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Saint George
Saint George | |
|---|---|
 Illustration by Albrecht Dürer. | |
| Megalomartyr | |
| Born | Between 275 and 281 AD Province of Cappadocia, Roman Empire |
| Died | 303 AD Nicomedia, Province of Bithynia, Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | All of Christendom |
| Major shrine | Church of Saint George in Lod (present-day Israel) |
| Feast | April 23 (West) May 6 (East) |
| Attributes | Saint George's Cross |
| Patronage |
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Saint George (in Greek, Γεώργιος Georgios; in Classical Syriac, ܓܝܘܪܓܝܣ Giwargis; in Latin, Georgius) is the name of a Roman soldier executed in Nicomedia on account of his Christian faith, for which he is venerated as a martyr. He is believed to have lived between 275 or 280 and April 23, 303. According to the Golden Legend he was "of the lineage of the Cappadocians," which is why he is sometimes mistakenly identified with the Arian Bishop Saint George.
His popularity in the Middle Ages has made him one of the most venerated saints in the different Christian faiths and even, in a phenomenon of syncretism, in the Afro-American religions and the Muslim religion of the Middle East, especially Palestine, where he is called Mar Djíries (Christian Arabic) or Al-Jádr (Arabic, both Christian and Muslim).
Legendary life of Saint George
The legend, possibly originating in the 4th century, tells the story of George, a Roman who, after the death of his father Gerontius, an officer of the Roman army, moved with his mother Polychronia to her native city, Lydda (present-day Lod, in Israel). There Polychronia was able to raise her son in the Christian faith, and shortly after coming of age he enlisted in the army. Owing to his charisma, George soon rose through the ranks and, before turning 30, he was a tribune and comes, being posted to Nicomedia as personal guard of the Emperor Diocletian (284–305).
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In 303 the Emperor issued an edict authorizing the persecution of Christians throughout the empire, which continued under Galerius (305–311). George, who received orders to take part, confessed that he too was a Christian, and Diocletian ordered him to be tortured so that he would apostatize, though without success. For this reason his execution was ordered, and he was beheaded before the walls of Nicomedia on April 23, 303. The witnesses persuaded the Empress Alexandra and an anonymous pagan priestess to convert to Christianity and join George in his martyrdom. Once he was dead, George's body was sent to Lydda to be buried.
Veneration as a martyr
The foregoing story is, at best, doubtful. Nevertheless, his veneration as a martyr began relatively early. Accounts by pilgrims report a church built in Diospolis (the ancient Lydda) in his honor during the reign of Constantine I, which became the center of the Eastern cult of George.
Around 518–530, the archdeacon and librarian Theodosius relates that Diospolis was the center of the cult of George. An anonymous pilgrim from Piacenza mentions the same around 570.
The church was destroyed in 1010 and later rebuilt by the Crusaders. In 1191, during the Third Crusade (1189–1192), the church was destroyed again by the forces of Saladin. A new church was erected in 1872 and still stands.
During the 4th century, veneration of the saint spread from Palestine to the rest of the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 5th century his popularity reached the western part of the Roman Empire.
Canonization
In 494 George was canonized by Pope Gelasius I, but he included him among "...those whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God."
This statement would not prevent the creation of various apocryphal stories about his life, several of them full of miracles. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the oldest preserved text on the life of the saint is found in the Acta Sanctorum, identified by scholars as a 5th-century palimpsest.
Toward the end of the 6th century, the Irish Abbot Adomnán, of the abbey on the island of Iona, relates some of the Eastern legends of George collected by the Gaulish Bishop Arculf on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the year 680.
In the early days of Islam, the Christian saint was merged, through religious and cultural syncretism, with the Jewish prophet Elijah, the Samaritan Jewish preacher Phineas and the Islamic saint al-Hadr ('the green one', from the Arabic hadir) to form a religious figure that was, and still is, venerated in the Near East.
