, pierces with a spear an unrealistic (symbolic) snake with wings and paws. Also, the Great Martyr George is depicted with selected saints.

Great Martyr George the Victorious. Paintings

Painters have repeatedly turned to the image of the Great Martyr George in their works. Most of the works are based on a traditional plot - the Great Martyr George, who kills a serpent with a spear. St. George was depicted on his canvases by such artists as Raphael Santi, Albrecht Durer, Gustave Moreau, August Macke, V.A. Serov, M.V. Nesterov, V.M. Vasnetsov, V.V. Kandinsky and others.

Great Martyr George the Victorious. Sculptures

Sculptural images of St. George are located in Moscow, in the village. Bolsherechye, Omsk region, in the cities of Ivanovo, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Crimea, in the village. Chastoozerye, Kurgan region, Yakutsk, Donetsk, Lvov (Ukraine), Bobruisk (Belarus), Zagreb (Croatia), Tbilisi (Georgia), Stockholm (Sweden), Melbourne (Australia), Sofia (Bulgaria), Berlin (Germany),

Temples in the name of St. George the Victorious

In the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, a large number of churches were built, both in Russia and abroad. In Greece, about twenty churches were consecrated in honor of the saint, and in Georgia - about forty. In addition, there are churches in honor of the Great Martyr George in Italy, Prague, Turkey, Ethiopia and other countries. In honor of the Great Martyr George, around 306, a church was consecrated in Thessaloniki (Greece). In Georgia there is the monastery of St. George the Victorious, built in the first quarter of the 11th century. In the 5th century in Armenia in the village. Karashamb a church was built in honor of St. George the Victorious. In the 4th century, the rotunda of St. George was built in Sofia (Bulgaria).

St. George's Church- one of the first monastery churches in Kyiv (XI century). It is mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle, according to which the consecration of the temple took place no earlier than November 1051. The church was destroyed, possibly due to the general decline of the ancient part of Kyiv after the destruction of the city by the hordes of Batu Khan in 1240. Later the temple was restored; destroyed in 1934.

A monastery in the Novgorod region is dedicated to the Great Martyr George the Victorious. According to legend, the monastery was founded in 1030 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslav in holy baptism bore the name Georgiy, which in Russian usually had the form “Yuriy”, hence the name of the monastery.

In 1119, construction began on the main monastery cathedral - St. George's Cathedral. The initiator of the construction was Grand Duke Mstislav I Vladimirovich. The construction of St. George's Cathedral lasted more than 10 years; before completion, its walls were covered with frescoes that were destroyed in the 19th century.

Consecrated in the name of St. George Church on Yaroslav's Court in Veliky Novgorod. The first mention of a wooden church dates back to 1356. Residents of Lubyanka (Lubyantsy) - a street that once passed through Torg (city market), built a church in stone. The temple burned down several times and was rebuilt. In 1747, the upper vaults collapsed. In 1750-1754 the church was restored again.

In the name of St. George the Victorious, a church was consecrated in the village. Staraya Ladoga, Leningrad region (built between 1180 and 1200). The temple was first mentioned in written sources only in 1445. In the 16th century, the church was rebuilt, but the interior remained unchanged. In 1683-1684 the church was restored.

In the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, the cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky (Vladimir region, built in 1230-1234) was consecrated.

In Yuryev-Polsky there was the St. George Church of the St. Michael the Archangel Monastery. The wooden St. George Church from the village of Yegorye was moved to the monastery in 1967-1968. This church is the only surviving building of the ancient St. George Monastery, the first mention of which dates back to 1565.

A temple in Endov (Moscow) was consecrated in the name of the Great Martyr George. The temple has been known since 1612. The modern church was built by parishioners in 1653.

A church in Kolomenskoye (Moscow) was consecrated in honor of St. George. The church was built in the 16th century as a bell tower in the form of a round two-tier tower. In the 17th century, a brick one-story chamber was added to the bell tower from the west. At the same time, the bell tower was rebuilt into the Church of St. George. In the mid-19th century, a large brick refectory was added to the church.

The famous Church of St. George on Krasnaya Gorka in Moscow. According to different versions, the St. George Church was founded by the mother of Tsar Mikhail Romanov - Martha. But the name of the church was written down in the spiritual charter of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, and in 1462 it was designated stone. Probably due to a fire, the temple burned down, and in its place nun Martha built a new, wooden church. At the end of the twenties of the 17th century, the church burned down. In 1652-1657. The temple was restored on a hill where folk festivities took place on Krasnaya Gorka.

