![[Saint George holy card]](stg05033.jpg "15kb jpg holy card of Saint George, artist unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
23 April (Roman Catholic) 3 November (Russian Orthodox) fourth Sunday in June (Malta) third Sunday in July (Gozo)
Several stories have been attached to Saint George, the best known of which is the Golden Legend. In it, a dragon lived in a lake near Silena, Libya. Whole armies had gone up against this fierce creature, and had gone down in painful defeat. The monster ate two sheep each day; when mutton was scarce, lots were drawn in local villages, and maidens were substituted for sheep. Into this country came Saint George. Hearing the story on a day when a princess was to be eaten, he crossed himself, rode to battle against the serpent, and killed it with a single blow with his lance. George then held forth with a magnificent sermon, and converted the locals. Given a large reward by the king, George distributed it to the poor, then rode away.
Due to his chivalrous behavior (protecting women, fighting evil, dependence on faith and might of arms, largesse to the poor), devotion to Saint George became popular in the Europe after the 10th century. In the 15th century his feast day was as popular and important as Christmas. Many of his areas of patronage have to do with life as a knight on horseback. The celebrated Knights of the Garter are actually Knights of the Order of Saint George. The shrine built for his relics at Lydda, Palestine was a popular point of pilgrimage for centuries. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
Amersfoort, Netherlands Appignano del Tronto, Italy Aragon agricultural workers archers Arcole, Italy armourers Beirut, Lebanon Boy Scouts butchers Canada Cappadocia Carpeneto, Italy Catalonia cavalry Cerreto Grue, Alessandria, Italy chivalry Constantinople Crusaders England (by Pope Benedict XIV) equestrians Ethiopia farmers Ferrara, Italy field hands field workers Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Genoa, Italy Georgia Germany Gozo, Malta Greece Haldern, Germany Heide, Germany herpes Hone, Italy horsemen horses husbandmen Istanbul knights lepers leprosy Limburg, Germany, diocese of Lithuania Malta Modica, Sicily, Italy Moscow, Russia Nerola, Italy Order of the Garter Palestine Palestinian Christians plague Portugal Ptuj, Slovenia Qormi, Malta Riano, Italy riders saddle makers saddlers Senj, Croatia sheep shepherds skin diseases skin rashes soldiers syphilis Teutonic Knights Venice, Italy Victoria, Gozo, Malta
armor banner buckler dragon horse
Commercial Links related to Saint George Commercial Links related to military religious items Abba Theodotus Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate Catholic Encyclopedia Christian Biographies, by James Keifer Columbia Encyclopedia, by Herbert Thurston Domestic Church, by Catherine Fournier Ethiopic Miracles of Saint George For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein Google Directory Greek Miracles of Saint George, by J Aufhauser In God's Garden, by Amy Steedman Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler Military Martyrs, by David Woods New Catholic Dictionary Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson Passion of Saint George, by E A W Budge Russian Scouting and Saint George [russian] Saint George and Scouting, by Lewis P Orans Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, Des Moines, Iowa, USA Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary, by John Coulson Saint George Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Saint Theododius Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth SocietyClearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid to strip ourselves of out worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith.
Dear brothers, let us not only admire the courage of this fighter in heaven's army, but follow his example. Let us be inspired to strive for the reward of heavenly glory.
We must now cleanse ourselves, as Saint Paul tells us, from all defilement of body and spirit, so that one day we too may deserve to enter that temple of blessedness to which we now aspire.
from a sermon by Saint Peter Damian, priest