The name al-Hadr is more commonly transcribed as al-Khidr or al-Khadir, while for Spanish speakers al-Jadir or al-Jidr would be more correct.
The story of al-Jidr with the prophet Moses in the Arabic Quran, al-Qur'an al-Karim, where he is called Musa, is found in sura 18, Surat al-Kahf. It is a mystical and gnostic story of Sufism, the esoteric science of Islam.
The legend of the dragon
In the 9th century another popular story appears: Saint George on horseback as the vanquisher of a dragon. This story, which is part of the Golden Legend, is also known as "Saint George and the Dragon," and is the probable origin of all the fairy tales about princesses and dragons in the West.
It should be borne in mind that the legend is told in various parts of Europe (as, for example, the Greek myth of Perseus) and Asia Minor as their own, so the details vary according to local tradition.
There is an Orthodox Christian tradition that places Saint George's encounter with the dragon in Beirut (Lebanon),[1] where he is the patron saint of the city.
The medieval Western legend begins with a dragon that makes its nest in the spring that supplies water to a city. As a consequence, the citizens, in order to obtain water, had to draw the dragon away from the spring by offering it a pair of sheep every day. When the sheep were no longer enough, they began to offer it a daily human sacrifice, chosen by lot from among the inhabitants. One day the local princess was selected.
In some stories the king, her father, appears pleading for his daughter's life, but without success. When she was about to be devoured by the dragon, George appears in the course of one of his journeys (often on horseback), confronts the dragon, kills it and saves the princess. The grateful citizens abandon paganism and embrace Christianity.
The story, formerly considered true, has been progressively abandoned. On the other hand, few doubt that it contains rich religious symbolism, for which various interpretations have been proposed:
- An ancient Christian interpretation of the myth: George would be the believer, the white horse the Church, and the dragon would represent paganism, idolatry, temptation and Satan.
- Some secular historians consider that the story has roots older than the Christian ones. In Cappadocia, as one of the first regions to adopt the saint, there may have been an integration of pagan elements. One candidate predecessor of Saint George is the "god" Sabazios, heavenly father of the Phrygians, known as Sabazius by the Romans. It is argued that his image on horseback trampling a serpent would be the origin of the popular image of Saint George on a white horse.
- Moreover, the story of George and the dragon has many elements in common with the ancient Greek myth of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda and her rescuer and later husband Perseus, vanquisher of the gorgon Medusa and of the sea monster Cetus. In both cases there is a dragon/gorgon with its beheading, a princess and a reward: in one case marriage, in the other the conversion of the city. Some of the legends about George and the dragon set the action in Libya (formerly, all of North Africa west of Egypt); that is, in both cases the action takes place in distant "magical" kingdoms.
- Finally, the origin could lie in an alternative manifestation of Saint Michael the Archangel, who leads the heavenly hosts. In other words, Georgius was the incarnation or else the avatar of the Archangel Michael, the commander-in-chief of the army of heaven (Joshua 5:13–15; Daniel 8:25, 10:13, 12:1; Zechariah 3:2; Jude Thaddeus 1:8; Revelation 12:7)
Popularity in the West
It can be shown that Saint George was already venerated in the Merovingian Frankish kingdom in the 6th century.[citation needed] However, it was not until the High Middle Ages, the age of the Crusades and of chivalry, that the cult would spread across Europe.
George became the protector of the Crusaders in the conquest of Jerusalem (July 15, 1099). As miles Christi, that is, 'soldier of Christ', he became the patron of knights and soldiers, and protector of some military orders, such as the Teutonic Order (12th century) or the Templars. In the last centuries of the Middle Ages, George became the patron of cities, boroughs and noble houses; he also came to be the first of the Fourteen Holy Helpers as protector of domestic animals.
Around the 12th century, the Golden Legend spread across Europe. Jacobus de Voragine (c. 1230 – July 13, 1298), archbishop of Genoa, wrote the Legenda sanctorum, a collection of tales about various saints. The story of Saint George stood out among the others. The book, owing to the value it had in the eyes of 13th-century readers, came to be known as the Legenda aurea:
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Saint George in Eurasia
Albania and Kosovo
Known as Shën Gjergj, he is celebrated on May 6, since it coincides with the date of birth of the national hero.