A church in the city of Ivanteevka (Moscow region) was consecrated in the name of St. George. The first historical information about the temple dates back to 1573. The wooden church was probably built in 1520-1530. By the end of the 1590s, the church was rebuilt and served parishioners until 1664, when the Birdyukin-Zaitsev brothers received permission to own the village and build a new wooden church.

A unique wooden church in the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious is located in the village of Rodionovo in the Podporozhsky district of the Leningrad region. The first mention of the church dates back to 1493 or 1543.

(Romania). The churches of the Russian Orthodox Church were consecrated in honor of the Great Martyr George (Moscow region, Ramensky district), in (Bryansk region, Starodubsky district), in (Romania, Tulcea district).

Great Martyr George the Victorious. Folk traditions

In popular culture, the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr George was called Yegor the Brave - the protector of livestock, the “wolf shepherd”. Two images of the saint coexisted in the popular consciousness: one of them was close to the church cult of St. George - the serpent fighter and Christ-loving warrior, the other - to the cult of the cattle breeder and tiller, the owner of the land, the patron of livestock, who opens the spring field work. Thus, in folk legends and spiritual poems the exploits of the holy warrior Yegoriy were sung, who resisted the tortures and promises of the “king of Demyanishch (Diocletianish)” and defeated “the fierce serpent, the fierce fiery one.”

The Great Martyr George the Victorious has always been revered among the Russian people. Temples and even entire monasteries were built in his honor. In the grand-ducal families, the name George was widespread; the day of new honoring in people's life, under serfdom, acquired economic and political significance. It was especially significant in the forested north of Russia, where the name of the saint, at the request of the laws of naming and hearing, first changed into Gyurgiya, Yurgiya, Yurya - in written acts, and into Yegorya - in the living language, on the lips of all the common people. For the peasantry, sitting on the land and depending on it in everything, the new autumn St. George's Day until the end of the 16th century was that cherished day when the terms of hire ended for workers and any peasant became free, with the right to move to any landowner. This right of transition was probably the merit of Prince Georgy Vladimirovich, who died on the river. City in the battle with the Tatars, but managed to lay the foundation for the Russian settlement of the north and provide it with strong protection in the form of cities (Vladimir, Nizhny, two Yuryevs and others). People's memory surrounded the name of this prince with exceptional honor. To perpetuate the memory of the prince, legends were needed; he himself personified the hero, his exploits were equated to miracles, his name was correlated with the name of St. George the Victorious.

The Russian people attributed to Saint George acts that were not mentioned in the Byzantine Menaions. If George always rode a gray horse with a spear in his hands and pierced a snake with it, then with the same spear, according to Russian legends, he also struck a wolf, who ran out to meet him and grabbed his white horse’s leg with its teeth. The wounded wolf spoke in a human voice: “Why are you beating me when I’m hungry?” - “If you want to eat, ask me. Look, take that horse, it will last you two days.” This legend strengthened the people's belief that any cattle killed by a wolf or crushed and carried away by a bear is doomed to be sacrificed by Yegor - the led leader and ruler of all forest animals. The same legend testified that Yegori spoke to animals in human language. In Rus' there was a famous story about how Yegoriy ordered a snake to painfully sting a shepherd who sold a sheep to a poor widow, and referred to a wolf in his justification. When the culprit repented, Saint George appeared to him, convicted him of lying, but restored him to both life and health.

Honoring Yegor not only as the master of beasts, but also of reptiles, the peasants turned to him in their prayers. One day a certain peasant named Glycerius was plowing a field. The old ox strained himself and fell. The owner sat down on the boundary and wept bitterly. But suddenly a young man came up to him and asked: “What are you crying about, little man?” “I had,” answered Glycerius, “one ox-breadwinner, but the Lord punished me for my sins, but, given my poverty, I was not able to buy another ox.” “Don’t cry,” the young man reassured him, “the Lord has heard your prayers. Take the “turnover” with you, take the ox that first catches your eye, and harness it to plow - this ox is yours.” - “Whose are you?” - the man asked him. “I am Yegor the Passion-Bearer,” said the young man and disappeared. This widespread legend was the basis for touching rituals that could be observed in all Russian villages without exception on the spring day of St. George's memory. Sometimes, in warmer places, this day coincided with the “pasture” of cattle in the field, but in harsh forest provinces it was only a “cattle walk.” In all cases, the rite of “circulation” was performed in the same way and consisted in the fact that the owners walked around with the image of St. George the Victorious all the livestock gathered in a heap in their yard, and then drove them into the common herd, gathered at the chapels where the water-blessing prayer service was served, after which the entire herd was sprinkled with holy water.

