George the Victorious

Particularly revered in Orthodoxy, St. George the Victorious was born and lived at the turn of the third and fourth centuries AD, when the Emperor Diocletian was in power. Father and mother gave him an excellent education for those times and brought up in faith in Christ. He entered the military service as a young man and showed himself in the best way there. Thanks to his strength, courage and intelligence, George the Victorious was seen by the emperor and became his favorite. Diocletian even awarded him the title of commander, still not knowing what kind of faith he belongs to. The fact is that the emperor was a fanatical admirer of the gods of ancient Rome and sought to plant paganism in all conquered territories. For the Christian faith, Georgy's father was tortured.

When George was 20 years old, his mother passed away. He became a wealthy heir to his parents and went to the imperial court, hoping to strengthen and elevate his position there. However, having heard about the terrible persecution of believers in Christ, about their torment, persecution, he was so moved by compassion for them that he gave everything he had to the poor and came to Diocletian with accusatory speeches. Naturally, the emperor could not bear this even from his former favorite. George the Victorious was immediately arrested and subjected to cruel tortures, during which many miracles occurred, just confirming his rightness and the strength of faith. For example, when on the hundredth day of torture he was pushed into stakes in prison, one of them broke, as if it were made of straw. The next day, George was tortured by a sword with knives and a wheel. During this test, an angel appeared and the saint welcomed him, as the warrior was supposed to. When George was removed from the wheel, they saw that there was not a single wound left on him. Nothing bad happened to him in a pit filled with quicklime. Diocletian did not have enough of these miracles and testimonies, and one day later George cut all the bones both on his feet and on his hands. After running in boots, nailed with nails (according to other sources - in red-hot red boots), he spent the night in prayer, and the next morning appeared before the emperor unscathed. After being beaten with whips made from cowhide, George was again healed. A week later the sorcerer Athanasius prepared two drinks. Having drunk the first, George had to go mad, and after the second - to die. Neither one nor the other has harmed the saint. After so many trials, he never gave up Christ, he did not go over to the pagans, for which he was sentenced to death. At night, the martyr was a phenomenon: the Savior promised him Paradise. George the Victorious commanded his servant to fix this, and also to write down the command to bury his body in Palestine. When the last time Diocletian came to him with a proposal to take paganism, the tortured George expressed a desire to visit the temple of Apollo. There he crossed himself with the sign of the cross and statues - and they collapsed. This miracle converted the Christian wife and the emperor, for which she was beheaded with the saint.

After his death, George the Victorious continued to perform miracles. In this way, the saint converted many pagans to the Christian faith, and in the Orthodox people strengthened it even more. The most famous of the miracles of St. George, committed by him after death, is the killing of a dragon (or snake) with a spear, when the daughter of the Beirut king came to give it to the torn.

This saint is revered not only in Russia, but also in many countries of the world. George the Victorious - patron, first of all, soldiers, as well as shepherds and farmers. In Serbia, travelers are turned to him for help, in Georgia - hunters and cattle-breeders, barren women. They know about him and the Middle East, and some peoples in Africa.