Germany
In the 9th century (or perhaps later, in the 11th century) the Song of Saint George appears in Germany. The song, based on Latin precedents and written in Old High German, tells of the saint's martyrdom. It is attributed to the first known poet in the Old High German language, Otfrid of Weissenburg (c. 800 – after 870), although the existence of the song can only be demonstrated from the 11th century onward. Its origin could lie in the monastery of Prüm, to which the Emperor Lothair I (840–855) donated a severed and desiccated arm, saying it was a relic of Saint George. This made it the center of veneration of the Franks.
However, the Old High German language points to an origin on the monastic island of Reichenau. Around the 9th century, thanks to the mediation of the Archbishop of Mainz and Abbot of Reichenau Hatto III (891–913), a skull attributed to George arrived from Rome, among other relics. The church of Sankt Georg was built for this relic.
This church, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 20th century, has preserved 10th-century mural paintings with scenes from the life of Jesus Christ taken from the Gospels. As a consequence, Reichenau became a great center of veneration of Saint George, which extended its influence as far as the convent of Sankt Georgen (1084/1085) in the Black Forest. The main city of the Black Forest, Freiburg im Breisgau, has Saint George as its patron.
France
There are 81 localities and several hundred churches bearing the name Saint-Georges.
Georgia
Saint George is the patron of Georgia. The current flag is a Saint George's Cross, and the coat of arms bears a depiction of the saint on horseback killing the dragon.
The Georgians call themselves Kartvelebi (ქართველები) and their country Sakartvelo (საქართველო). The Western name "Georgia" derives from the Persian گرجی Gurji by way of the Arabic Jurj.[citation needed]
The spelling of the name has been influenced by the Greek root geōrg- (γεωργ-, the same root as Γεώργιος 'Georgios'), and by folk etymology the name was believed to come from Saint George.
The Persian word گرجی Gurji and the related Armenian Vrastan seem to be related to the name Iberia, with loss of the initial i- and substitution of b by w or v.[citation needed]
For Georgians, Saint George is celebrated on November 23, a tradition that comes directly from the feast of the god Luno (White George).
Saint George continues to be venerated in Greece, where he has been given the name of Great Martyr. He is the patron of the island of Skyros, where there is a monastery dedicated to the saint.
For the Slavs of Corinth, the celebration of "Green Saint George" takes on the folkloric aspect of a rite to obtain rain.
In the Middle Ages, Saint George became the patron of the Crown of Aragon and of Portugal.
In 1096 the hosts of King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon were besieging the city of Alcoraz, near Huesca. After receiving help from Zaragoza, the besieged manage to kill the King, but they win the Battle of Alcoraz, according to tradition, thanks to the appearance of Saint George. Afterward King Peter I of Aragon conquers Huesca after invoking the saint's help. Legend has it that on the same day he was helping the Crusaders at Antioch and that, at one point in the battle, he took up onto the croup of his horse an unhorsed Teutonic knight; later, that same knight found himself caught up in the Battle of Alcoraz.
Above all from the 13th century onward, numerous legends and apparitions arose in the kingdom. Thus, James I the Conqueror relates that the saint appeared at the conquest of Valencia: "Saint George appeared with many knights of paradise, who helped to win the battle, in which not a single Christian died." Later, King James relates of the conquest of Majorca that "according to what the Saracens told him, they saw a white knight with white arms enter first on horseback," whom he identifies with George.
The patronage of Saint George over the kings of Aragon and, by extension, over the whole Crown of Aragon was officially recognized in the mid-15th century during the reign of John II of Aragon and Navarre, who named him patron of the Kingdom and of the Diputación del General, the main foral institution when the Cortes were not in session.
- Today April 23, Saint George's Day, is a public holiday in Aragon, which celebrates Aragon Day on that date.