In the old Novgorod region, where it used to be that cattle were grazed without shepherds, the owners themselves “got around” in compliance with ancient customs. In the morning, the owner prepared a pie for his cattle with a whole egg baked in it. Even before sunrise, he put the cake in a sieve, took the icon, lit a wax candle, girded himself with a sash, stuck a willow in front of it, and an ax behind it. In this outfit, in his yard, the owner walked around the cattle three times, and the hostess lit incense from a pot of hot coals and made sure that the doors were all locked this time. The pie was broken into as many pieces as there were heads of cattle on the farm, and each was given a piece, and the willow was either thrown onto the water of the river to float away, or stuck under the eaves. It was believed that the willow saves from lightning during a thunderstorm.

In the remote black earth zone (Oryol province) they believed in Yuryev's dew, they tried on Yuryev's day as early as possible, before sunrise, when the dew had not yet dried, to drive the cattle out of the yard, especially the cows, so that they would not get sick and would give more milk. In the same area, they believed that candles placed in the church near the image of George saved from wolves, and whoever forgot to put them on, Yegoriy would take the cattle from him “to the wolf’s teeth.” Celebrating Yegoryev's holiday, householders did not miss the opportunity to turn it into a “beer house.” Long before this day, calculating how many tubs of beer would come out, how much “zhidel” (low-grade beer) would be made, the peasants thought about how there would be no “no leakage” (when the wort does not flow out of the vat) and talked about measures against such a failure. Teenagers licked ladles taken out of vats of wort; drank the sludge or grounds that had settled at the bottom of the vat. The women baked and washed the huts. The girls were preparing their outfits. When the beer was ready, every relative in the village was invited to “visit for the holiday.” Yegor's holiday began with each highway carrying wort to church, which for this occasion was called “eve”. During mass they placed him in front of the icon of St. George, and after mass they donated the clergy. The first day they feasted with the churchmen (in the Novgorod region), and then they went to drink in the houses of the peasants. Yegoryev's day in black earth Russia (for example, in the Chembarsky district of the Penza province) still retained traces of the veneration of Yegorye as the patron saint of fields and the fruits of the earth. The people believed that George was given the keys to the sky and he unlocked it, giving power to the sun and freedom to the stars. Many still order masses and prayer services to the saint, asking him to bless their fields and vegetable gardens. And to reinforce the meaning of the ancient belief, a special ritual was observed: the most attractive young man was chosen, decorated with various greens, a round cake decorated with flowers was placed on his head, and in a whole round dance the youth were led into the field. Here they walked around the sown strips three times, lit a fire, divided and ate a ritual cake and sang an ancient sacred prayer-song (“they call out”) in honor of George:

Yuri, get up early - unlock the ground,
Release the dew for the warm summer,
Not a lush life -
For vigorous, for spicate.

Prayer to the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George Iconography of the Great Martyr George the Victorious Life of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. April 23 / May 6

The Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, originally from Cappadocia (a region in Asia Minor), grew up in a deeply religious Christian family. His father suffered martyrdom for Christ when George was still a child. The mother, who owned estates in Palestine, moved with her son to her homeland and raised him in strict piety.

Icon of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious. Gallery of icons of Shchigra.

Having entered the service of the Roman army, Saint George, handsome, courageous and brave in battle, was noticed by the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and accepted into his guard with the rank of comit - one of the senior military leaders.

The pagan emperor, who did a lot to revive Roman power and clearly understood the danger the triumph of the Crucified Savior posed to pagan civilization, especially intensified the persecution of Christians in the last years of his reign. At the council of the Senate in Nicomedia, Diocletian gave all rulers complete freedom to deal with Christians and promised his full assistance.

Saint George, having learned about the emperor’s decision, distributed his inheritance to the poor, set his slaves free and appeared in the Senate. The courageous warrior of Christ openly opposed the imperial plan, confessed himself to be a Christian and called on everyone to recognize the true faith in Christ: “I am a servant of Christ my God, and, trusting in Him, I appeared among you of my own free will to testify to the Truth.”

The miraculous image of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, a Novgorod letter from the 15th century, which the Serpukhov militia always took on campaigns.

