Saint George is one of Christianity's most popular saints, and is highly honored by both the Western and Eastern Churches.Christian Roy, 2005, Traditional Festivals page 408 A wide range of devotions, traditions, and prayers to honor the saint have emerged throughout the centuries. He has for long been distinguished by the title of "The Great Martyr" and is one of the most popular saints to be represented in icons.Robin Cormack, Icons, Harvard University Press, 2007 page 69 Devotions to Saint George have a large following among Christians, and a large number of churches are dedicated to him worldwide.
Since the Middle Ages, the story of the life of Saint George, both as fact and legend, has come to symbolize the victory of good over evil, and become part of local Christian traditions, festivals and celebrations that continue to date. Saint George has been widely represented in Christian art in multiple media and forms, from paintings and sculptures to stained glass and reliefs, through the ages, and has become the subject of multiple prayers and devotions.Fred Kleiner, 2008, Art Through the Ages: A Global History Wadsworth Press page 546Jack Finegan, 1981, The archeology of the New Testament, Taylor & Francis, page 84Thomas Dale, Relics, prayer, and politics in medieval Venetia Princeton University Press, 1997 page 115Dorothy Spicer, Festivals of Western Europe, Published by BiblioBazaar, 2008 , page 67Robert Pateman, 2006, Belgium, Published by Marshall Cavendish, page 117 This article traces the origins, development and growth of the Christian devotions, traditions, and prayers to Saint George.
History and origins
Aloysius Lippomani, the 16th-century Bishop of Bergamo, was one of the first people to undertake a serious study of Saint George. But modern scholarship really began in the 17th century with the group of Jesuit scholars called the Bollandists. Daniel Papebroch, Jean Bolland and Henschen provided a good account of the life of Saint George in Acta Sanctorum and it inspired other scholars to dispense with Medieval myths and perform detailed studies.Christopher Walter, 2003, The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition Ashgate Publishing, page 110
After multiple attempts by hagiographers, the time of Saint George's life was firmly established in the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca as being during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the late third century, rather than the mythical King Dadianus. A document found in the Vatican was signed by a witness Pascrates on April 23, which had previously been reported as the date of Saint George's execution, and had since become his feast day. The saint's father was established as a Cappadocian pagan senator Gerontius and his mother Polychronia as a Christian from Palestine, who raised him as a believer.Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca 271, 272.
The saint's father died when he was young, and his mother inherited a large estate which she later descended to her son. He joined the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian but during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians declared himself to be one and tore down the Emperor's edict in defiance. Saint George was tortured and dragged behind horses through the streets but would not renounce his Christian beliefs. The saint was then beheaded on April 23, 303. A significant number of conversions to Christianity were reported after his martyrdom which led to his continued veneration.F. J. Foakes-Jackson, A History of the Christian Church, Published by Cosimo, Inc., 2005 page 87John Foxe, History of Christian martyrdom, Published by J.P. Peaslee, 1834 page 57Alban Butler, The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints Published by Duffy, 1845, page 235
Saint Nino of Cappadocia, who was probably a relative of Saint George on her father's side, was taken as a slave woman and was moved to ancient Iberia (a remote part of the Roman Empire between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) in about 320. But she became a healer and confidant to the Queen of Iberia and spread Christianity and the story of Saint George. The Iberian King became a Christian after he was lost in the woods and found his way back by praying to Christ. Saint Nino initiated the construction of the first Christian Churches in east Georgia at Mcxeta, including a church where Svetitskhoveli Cathedral stands today. By the end of the sixth century, the Kings of Iberia had adopted the insignia of Saint George, from which the country of Georgia derived its name.Martin D. Stringer, A sociological history of Christian worship Cambridge University Press, 2005 page 141F. J. Foakes-Jackson, A History of the Christian Church, Published by Cosimo, Inc., 2005 page 556Antony Eastmond, Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia, Penn State Press, 1998 page 119
But the early devotions to the saint were not limited to the northern countries. In the sixth century Saint George as the Martyr of Cappadocia began to grow in popularity among Greek Egyptians and the devotion spread to other parts of Europe.Jill Kamil, Christianity in the land of the pharaohs Published by Routledge, 2002 , page 276 By the sixth century Saint George had become the ideal Christian knight. In the seventh and eighth centuries stained glass windows in churches across Europe depicted him.Sister Mary Kathleen Glavich, Saints and Feast Days Published by Loyola Press, 1985 page 110
Shrines