- The cross of Saint George appears in the third quarter of the Coat of arms of Aragon, together with four Moors' heads, representing the victory of Peter I at the Battle of Alcoraz, the first great milestone of the Reconquista, where 40,000 men fought for Huesca in 1096. The coat of arms is completed by the quarters of the Tree of Sobrarbe (fueros that, according to tradition, upheld the law above the King), the Cross of Íñigo Arista (the link between Aragon and Navarre), the so-called Cross of Alcoraz, introduced as an emblem of Peter III the Great in the 13th century, and the Bars of Aragon, whose existence and use by the House of Aragon as a heraldic emblem dates from the reign of Alfonso II the Chaste. The bars were the emblem of the Kings of Aragon who, like other lords in the Middle Ages, were vassals of Rome and Avignon; the colors of the emblem are the same as those used by the popes. It later became the symbol of the Crown of Aragon).
- Peter IV the Ceremonious promoted the devotion of the kings of Aragon to Saint George and adopted as a heraldic device a crest with a dragon. Hence the framework that made George patron of Aragon, as he was patron of its king, and with it of all the kingdoms that made up the Crown of Aragon. The model of the coat of arms of Aragon, as approved after the Spanish transition, appears printed for the first time in Zaragoza, on the presses of the German printer and "magnificent master Paulo Hurus," on September 12, 1499.
- The cross of Saint George is the first emblem of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Today the cross appears in the coat of arms of Barcelona.
- According to the Costumari Català of Joan Amades, the fact that George is the patron of knights is due to the help he gave King Peter I of Aragon at the Battle of Alcoraz, in Huesca, in the year 1096 against the Muslims. To give thanks for the feat, the King named him patron not only of chivalry but of the nobility of the Kingdom of Aragon. This patronage extended to the later Crown of Aragon, which encompassed the County of Barcelona.
- In Catalonia the feast of Saint George's Day also became widespread in the mid-15th century. In 1456 the patronage was made official when the Catalan Courts declared April 23 a holiday.[3] Over time the feast has become lovers' day: the man in love gives his beloved a red rose. Later the custom became widespread that, in return, women would give a book to their beloveds.
- In Montblanc the legend of Saint George and the dragon is performed on April 23, since it commemorates the events as having taken place in the town. And in Sant Climent Sescebes there is a procession to the Enchanted Rock, where there is supposed to be a great treasure that can only be found on that night.
- The saint is greatly venerated in Alcoy and Bañeres, where the patronal festivals of "Moors and Christians" are celebrated in his honor (Moors and Christians of Alcoy and Moors and Christians of Bañeres). The Moors and Christians festivals of Alcoy are recognized throughout the world, for they are so spectacular that on April 22, 23 and 24, the days on which these festivals are celebrated, the City of Alcoy decks itself out and the streets of central Alcoy are packed with people watching the different events, full of history and beauty, that make this city an important tourist attraction.
- In Bañeres, moreover, the famous Legend of the Dragon and the Princess is staged every three years, organized by the Associació de la llegenda de Sant Jordi.
Rest of Spain
- He is the patron of Olmedo de Camaces and of Santiago de la Puebla, both localities in the Province of Salamanca, which celebrate his feast on April 23, as do the inhabitants of San Esteban de Nogales, Province of León, in whose hermitage a relic is kept: the helmet of the dragonslayer saint. On Saint George's Day the inhabitants of the village make a visit to the hermitage, on the other side of the Eria River. The young men carry the banner, crossing the handmade bridge. In addition, a dance with sticks (bailina) is performed.
- Saint George is the patron of the city of Cáceres, April 23 being a local holiday, and it is celebrated on the night of April 22 (the eve of the patron's day) with the burning of the dragon in the Plaza Mayor.
- He is the patron of Santurdejo. On his feast day, dances and processions are held in his honor. In former times, sick people from every corner would come to the church of Saint George in Santurdejo and walk around it in order to be cured by the saint's miracles.