Icon from the Vysotsky Serpukhov Monastery, Serpukhov.

"What is Truth?" — one of the dignitaries repeated Pilate’s question.

“The truth is Christ Himself, persecuted by you,” answered the saint.

Stunned by the daring speech of the valiant warrior, the emperor, who loved and exalted George, tried to persuade him not to destroy his youth, glory and honor, but to make a sacrifice to the gods, according to the custom of the Romans. This was followed by a decisive response from the confessor: “Nothing in this fickle life will weaken my desire to serve God.” Then, by order of the angry emperor, the squires began to push Saint George out of the meeting hall with spears in order to take him to prison. But the deadly steel itself became soft and bent as soon as the spears touched the saint’s body, and did not cause him pain. In prison, the martyr's feet were put in stocks and his chest was pressed with a heavy stone.

Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. George the Victorious.

Stele with a sculpture of St. George the Victorious - "Monument to the Fallen Policemen" in Moscow.

Stele with a sculpture of St. George the Victorious.

The next day, during interrogation, exhausted but strong in spirit, Saint George again answered the emperor: “It is more likely that you will become exhausted, tormenting me, than I, tormented by you.” Then Diocletian ordered George to be subjected to the most sophisticated tortures. The Great Martyr was tied to a wheel, under which were placed boards with iron points. As the wheel rotated, sharp blades cut the saint's naked body. At first the sufferer loudly called on the Lord, but soon fell silent, without emitting a single groan. Diocletian decided that the tortured man had already died, and, having ordered the removal of the tortured body from the wheel, he went to the temple to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice. At that moment it became dark all around, thunder struck, and a voice was heard: “Don’t be afraid, George, I am with you.” Then a wondrous light shone and the Angel of the Lord appeared at the wheel in the form of a luminous youth. And he barely laid his hand on the martyr, saying to him: “Rejoice!” - how Saint George rose healed.

When the soldiers took him to the temple where the emperor was, the latter did not believe his eyes and thought that before him was another person or a ghost. In bewilderment and horror, the pagans peered at Saint George and became convinced that a miracle had indeed happened. Many then believed in the Life-Giving God of Christians. Two noble dignitaries, Saints Anatoly and Protoleon, secret Christians, immediately openly confessed Christ. They were immediately beheaded with a sword, without trial, by order of the emperor. Queen Alexandra, the wife of Diocletian, who was in the temple, also learned the truth. She also tried to glorify Christ, but one of the emperor’s servants restrained her and took her to the palace.

Icon of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious. Icon from the Church of the Iveron Mother of God on Vspolye, Moscow.

The emperor became even more embittered. Without losing hope of breaking Saint George, he handed him over to new terrible tortures. Having been thrown into a deep ditch, the holy martyr was covered with quicklime. Three days later they dug him up, but found him joyful and unharmed. They put the saint in iron boots filled with hot metal and nails, and with beatings they drove him to prison. In the morning, when he was brought in for questioning, cheerful and with healthy legs, he told the emperor that he liked the boots. They beat him with ox sinews so that his body and blood mixed with the ground, but the courageous sufferer, strengthened by the power of God, remained adamant.

Deciding that magic was helping the saint, the emperor called upon the sorcerer Athanasius so that he could deprive the saint of his miraculous powers, or poison him. The sorcerer presented Saint George with two bowls of potions, one of which was supposed to make him submissive, and the other to kill him.

But the potions did not work either - the saint continued to denounce pagan superstitions and glorify the True God.

To the emperor’s question what kind of power helps the martyr, Saint George answered: “Do not think that torment does not harm me thanks to human effort - I am saved only by the invocation of Christ and His power. He who believes in Him counts torture as nothing and is able to do the works that Christ did” (John 14:12). Diocletian asked what the works of Christ were. “To enlighten the blind, to cleanse the lepers, to give walking to the lame, to give hearing to the deaf, to cast out demons, to raise the dead.”

Knowing that neither sorcery nor the gods known to him had ever been able to resurrect the dead, the emperor, in order to disgrace the hope of the saint, ordered him to resurrect the dead before his eyes. To this the saint said: “You are tempting me, but for the sake of the salvation of the people who will see the work of Christ, my God will create this sign.” And when Saint George was brought to the tomb, he cried out: “Lord! Show those present that You are the One God throughout the whole earth, so that they may know You, the Almighty Lord.” And the earth shook, the tomb opened, the dead man came to life and came out of it.

