| I would like to sincerely thank the Abbot and Archimandrite of the Athonite Monastery of Xenophontos, where a great holy thing is preserved: the right hand of St. George the Trophy-Bearer. It is very rare that one can encounter even the smallest particle of the relics of this Holy Great-Martyr. By God’s mercy, with the blessing of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, and with the agreement of the brethren of all the Athonite monasteries, with the active participation of Fr. Alexis, the Abbot and Archimandrite of the Monastery of Xenophontos, this All-Christian sacred object has been brought to us on the eve of the seventieth anniversary of the Great Victory. And we will pray to the Great-Martyr George, that he not abandon our armed forces and our nation, that we might ascend from strength to strength – in the first place strengthening our spirit and growing in faith, but along with this being strengthened both materially and militarily, in order to defend our freedom and our independence. I would also like to thank Fr. Seraphim, the rector of this holy church, for his wonderful gift and for his kind words. And as a sign of my gratitude to the brethren of the Monastery of Xenophontos both for bringing the relics and for bringing the icon of St. George, please accept this Easter egg. Christos Anesti! Translated from the Russian . Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| The Greatmartyr George is a protector of the army. The depiction of George the Victory-bearer on a horse symbolizes victory over the devil the ancient serpent. This depiction was included in the ancient coat of arms of the city of Moscow. Neither the Great Horologion nor the Prologue, nor the Church’s services to St George, mention the most popular story of St George, his slaying of a dragon. Though many icons of the Saint show him mounted on horseback, slaying a dragon with a spear, the story is thought by many to be legendary, and the dragon in the icon symbolic. Source: Lives of the Saints Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Holy Gloriuos Great-martyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George admin The Greatmartyr George, for his manliness and for his spiritual victory over the torturers, who could not force him to renounce ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Donate Also by this author " Russian Church official: let’s not dramatize the Pan-Orthodox Council situation admin Russian Church official: let " s not dramatize the Pan-Orthodox Council situation |
| The Greatmartyr George, for his manliness and for his spiritual victory over the torturers, who could not force him to renounce Christianity, and likewise for his wonderworking assistance to people in danger is additionally called the " Victory-bearer " . The relics of Saint George the Victory-bearer were placed in the Palestinian city of Lydda, in the church that bears his name, while his head was preserved in Rome, in the church that is also dedicated to him. On icons, the Greatmartyr George is depicted sitting on a white horse and smiting a dragon with a spear. This depiction is based on tradition and relates to the posthumous miracles of the holy Greatmartyr George. It is said that not far from the place where Saint George was born in the city of Beirut, in a lake lived a dragon which frequently devoured people of that locale. What kind of beast that was, a python, crocodile or large lizard is not known. In order to appease the wrath of that dragon, the superstitious inhabitants of that locale began regularly by lot to give up to it a youth or maiden to be eaten. Once the lot fell on the daughter of the ruler of that locale. They took her to the shore of the lake and tied her up where she began to await in terror the appearance of the dragon. When the beast began to approach her, suddenly a radiant youth appeared on a white horse who smote the dragon with a spear and saved the maiden. This youth was the holy Greatmartyr George. By such a miraculous appearance he caused the extermination of youths and maidens to cease in the environs of Beirut and converted to Christ the inhabitants of that country, who until then were pagans. One may suppose that Saint George " s appearance on a horse to defend the inhabitants from a dragon and likewise the description in his life of the miraculous reviving of a farmer " s only ox, served as the cause for honoring Saint George as a protector of animal husbandry and as a defender from predatory beasts. In prerevolutionary times, on the day of Saint George " s commemoration, the inhabitants of Russian villages, for the first time after the cold winter, would drive their animals out to pasture, after having performed a moleben to the holy Greatmartyr along with the sprinkling of homes and animals with holy water. |