- He is the patron of Villanueva de Alcardete (Toledo). On that day, April 23, Mass and a procession are held. A novena, vespers, open-air dances, music and popular folklore complete an extensive program that the brotherhood or the Town Council organize and fund. On the same day, the 23rd, in the afternoon, there is an auction of the gifts that the residents make to the saint. In former times animals were given, which were then auctioned, and the proceeds went to the works of the saint and his brotherhood. Now ring-shaped pastries, loaves of bread, etc., are auctioned. The typical caridades (flour cakes without salt or yeast baked in an oven) are also made, and are purchased to help sustain the festivity. As early as 1606 this feast was celebrated with bulls, as recorded in the Town Council archive, but the weather prevents, year after year, the bullfighters at times from even being able to make the opening parade.
- He is the patron of Aldea del Rey (Ciudad Real). In this municipality of La Mancha are found the Sacred Convent-Castle of Calatrava la Nueva and the Palacio de Clavería, also belonging to the Order of Calatrava. For some years now the festivity has been celebrated over the weekend following April 23. Friday is the local holiday, on Saturday vespers are celebrated in honor of the saint, and Sunday is the main day, on which Mass is celebrated in the morning and, in the late evening, a procession that goes through the main streets of the town and is attended by all the members of the brotherhood. The insignia of the brotherhood is a sash in the colors of the flag of Spain with the Cross of the Order of Calatrava embroidered in the center.
- In Asturias he is called San Xurde, and he is the one charged with killing the Cuélebre, a great serpent depicted with a mane, ears, bat wings (when it is already old), and guarding a great treasure in a cave or beside a spring, protecting the Xanas. It was with the arrival of Christianity that the Cuélebre ceased to have the role of Guardian, exchanging it for that of a dragon devouring livestock and virgins. The Cuélebre can only be killed by driving a sword into its neck, or by feeding it a loaf of bread full of pins or of red-hot stones.
- Saint George is the patron of the town of Santurce. He is, moreover, the etymological origin of the name of the town, whose origins are a hermitage or a monastery dedicated to this saint in the 11th century.
Portugal
It appears that the French Crusaders who helped Afonso I of Portugal in the conquest of Lisbon in 1147 introduced the cult of George into Portugal. However, it is believed that it was not until the time of Afonso IV that the name of Saint George came to be used as a battle cry, instead of Saint James.
Nuno Álvares Pereira, Constable of Portugal and a deep devotee of the saint, regarded George as the champion of the victory of Aljubarrota against the Castilians.
John I of Portugal was also a devotee of George. So much so that he replaced Saint James with George as patron saint of Portugal. In 1387 he ordered that his image on horseback be carried in the Corpus Christi procession, a tradition that also spread to Brazil.
As early as 1386, England and Portugal, also united by the patronage of Saint George, signed the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, which is still in force.
In 1934 Saint Anthony of Padua officially replaced Saint George as patron saint of Portugal, the latter devotion now being completely forgotten at the national level.[4]
The figures of Saint George and Saint Martin have been closely linked to Hungarian religious cults since even before the founding of the kingdom of Hungary, around the year 1000. According to chronicles and legends, the King Saint Stephen I of Hungary led his armies against the leader of the pagans, Cupan, in the year 997 "under the banners of Saint George and Saint Martin."[citation needed] During the following three hundred years, both Saint George and Saint Martin were venerated in various churches and monasteries, although after the canonization of the King Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary in the year 1192, this waned.
In 1326 King Charles I of Hungary founded the world's first lay chivalric order, the Order of Saint George, which attests that in the 14th century his cult still held great importance in Hungary. In 1373 the Hungarian brothers Martin of Koloszvár and George of Kolozsvár, master sculptors, cast a bronze statue of Saint George, probably a gift from King Louis I of Hungary to his ally the Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg, also King of Bohemia, which was placed in Prague. From the second half of the 14th century the cult of the knight-King Ladislaus I of Hungary prevailed: it even became a tradition to mint coins bearing his image.