Seeing with their own eyes the manifestation of the almighty power of Christ, the people wept and glorified the True God.

The sorcerer Athanasius, falling at the feet of Saint George, confessed Christ. Almighty God and asked for forgiveness for sins committed in ignorance. However, the emperor, stubborn in wickedness, did not come to his senses: in a rage, he ordered the beheading of Athanasius, who believed, as well as the resurrected man, and again imprisoned Saint George. People burdened with illnesses began to enter the prison in various ways and there received healing and help from the saint. A certain farmer Glycerius, whose ox had fallen, also turned to him in grief. The saint comforted him with a smile and assured him that God would bring the ox back to life. Seeing the revived ox at home, the farmer began to glorify the Christian God throughout the city. By order of the emperor, Saint Glycerius was captured and beheaded.

The exploits and miracles of the Great Martyr George multiplied the number of Christians, so Diocletian decided to make a last attempt to force the saint to sacrifice to idols. They began to prepare the court at the temple of Apollo. On the last night, the holy martyr prayed fervently, and when he dozed off, he saw the Lord Himself, who lifted him with His hand, hugged him and kissed him.

The Savior placed a crown on the head of the great martyr and said: “Do not be afraid, but dare and you will be worthy to reign with Me.”

The next morning at the trial, the emperor offered Saint George a new test - he invited him to become his co-ruler. The holy martyr responded with feigned readiness that the emperor should not have tormented him from the very beginning, but should have shown him such mercy, and at the same time expressed a desire to immediately go to the temple of Apollo. Diocletian decided that the martyr accepted his offer, and followed him to the temple, accompanied by his retinue and people. Everyone expected that Saint George would make a sacrifice to the gods. He, approaching the idol, made the sign of the cross and addressed it as if it were alive: “Do you want to accept a sacrifice from me as God?” The demon that lived in the idol shouted: “I am not God and none of my kind is God. There is only one God, the one you preach. We, from among the Angels serving Him, have become apostates, and, possessed by envy, we deceive people.” How dare you be here when I, the servant of the True Bor, came here?” - asked the Saint. There was noise and crying, the idols fell and were crushed.

There was general confusion. To the holy martyr. the priests and many from the crowd attacked in a frenzy, tied him up, began to beat him and demand his immediate execution.

The holy Queen Alexandra hurried to the noise and screams. Making her way through the crowd, she shouted: “God Georgiev, help me, since You alone are Omnipotent.” At the feet of the great martyr, the holy queen glorified Christ, humiliating idols and those who worshiped them.

Diocletian, in a frenzy, immediately pronounced the death sentence on the Great Martyr George and the holy Queen Alexandra, who followed Saint George to execution without resistance.

On the way, she became exhausted and leaned unconscious against the wall. Everyone decided that the queen had died.

Saint George thanked God and prayed that his journey would end with dignity. At the place of execution, the saint in fervent prayer asked the Lord to forgive the torturers, who did not know what they were doing, and to lead them to the knowledge of the Truth. Calmly and courageously, the holy Great Martyr George bowed his head under the sword. It was April 23, 303.

The executioners and judges looked at their Conqueror in confusion. The era of paganism ended in bloody agony and senseless tossing. Only ten years have passed - and Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, one of Diocletian’s successors on the Roman throne, will order the Cross and the covenant, sealed with the blood of the Great Martyr and Victorious George and thousands of unknown martyrs, to be inscribed on the banners: “By this you will conquer.”

Of the many miracles performed by the Holy Great Martyr George. the most famous is depicted in iconography. In the saint's homeland, in the city of Beirut, there were many idolaters.

Near the city, near the Lebanese Mountains, there was a large lake in which a huge snake lived. Coming out of the lake, he devoured people, and the inhabitants could not do anything, since his very breath contaminated the air.

According to the teachings of the demons who lived in the idols, the king made the following decision: every day the inhabitants had to give their children as food to the snake by lot, and when his turn came, he promised to give his only daughter. Time passed, and the king, dressed her in the best clothes, sent her to the lake. The girl cried bitterly, waiting for her death hour. Suddenly, the Great Martyr George rode up to her on horseback with a spear in his hand. The girl begged him not to stay with her so as not to die. But the saint, seeing the serpent, made the sign of the cross and with the words “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” rushed at him. The Great Martyr George pierced the serpent's throat with a spear and trampled it with his horse. Then he ordered the girl to tie the snake with her belt and lead it to the city like a dog.