The earliest dated Church dedicated to Saint George himself was first mentioned in 518. In Rome, the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius put Porta San Sebastiano under the saint's protection in 527. In Sakkaia, Syria, in 549, the local bishop and two of his deacons built a martyrion dedicated to Saint George.Frank Trombley Hellenic religion and Christianization Published by BRILL, 1994 page 345 Pope Leo II built a church for Saint George in 683 and the Church of San Giorgio in Velabro, which housed some of the saint's reported relics, was dedicated to him by Pope Zacharias in 741.Jeffrey Richards, The popes and the papacy in the early Middle Ages Published by Routledge, 1979 page 278
It is not known when a church was first built on the site of martyrdom and burial of Saint George. But by the time of the Muslim conquest in the seventh century, a large three-aisled basilica existed, with the martyr's tomb located beneath the main altar.Denys Pringle, The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Cambridge University Press, 1998 page 25
Saint George was venerated in England as early as the eighth century and devotions to Saint George and shrines dedicated to him continued to grow during the Middle Ages across Europe.Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices page 568 Saint George's Abbey on the Reichenau monastic island on Lake Constance in Germany was founded in 888 and in about the year 900 Georgslied (Song of Saint George) was composed there as a set of hymns to Saint George.Mary Garland, The Oxford Companion to German Literature Oxford University Press, 1997 , page 274C. J. Wells, German, a linguistic history to 1945 Oxford University Press, 1985 page 48
The Sankt Georgenberg Shrine near Schwaz in the Tyrol in Austria is another example of a remote, but surviving shrine. By the tenth century a chapel was dedicated to Saint George on this mountain bluff that can only be reached on foot, and an abbey was established in 1138. Pilgrimages developed soon thereafter once a possible relic of the saint was reported and still thousands of pilgrims climb the mountain path each year.Sidney Nolan, Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe UNC Press, 1992 page 142 But not all churches dedicated to Saint George in the Middle ages were remote or built on a small budget. The Church of Saint George at Mangana, now partially excavated, was built by the bishop of Euchaita in the early eleventh century under Constantine IX at great expense and had truly imposing dimensions for any medieval structure. The techniques used in building the church signify the highest level of patronage.Rosamond McKitterick, The New Cambridge medieval history Cambridge University Press, 2004 page 227Frank Sayers, Collective Works Published by Matchett and Stevenson, 1808 page 126Robert Ousterhout, Master Builders of Byzantium Published by UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 2007 page 176
Many churches were decorated with images of the saint, e.g. St. George's church in Staraya Ladoga, Russia, was adorned with magnificent frescoes in 1167. From this early period, Saint George was seen both as a symbol of courage for keeping his faith in the face of death and, having been a soldier, as one of the warrior saints who was at times depicted with Saint Theodore of Amasea. Saint George and Saint Theodore continued to be represented together in many churches, e.g. in mosaics in St Mark's Basilica in Venice.Otto Demus, The mosaic decoration of San Marco, Venice University of Chicago Press, 1988, page 47
Saint George came to be called on by Christians to aid them in battle and in time of great need, and upon victory churches were built to honor him. Festivals celebrating the ensuing victories became part of local traditions and led to increased devotion to him. He was portrayed in art as a protector and as a symbol of sacrifice, and the interplay of battle cries, prayers, artistic depictions and the construction of Churches in his honor led to increased devotion.Christian Roy, Traditional festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia Published by ABC-CLIO, 2005 page 410
Battles and patronages
The invocation of Saint George as a protector during the Middle Ages is well exemplified by the conduct of the soldiers participating in the Battle of Iconium in 1190, during the Third Crusade. As Frederick I Barbarossa marched through Anatolia, his troops were involved in group prayer and the bishops would hold camp-wide religious rites for them to strengthen their faith and morale. Priests would celebrate special votive Masses with the troops to pray for divine support. These Masses focused on Saint George and the soldiers always invoked him for he was said to appear whenever the crusaders were in their greatest need for help. In a letter sent to his son in November 1189, Fredrick stated that despite having superb troops, it was necessary for him to place his trust in prayers for divine assistance for: "A King is saved by the Grace of the Eternal King which exceeds the merits of any individual".
A few days before Pentecost, one of Fredrick's soldiers named Ludwig of Helfenstein reported that he had seen a white clad warrior, identified as Saint George, on a white horse attacking the Turks, and the chronicled accounts provide no evidence that anyone doubted him. On the evening of May 13, 1190, Frederick's troops were ordered to confess their sins and received penance. During the battle on May 14, the priests and bishops (at the risk of injury or death) went to the front, among the troops, to pray, wearing their white stoles that made them obvious targets for the Muslims. The invocation of Saint George for help had by then become the standard battle cry of the soldiers. The crusaders prevailed in the battle and captured Iconium on May 16, 1190.David Bachrach, Religion and the conduct of war Boydell Press, 2003 page 137