According to a study carried out in Hungary in 1808, 59 settlements bore the name of Saint George. However, taking into account the existing documents and manuscripts, it is estimated that before the 150 years of Ottoman Turkish occupation in the 15th and 16th centuries, the number of localities named in honor of Saint George was nearly double the number that appeared in the study. It is thus concluded that all those absent from the 1808 list had been destroyed beforehand.[5]
King Edward III of England (King from 1327 to 1377), known for promoting the code of chivalry, founded the Order of the Garter in 1348 and named George as its patron saint.
The old archives of the order were destroyed by fire, but it is believed that in 1344 or in 1348 Edward III proclaimed Saint George patron of England. Although his cult was suppressed at the time of the Reformation by the Church of England, St George's Chapel at Windsor (completed between 1483 and 1528) remained the seat of the order.
In 1818 the then Prince Regent and later King George IV of England created the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George to recognize extraordinary services in the diplomatic field.
George is one of the main characters of the poem Faerie Queen ("The Queen of the Fairies") by Edmund Spenser, considered one of the most beautiful poems in the English language.
He appears in Book I as the "Redcrosse Knight of Holiness" ("Holy Knight of the Red Cross"), protector of the Virgin Mary. It is in this guise that Saint George can be interpreted as part of the Church of England upholding and supporting the Tudor dynasty of Elizabeth I of England.
In Italy the cult of Saint George (San Giorgio) was very widespread. In Rome, Belisarius (c. 527) placed under George's protection the Gate of Saint Sebastian (Porta San Sebastiano) and the church of Saint George in Velabro, to which another skull of the saint was moved shortly afterward, discovered in the Lateran patriarchate of Pope Zachary (744–752). Some Italian cities, including Genoa, Ferrara and Reggio Calabria, have Saint George as their patron.
The image of Saint George appears in the old imperial coat of arms and in the modern national coat of arms. It was the old emblem of the Russian armies and gave its name to the country's first military order.
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates his feast as patron of Russia on May 6. The "Great Martyr George, the Trophy-bearer" has been venerated in the form of icons since the Middle Ages. The icon gallery of Novgorod at the city's State University holds a collection of icons of the saint from the 12th to the 16th centuries.
The feast of Saint George is in May. On that date Ukraine celebrates plastuny, which is at once the feast of Saint George and the spring festival. Saint George is the patron of Ukraine, of the Kyiv Region, of the main shrine of Galicia and of the city of Lviv (Cathedral of Saint George), of the very old cities of Volodymyr-Volynskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi, and of a couple of dozen other cities.
In the Republic of Belarus it is celebrated on April 23 at the beginning of spring: peasants roll in the grass soaked with the first dew and bless the land. In addition, the feast is related to the prosperity and care of animals: cattle are rubbed with an egg so that they will be healthier.
On the island of Malta the feast is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of June, and in Gozo on the third Sunday of July. Saint George is the main dedication of the chapel of the Langue of Aragon in St. John's Cathedral, in Valletta, the capital of Malta.
Serbia and Montenegro
In the two countries of Serbia and Montenegro, Saint George is one of the patrons. As in Russia, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church celebrate his feast on May 6. There is an island near the coast of Montenegro called Saint George, with a monastery dedicated to the saint.
Rest of the world
Saint George is the patron of the Cavalry of the Argentine Army, so April 23 is also celebrated as the day of that arm. He is also the patron of a town in Salta Province called Pichanal and of the city of San Jorge, located in the center-west of Santa Fe Province. He lends his name to the locality of San Jorge in Laprida Partido in Buenos Aires Province; to the San Jorge Gulf, divided in halves between the provinces of Chubut (to the north) and Santa Cruz (to the south); and to the San Jorge hills, one located in the locality of Potrerillos in Luján de Cuyo Department in Mendoza Province, and the other located in Río Grande Department of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands.