The inhabitants fled in fear, but the saint stopped them with the words: “Do not be afraid, but trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in Him, for it was He who sent me to you to save you.” Then the saint killed the serpent with a sword, and the inhabitants burned it outside the city. Twenty-five thousand people, not counting women and children, were baptized then, and a church was built in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Great Martyr George.

Saint George could become a talented commander and surprise the world with his military exploits. He died when he was not even 30 years old. Hastening to unite with the Heavenly army, he entered the history of the Church as the Victorious. He became famous with this name from the very beginning of Christianity and in Holy Rus'.

Saint George the Victorious was the angel and patron of several great builders of Russian statehood and Russian military power. The son of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, in Holy Baptism George (†1054), contributed greatly to the veneration of the saint in the Russian Church. He built the city of Yuryev, founded the Yuryevsky Monastery in Novgorod, and erected the Church of St. George the Victorious in Kyiv. The day of the consecration of the Kyiv St. George Church, performed on November 26, 1051 by St. Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus', forever entered the liturgical treasury of the Church as a special church holiday, St. George’s Day, beloved by the Russian people “autumn St. George”.

The name of St. George was borne by the founder of Moscow Yuri Dolgoruky (†1157), the creator of many St. George's churches, the builder of the city of Yuryev-Polsky. In 1238, the heroic struggle of the Russian people against the Mongol hordes was led by the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri (George) Vsevolodovich (†1238; commemorated February 4), who died in the Battle of the City. The memory of him as Yegor the Brave, defender of his native land, is reflected in Russian spiritual poems and epics. The first Grand Duke of Moscow, during the period when Moscow became the center of gathering of the Russian land, was Yuri Danilovich (†1325) - the son of St. Daniel of Moscow, grandson of St. Alexander Nevsky. From that time on, Saint George the Victorious - the horseman slaying the serpent - became the coat of arms of Moscow and the emblem of the Russian state. And this further strengthened the ties of Christian peoples and especially with the same faith Iberia (Georgia - the country of George).

(From "The Clergyman's Handbook")

Prayer to the Great Martyr George the Victorious

Holy, glorious and all-praised Great Martyr George! Gathered in your temple and before your holy icon, people worshiping, we pray to you, known to the desires of our intercessor, pray with us and for us, beseeching God from His mercy, may he mercifully hear us asking for His goodness, and not abandon all ours to salvation and life needful petitions, and grants our country victory in the face of resistance; and again, falling down, we pray to you, victorious saint: strengthen the Orthodox army in battle with the grace given to you, destroy the forces of the rising enemies, so that they will be ashamed and put to shame, and let their insolence be crushed, and let them know that we have Divine help, and to everyone in sorrow and the current situation, show your powerful intercession. Pray to the Lord God, the Creator of all creation, to deliver us from eternal torment, so that we glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we confess your intercession now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Akathist to the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious

Let us praise the chosen commander and victorious George, as our intercessor and quick helper: you are a holy great martyr, as you have boldness in the Lord, free us from all troubles, and let us call to you: Rejoice George, great victorious one.

The Creator of angels and creator of all creation, having revealed you to the Church of His faith as a champion, and for the faith of an invincible passion-bearer, inspires us, for the deeds of your suffering, to praise you, Saint George: Rejoice, who loved Jesus the Son of God to the end; Rejoice, having laid down your soul with love for His name. Rejoice, called confessor from God; Rejoice, glorified ascetic by God's grace. Rejoice, fellow angels; Rejoice, equal leader of the prophets. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Seeing the persecution of the wicked against Christians, you were not afraid of their intrigues and torment, O wise God, but like a good warrior of Christ, having given all that was yours to the poor, you flowed with your unrighteous will to their advice, singing to Christ the leader and to your God: Alleluia.

Having rationally comprehended the one God, in three Hypostases who is divinely worshiped, with a firm mind you confessed Him at the gatherings of the wicked, and thus you denounced the insane king for the insane worship of the creature. For this reason, for your lofty wisdom, receive from us, George, zealous praise: Rejoice, preacher of the only true God; Rejoice, faithful protector of the Most Holy Trinity. Rejoice, having shown the great secret of the Orthodox confession to the infidels; Rejoice, you who expose the charm of idolatry's service. Rejoice, divine rhetorician; Rejoice, full of wisdom! Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

The power of God, enlightening every person coming into the world, and in prison visited you who suffered, the humble and wise George: because you have despised all this corruptible life, as if you had despised the knowledge, you have clung to the only Christ, and having fought well for His name, you have been vouchsafed to sing with the angels forever: Alleluia .