| And it is by no means coincidental that the war was completed on the day of Christ’s Pascha and the feast day of the Holy Great-Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer. How remarkable it is that we call this saint not simply the Great-Martyr, but the Trophy-Bearer [lit., Victory-Bearer], he who bears victory. Not only because he was victorious over evil, victorious over those who martyred him in the beginning of the fourth century, when he was martyred on the orders of the Emperor Diocletian, the last Roman Emperor who persecuted Christians, but also because his name is linked to very many victories. It is also remarkable that his image is on the Muscovite arms. We believe that victory in the Great Patriotic War also took place through his prayers for our grievously suffering nation, which had travelled in the first half of the twentieth century the terrible roads of bloodshed, civil conflicts, revolution, and wars. The nation that had so cherished faith seemed to have lost this faith entirely, and needed to hearken to this terrible thunderbolt of war in order that the Orthodox faith might again be in an instant resurrected in people’s hearts. Many soldiers went into battle accompanied by the name of God. How many had the prayer of Psalm 90 in their uniforms, which had been carefully sewn there by mothers, wives, and sisters! Our nation achieved victory with prayer and faith. Neither this sacrifice nor this prayer could have been rejected by the Lord, and George the Trophy-Bearer entered unseen on his white horse into the defeated Berlin. And every time that we celebrate the divine services in this church on Poklonnaya Hill, which is so associated with our victories – both in 1812 over Napoleon, and in 1945 over the other invaders – we especially pray to the Lord and the Holy Great-Martyr George, that he would not abandon our Fatherland, that our nation would never deviate from the faith of our fathers, and that, relying on this believe, we might grow in spirit and become invincible. |
| The Greatmartyr George, for his manliness and for his spiritual victory over the torturers, who could not force him to renounce Christianity, and likewise for his wonderworking assistance to people in danger is additionally called the “Victory-bearer”. The relics of Saint George the Victory-bearer were placed in the Palestinian city of Lydda, in the church that bears his name, while his head was preserved in Rome, in the church that is also dedicated to him. On icons, the Greatmartyr George is depicted sitting on a white horse and smiting a dragon with a spear. This depiction is based on tradition and relates to the posthumous miracles of the holy Greatmartyr George. It is said that not far from the place where Saint George was born in the city of Beirut, in a lake lived a dragon which frequently devoured people of that locale. What kind of beast that was, a python, crocodile or large lizard is not known. In order to appease the wrath of that dragon, the superstitious inhabitants of that locale began regularly by lot to give up to it a youth or maiden to be eaten. Once the lot fell on the daughter of the ruler of that locale. They took her to the shore of the lake and tied her up where she began to await in terror the appearance of the dragon. When the beast began to approach her, suddenly a radiant youth appeared on a white horse who smote the dragon with a spear and saved the maiden. This youth was the holy Greatmartyr George. By such a miraculous appearance he caused the extermination of youths and maidens to cease in the environs of Beirut and converted to Christ the inhabitants of that country, who until then were pagans. One may suppose that Saint George’s appearance on a horse to defend the inhabitants from a dragon and likewise the description in his life of the miraculous reviving of a farmer’s only ox, served as the cause for honoring Saint George as a protector of animal husbandry and as a defender from predatory beasts. In prerevolutionary times, on the day of Saint George’s commemoration, the inhabitants of Russian villages, for the first time after the cold winter, would drive their animals out to pasture, after having performed a moleben to the holy Greatmartyr along with the sprinkling of homes and animals with holy water. |
| And what in return? In return, the Lord performs miracles, as He performed the miracle of Moscow’s deliverance, as He performed the miracle of the salvation of our country and of all Europe. A sign of this miracle was the end of hostilities on the feast day of the Holy Great-Martyr and Trophy-Bearer George according to our Julian ecclesiastical calendar. This is also a sign of the special role played by our country and people in that great and sacred Victory. Today we pray that the Lord would send down His mercy and love on our people, on the whole of historical Rus’, and on our country of Russia; that the Lord would strengthen faith in people’s hearts; and that the Lord would give us the strength to live according to His commandments, to keep our moral sense intact, and to construct a way of life not according to the false and dangerous logic of sin, which the devil often offers to man in very attractive packaging, but according to the logic of Divine laws. The heart rejoices that today, over the expanses of historical Rus’, a revival of faith is