In the commune of La Cisterna, located in the southern sector of the capital, Santiago, there is a roller hockey club called HC San Jorge, whose badge displays the saint's cross as well as a red dragon, recalling the legend.
In the National Army of Colombia he is the patron of the most distinguished arm of the Force, the Cavalry. The Cavalry soldier, who supports the mission of the National Army with his loyal work, has been an important resource in the defense of the values of the fatherland, and they recognize in him a fighting, virtuous man who gives his efforts for the security and progress of the fatherland; the Day of the Cavalry Arm is likewise celebrated on April 23.[6]
Saint George is the patron of the Cavalry arm of the Uruguayan Army, but his day is celebrated on October 12, the date that commemorates the first cavalry charge of the Eastern Army on October 12, 1825, at the Battle of Sarandí.
In Venezuela Saint George is the patron of the Cavalry and Armor arm, his day being celebrated on April 23. There is a church in Caracas bearing his name where a dragon is burned every April 23.
According to a legend, probably created by King Lalibela of Ethiopia, when he was finishing a series of churches, Saint George appeared in his armor and mounted on a white horse. The King said that the military saint reproached him because no temple was dedicated to him, so the King began collecting more taxes to build one as soon as possible.
Thus Bet Giyorgis ('Saint George') was built, carved out of the rock, one of the most beautiful churches in Ethiopia. The church is surrounded by myths and legends claiming that it was built by the Templars in the 13th century or that it holds the biblical Ark of the Covenant.
Portugal brought the cult to its colonies. In Afro-Brazilian cults, in Umbanda, Saint George is identified with Ogum or Ogun (in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, São Paulo and Porto Alegre), god of war and weapons, who works iron, and with Oxóssi and Odé in the Candomblé of Bahia. Africanism also takes this saint to represent Ogum, a warrior and protector saint (orixá).
In the State of Durango in Mexico, April 23 has been declared a patron's feast day. This is due to his mythology of defending against "beasts"; in the City of Durango insects and arachnids (specifically scorpions) abound.
A traditional saint of global Catholicism, with many followers in Paraguay. He helps to handle or resolve complicated or troublesome situations and people. It is enough to place under his foot the name of whatever one wishes to resolve, appease, tame or defeat, and Saint George will help us in this task. Saint George was a soldier of the Roman Empire who suffered martyrdom and persecution in the 4th century of our era. Very popular ever since, the defeat of a dragon, among other victories, is attributed to his miraculous appearance. "If you want to win that battle, here is your ally." He is the patron saint of the Cavalry Arm, whose feast is celebrated on April 23. On its grounds operates the National Heart Institute, known as the San Jorge Hospital.
Patronage
Saint George is, or was, patron saint and protector of various countries, regions and cities: the Crown of Aragon, England, Portugal, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Genoa, Calabria, Barcelona, Moscow, Cáceres, etc.
He is one of the knightly saints, protector of that estate during the Middle Ages. In Russia he was used as the main emblem of its armies. In England and Provence his name was used as a battle cry.
Several military orders bear his name or his symbols: the Order of the Garter, the Teutonic Order, the Order of Calatrava, the Sacred Constantinian Order, the Order of Saint George of Alfama, among others.
He is also the patron of various other professions and activities: farmers, soldiers, archers, prisoners, blacksmiths, circus people, Scouts, mountaineers, among others.
He is also the protector of domestic animals. His name is invoked against venomous snakes, skin diseases, herpes, plague, leprosy and syphilis, and in Slavic countries against the evil eye.
Saint George the Martyr is also the patron of Alcoy, a city in the Valencian Community, standing out for the best-known Moors and Christians festivals in the world, declared of International Tourist Interest in 1980.
He is also recognized as the patron of the Scout Movement, specifically of the Scout section. He was chosen by Baden Powell, the founder of the movement, for his example of courage and chivalry.
For the Druze (in Arabic: durūzī دروزي, plural: durūz دروز), he is a venerated and respected protector saint.