Having a mind and heart illuminated by the Holy Spirit, you, at His inspiration, were jealous of you to strive for the name of Christ, standing to the blood of courage in faith, you denounced the pride raised by the wicked congregation. For this reason, we praise you, O all-wise George: Rejoice, shield erected for the protection of piety; Rejoice, sword raised to cut off wickedness. Rejoice, pillar of faith; Rejoice, wall and strengthening of the Church of Christ. Rejoice, fertilizer of the faithful; Rejoice, fear and shame of the unfaithful. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

The mad tormentor who breathes murder upon you, the passion-bearer George, thirsted for your blood like a greedy dog, commanding that your body be crucified on a wheel and given over to the worst torment: but you, crying out in the Lord, with firm trust in God, you cried out: Alleluia.

Having heard from you Diocletian and the priests of idolatry the words of wisdom, they flared up with anger at you, even more so when you said: “0 to the tormentor king! Why are you torturing me in vain, for I have Christ to live and gain to die. It’s hard for you to eat against the pricks of the enemy.” For this reason we cry to you, great surname George: Rejoice, for your courageous confession of faith you shed your blood on the wheel; Rejoice, having magnified the triumph of faith with your blood. Rejoice, rival of the apostles; Rejoice, imitator of the free passion of Christ. Rejoice, unshakable champion of the faith; Rejoice, most steadfast passion-bearer of adamant. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

You were like a godlike star, George, for with miraculous healing from an angel and visible renunciation from the wheel, you taught the infidels to believe in the Trinity of the Consubstantial One, and together with you to sing: Alleluia.

Seeing the people, the miracles of the power of God that were manifestly happening to you, with meekness you received the teaching of Christ from you and cried out saying: “Great indeed is the Christian God!” For this reason, praising you, most glorious George, we cry out to you: Rejoice, you who have dispersed the darkness of unbelief with your luminous word of salvation; Rejoice, having converted the unfaithful to Christ by the martyr's confession of faith. Rejoice, lead legions of earthly warriors into the heavenly army; Rejoice, as a warrior of Christ, stay with the heavenly warriors. Rejoice, glory to the warriors; Rejoice, beauty of the martyr's bright face. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

A preacher of truth, jealous of the spirit-bearing apostle, you were crucified with the cross of the world, more passionately: behold, like Jonah, you were thrown headlong into the belly of the whale, into the cave of undissolved lime, so that for your sake the wondrous Lord among the saints may be glorified, for whom you are known even in the pit, as in the temple of glory. , you cleverly cried out: Alleluia.

Who shone forth in His three-day rise from the grave, the omnipotent of hell and death, the Conqueror Jesus, saving you from hellish corruption, the passion-bearing George: three days later you were found alive in the limelight, and in the lifting up of your hands singing to God: for this reason the great one was afraid and terrified. We, rejoicing, will sing a victorious song: Rejoice, having been cast down shamefully into the well-known ditch, the exalted pride of the devil has been cast down; Rejoice, wondrous salvation from God, conqueror of the brutality of the tormentor. Rejoice, for thou who were not evil, for thou didst pray for those who committed this misfortune, as for benefactors; Rejoice, for you were troubled by their conversion, as Paul was by the Jews. Rejoice, man of desires; Rejoice, chosen vessel. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Although the wicked tormentor tries to seduce your heart into the charm of an idol, the wicked tormentor intends to seduce you with magical enchantments: you are God’s chosen one with David, exclaiming: O God is my salvation and my glory, to Him you sang faithfully: Alleluia.

A new demonstration of the evil of this evil servant of Satan, Diocletian, when in his insane jealousy of idols, he commanded to give you poison, George: but you are filled with faith and hope, even if you drank mortal things, you remained without harm, O praiser of God, and we also cry out ty: Rejoice, for in your trust in God you are alive and you were not put to shame; Rejoice, for you did not impute anything to the tormentor. Rejoice, demon driver! Rejoice, magical wiles of the destroyer. Rejoice, for God is marvelous in you in His saints; Rejoice, for through you the name of Christ is glorified in honor. Rejoice George, great victorious one.

Strange and terrible advice came from a certain sorcerer to the wicked king, so that he would command you, as proof of the righteousness of the faith of Christ, to resurrect the dead with a word: but you, George, without hesitation, sang to Him Who is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: Alleluia.