underway. And no matter how much those who find this revival unpleasant may vituperate, it is taking place not because anyone ordered people to revive their faith, nor because someone from above pointed out where to go, but because our people, having lived through all this pain and suffering, understood – as perhaps no other people – the great truth that one must live with God and according to God’s law. This is just what we pray for today: that our people’s faith may be strong, so that we can cope with our difficulties in life as well as our ancestors coped with mortal danger; that the Lord would grant us a portion of the fidelity and faith possessed by the Holy Great-Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer and the holy martyrs, who became symbols of Victory – the Victory that was accomplished by God’s will. Only thus should we regard our Victory. If we forget the spiritual and religious dimension of Victory, this will be blasphemy against God. In return for our incredible effort, in return for the supreme heroism of our people, in return for our all-out efforts, the Lord granted Victory and we received deliverance from His saving right hand. Therefore we offer up prayers of thanksgiving, especially today, for our country, our people, and the first-throned city of Moscow. |
| Then by order of the enraged emperor the armed guards began to push Saint George out of the assembly hall with their spears, and they then led him off to prison. But the deadly steel became soft and it bent, just as the spears touched the saint’s body, and it caused him no harm. In prison they put the martyr’s feet in stocks and placed a heavy stone on his chest. The next day at the interrogation, powerless but firm of spirit, Saint George again answered the emperor, “You will grow tired of tormenting me sooner than I will tire of being tormented by you.” Then Diocletian gave orders to subject Saint George to some very intense tortures. They tied the Great Martyr to a wheel, beneath which were boards pierced with sharp pieces of iron. As the wheel turned, the sharp edges slashed the saint’s naked body. At first the sufferer loudly cried out to the Lord, but soon he quieted down, and did not utter even a single groan. Diocletian decided that the tortured one was already dead, and he gave orders to remove the battered body from the wheel, and then went to a pagan temple to offer thanks. At this very moment it got dark, thunder boomed, and a voice was heard: “Fear not, George, for I am with you.” Then a wondrous light shone, and at the wheel an angel of the Lord appeared in the form of a radiant youth. He placed his hand upon the martyr, saying to him, “Rejoice!” Saint George stood up healed. When the soldiers led him to the pagan temple where the emperor was, the emperor could not believe his own eyes and he thought that he saw before him some other man or even a ghost. In confusion and in terror the pagans looked Saint George over carefully, and they became convinced that a miracle had occurred. Many then came to believe in the Life-Creating God of the Christians. Two illustrious officials, Saints Anatolius and Protoleon, who were secretly Christians, openly confessed Christ. Immediately, without a trial, they were beheaded with the sword by order of the emperor. Also present in the pagan temple was Empress Alexandra, the wife of Diocletian, and she also knew the truth. She was on the point of glorifying Christ, but one of the servants of the emperor took her and led her off to the palace. |
| Celebrating Victory on the day of the Holy Great-Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer, when the way ended, was a response to those who wondered why the enemy attacked us on Sunday, June 22. It was not just the government, which was then the Soviet Union, that the enemy was challenging. For when the lives of millions of people are concerned, it is about much more than the government. It concerns something of colossal value in God’s eyes: the life of the people, faith, holiness, purity, and how we stand before the face of God. A terrible challenge was mounted to all this, and we know how dear our victory cost us. I gave my blessing, beginning this year, for a moleben [supplicatory service] to be solemnly celebrated in all Russian Orthodox churches on Victory Day in memory of our country’s deliverance from its terrible, mortal enemy and from a danger the likes of which our Fatherland had never known in all its history. While working on the text of the prayer that will be read in our churches, I used a prayer of St. Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow as its basis. The saint composed this prayer in connection with the victory over Napoleon, but deemed it could profitably be read every time our country celebrated victory in war. Of course, St. Philaret’s prayer did not literally correspond to our Victory and our times throughout, so parts had to be edited. But, working on this text, I entered into the meaning of the saint’s prayer. Orthodox Russia and Napoleon’s invasion: How should all this have been reflected in people’s minds back then? As a kind of attack? As a demonic temptation? As enemy intrigues? As the intricacies of politics? But in the mind of St. Philaret and of the entire Church, which later prayed in his words, this attack was perceived as a punishment for sin. A year ago I said in this church that the Great Patriotic War was a punishment for our sin. I was later surprised by the reaction of the secular press, which was surprised and even offended. No need to take offence – no need to sin. No single sin passes God by. Everything that we perform in our personal, social, and governmental life is recorded in the Divine book of life. The Lord, in His mercy, not desiring our eternal torment, leads us through these times of tribulation, which we should regard as a gift of Divine justice and love – not murmuring, but calling upon God’s name, bowing our heads before God in repentance and faith. |
| Diocletian believed that the martyr was accepting his offer, and he followed him to the pagan temple with his retinue and all the people. Everyone was certain that Saint George would offer sacrifice to the gods. The saint went up to the idol, made the Sign of the Cross and addressed it as if it were alive: “Are you the one who wants to receive from me sacrifice befitting God?” The demon inhabiting the idol cried out, “I am not a god and none of those like me is a god, either. The only God is He Whom you preach. We are fallen angels, and we deceive people because we are jealous.” Saint George cried out, “How dare you remain here, when I, the servant of the true God, have entered?” Then noises and wailing were heard from the idols, and they fell to the ground and were shattered. There was general confusion. In a frenzy, pagan priests and many of the crowd seized the holy martyr, tied him up, and began to beat him. They also called for his immediate execution. The holy empress Alexandra tried to reach him. Pushing her way through the crowd, she cried out, “O God of George, help me, for You Alone are All-Powerful.” At the feet of the Great Martyr the holy empress confessed Christ, Who had humiliated the idols and those who worshipped them. Diocletian immediately pronounced the death sentence on the Great Martyr George and the holy Empress Alexandra, who followed Saint George to execution without resisting. Along the way she felt faint and slumped against a wall. There she surrendered her soul to God. Saint George gave thanks to God and prayed that he would also end his life in a worthy manner. At the place of execution the saint prayed that the Lord would forgive the torturers who acted in ignorance, and that He would lead them to the knowledge of Truth. Calmly and bravely, the holy Great Martyr George bent his neck beneath the sword, receiving the crown of martyrdom on April 23, 303. The pagan era was coming to an end, and Christianity was about to triumph. Within ten years, Saint Constantine (May 21) would issue the Edict of Milan, granting religious freedom to Christians. |
| When they led Saint George down to the graveyard, he cried out, “O Lord! Show to those here present, that You are the only God in all the world. Let them know You as the Almighty Lord.” Then the earth quaked, a grave opened, the dead one emerged from it alive. Having seen with their own eyes the Power of Christ, the people wept and glorified the true God. The sorcerer Athanasius, falling down at the feet of Saint George, confessed Christ as the All-Powerful God and asked forgiveness for his sins, committed in ignorance. The obdurate emperor in his impiety thought otherwise. In a rage, he commanded both Athanasius and the man raised from the dead to be beheaded, and he had Saint George again locked up in prison. The people, weighed down with their infirmities, began to visit the prison and they there received healing and help from the saint. A certain farmer named Glycerius, whose ox had collapsed, also visited him. The saint consoled him and assured him that God would restore his ox to life. When he saw the ox alive, the farmer began to glorify the God of the Christians throughout all the city. By order of the emperor, Saint Glycerius was arrested and beheaded. The exploits and the miracles of the Great Martyr George had increased the number of the Christians, therefore Diocletian made a final attempt to compel the saint to offer sacrifice to the idols. They set up a court at the pagan temple of Apollo. On the final night the holy martyr prayed fervently, and as he slept, he saw the Lord, Who raised him up with His hand, and embraced him. The Savior placed a crown on Saint George’s head and said, “Fear not, but have courage, and you will soon come to Me and receive what has been prepared for you.” In the morning, the emperor offered to make Saint George his co-administrator, second only to himself. The holy martyr with a feigned willingness answered, “Caesar, you should have shown me this mercy from the very beginning, instead of torturing me. Let us go now to the temple and see the gods you worship.” |
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