Iconography
Saint George is usually depicted on horseback, usually a white horse, dressed in medieval military fashion, with a palm, lance, sword and shield. He was the victorious standard-bearer, the champion knight against dragons, with the symbol of evil at his feet. He was the knight of the Mother of God, Mary, the earthly equivalent of Saint Michael the Archangel (from whom he is distinguished because the latter is usually depicted with wings).
The "colors of Saint George" (or what is more commonly called the "Cross of Saint George") is a white flag with a red cross whose arms reach the edges. It can often be seen on Saint George's shield in paintings and other depictions. It has also been adapted by the different entities of which he is patron, such as the flag of England, that of Georgia, etc.
In art
The most famous paintings of the saint were made by Dürer (in 1503), Donatello, Raphael and the Saint George and the Dragon by Rubens, in the Prado Museum.
There are also some depictions of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in mural painting, such as the Saint George of Alfambra, of large dimensions and in the Gothic style, dated around 1490, which is found in the Hermitage of Santa Ana, Alfambra (Teruel). Its level of detail in the clothing, which already heralds the Renaissance, is remarkable, in addition to its being related to the patronage of the Fernández de Heredia, one of the members of whose lineage appears in the adjoining scene.[7]
See also
- Saint
- Saint George, disambiguation
- George, disambiguation
References
- ↑ Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana (in español). Vol. VIII. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. 1991. p. 553. ISBN 84-239-4508-1.
- ↑ Latin text and translation based on: Ferran i Baños, Roger; González Ruiz, Samuel. "Història de Sant Jordi en llatí i traducció catalana" (in català).
- ↑ Lluís Millà i Reig, Sant Jordi Patró de Catalunya, p. 68.
- ↑ Blog de Jeocaz Lee-Meddi. Saint Anthony of Padua. Accessed June 11, 2020.
- ↑ Magyar Zoltán (2006). Szent György a magyar kultúrtörténelemben. Budapest: Kairosz kiadó.
- ↑ Source: http://www.obispadocastrensecolombia.org/.
- ↑ Barragán, Juan José (2015). Alfambra en la Edad Media y Moderna. Una visión de su historia y su arte a través del conjunto mural de la Ermita de Santa Ana (in español). Sarrión: Muñoz Moya Editores. pp. 69–71 and 96–101. ISBN 978-84-8010-264-3.
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Bibliography
- Belèze, Guillaume, Dictionnaire des noms de baptème ('Dictionary of baptismal names'). Available online at Gallica.bnf.fr, a free service of the National Library of France.
- Millà i Reig, Lluís (1982). Sant Jordi Patró de Catalunya (in català). Barcelona: Editorial Millà. ISBN 84-7304-080-5.
- Barragán, Juan José (2015). Alfambra en la Edad Media y Moderna (in español). Sarrión: Muñoz Moya Editores. ISBN 978-84-8010-264-3. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
External links
- In Spanish:
- ¿Sabes quién era san Jorge, su fiesta se celebra el 23 de abril?
- Cruz roja de San Jorge con cuatro cabezas de moros
- Sant Jordi y el día del libro en Cataluña
- Cronología de la celebración de Sant Jordi a partir de las crónicas de La Vanguardia
- Asociación Sant Jordi de Alcoy
- FilaMagenta.com (Sant Jordi, patron of Alcoy)
- Chunta.com (San Chorche, Aragon Day)
- Antonio.Jaraba/SanJorge (Saint George, Aragon Day)
- Colección San Jorge Universal[dead link]
- In Catalan:
- XTec.es (Sant Jordi)
- Sant Jordi intercultural
- In English:
- Catholic-Forum.com (Catholic hagiography)
- Pinetreeweb.com (Saint George and the Scouts)
- UCC.ie (St. George: select bibliography)
- In German:
- HeiligenLexikon.de (Saint George in the ecumenical dictionary of saints)
- Rittersbach.de (the church of Saint George in Reichenau-Oberzell and in Rittersbach).