All-desired and Sweetest Jesus, whom you loved with all your soul and with all your heart, all-blessed George, hearing your warm prayer of faith, soon commanded, according to your word, the dead will rise again, for glorification for the sake of His name, and for the faithful affirmation, but for the unfaithful and blinded to wonder and knowledge of God. For this reason, out of duty, we cry out to you: Rejoice, for the Lord has shown wondrous powers on you; Rejoice, for through you you raised the dead from the grave. Rejoice, thou who bestowed insight of faith upon the blinded sorcerer; Rejoice, many who suffered for Christ's sake, showing the way to the Holy of Holies. Rejoice, Rome's surprise; Rejoice, Christian exaltation. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

All the angels praised God, who gave you such courage, George, as even in prison you did not cease to be vigilant in prayer. For this reason, as the great hidden place of God’s grace, you were worthy to see in a vision the Lord, crowning your head with the crown of incorruption, and we also cry out with you: Alleluia.

With their rhetorical tongues they will not be able to utter praise worthy of you, George, many for the sake of your exploits and illnesses, which you raised by your will for Christ and the Church. For this reason, we, too, bewildered to praise you according to your heritage, sing: Rejoice, you who were free to suffer for Christ and the Church, who crucified the old Adam within you; Rejoice, for your valiant suffering, you received the crown of righteousness from the hand of the Lord. Rejoice, rule of pious zeal; Rejoice, image of spiritual poverty. Rejoice, for you have pleased not yourself, but Christ alone; Rejoice, for you were ready for manifold deaths for Christ. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Kontakion 10

To save the souls of those perishing in the darkness of idolatry, God-loving George, you, jealous, were jealous like Elijah for God: having entered into the temple of the idols, by the power of God you drove away the demons, crushed the idols, put the priests to shame, and, like a winner, not from men, but You and the angels sang to God: Alleluia.

The walls are more insensible, your tormentor, stoned in heart, George, not knowing God, you manifested miracles, but remained until the end, like an asp, stop your ears. For this reason, I commanded that you be placed at the head of disgrace, like a villain: but you, sick of the destruction of his soul, joyfully accepted your death, for this reason we please you with love: Rejoice, having preserved faith, hope and love to the end; Rejoice, having done many and great miracles in your dormition. Rejoice, thou crowned upon the earth with the weapon of God's favor; Rejoice, adorned with glory and splendor in Heaven. Rejoice, man of God; Rejoice, good soldier of Christ. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Kontakion 11

You, the Holy Great Martyr George, rendered the singing of the Most Holy Trinity more than others, not in words and in your mind, but by sacrificing your whole self alive: imitating the immaculate Lamb Christ crucified for us, you laid down your soul for your friends by your own will. Moreover, even if we are dissatisfied with such praise of your valor, for there is no one else to love so much, but give thanks to the being, we sing to the wondrous thing in the saints: Alleluia.

The light-receiving lamp of the true Light, God’s chosen one George appears to those on earth, enlightening the hearts of the faithful, and instructing everyone in the Divine mind, teaching us to cheerfully cry out: Rejoice, for you dwell in the bright angelic devils; Rejoice, for you are partaking of the non-evening Trinity Light not in fortune-telling, but face to face. Rejoice, nourisher of the poor and protector of the offended; Rejoice, physician of the weak and champion of kings. Rejoice, champion of the Orthodox warrior in battle; Rejoice, warm intercessor for the salvation of sinners. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Kontakion 12

The grace given to you from God, knowing, we celebrate your memory, Great Martyr George, and with fervent prayer flowing to your miraculous image, with your omnipotent help in the Lord, like an insurmountable wall, we are protected. For this reason, praising you, we earnestly call to God: Alleluia.

Singing your glorious death, by which you were exalted as a good warrior of Christ, we pray to you, passion-bearing George: be your helper in everything for our good, and hear us earnestly crying out to you: Rejoice, for by you the Church of the faithful is enlightened; Rejoice, for your name is also glorified among the unbelievers. Rejoice, wondrous glory of confessors; Rejoice, high praise of the martyrs. Rejoice, healer of our bodies; Rejoice, O prayer book for our souls. Rejoice, George, great victorious one.

Kontakion 13

O all-blessed and holy Great Martyr George, accept this song of our praise, and deliver us from all evil through your warm intercession to God, so that we may sing with you: Alleluia.

This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1.