May 6 - Orthodox holiday of St. George the Victorious

May 6, almost all over the world, there is an Orthodox holiday of St. George the Victorious. Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, Saint George is considered the patron of Moscow, which is reflected in the Moscow heraldry from the 14th-15th centuries. Honored in many countries, this saint has become a symbol of courage and fortitude for many centuries.

The Life of St. George

The life story of St. George begins with the fact that he was born in the city of Beirut, at the foot of the Lebanese mountains, in a pious and rich family. During military service, he was able to stand out among other soldiers with his strength, courage, intelligence, beauty and military posture. Quite quickly after going through the career ladder, he reached the rank of commander and became an approximate emperor Diocletian. This ruler was a talented commander, but a passionate devotee of Roman paganism, which is why it is celebrated in history as one of the most cruel and ardent persecutors of Christians.

The Holy Great Martyr George

One day at the trial, Georgiy heard inhuman and cruel sentences about the extermination of Christians. Compassion for these innocent people ignited in him. Foreseeing terrible tortures, George distributed everything he had to the poor, gave free rein to his slaves and came to see Diocletian. Standing before him, George declared himself a Christian and began to convict the emperor of injustice and cruelty. After inconclusive persuasion, the emperor gave the order to subject his commander to the same agony as the Christians. Georgii's torturers exaggerated in cruelty, inventing new and new tortures, but he patiently endured suffering and praised the Lord. In the end, the emperor ordered the head to be cut off to the saint. So the martyr George departed to the Lord in 303, in Nicomedia, according to a new style on May 6. The feast of St. George is celebrated on this day. The relics of the saint were laid in the temple of the city of Lida, in Palestine. His head was preserved in the Roman temple, also dedicated to the feat of St. George.

George the Victorious

George received the name of the Victorious for his courage, fortitude and spiritual victory over his tormentors, who could not force him to renounce the Christian title, as well as for the wonderful help to people in danger. On the feast of St. George the Victorious, his military exploits are recalled. On the icons he is portrayed riding a horse and killing a snake. This image is based on folk legends and posthumous miracles of St. George. The essence of the legends is that next to the native city of George appeared a terrible beast, devouring people. The superstitious people of those places were given by lot to give him a sacrifice to satisfy his fury. Once the choice fell on the daughter of the ruler of that region, she was tied up on the shore of the lake and left in terror to wait for the appearance of the monster. When the beast came out of the water and began to approach the numb girl, suddenly arose between them a bright husband on a white horse, killed a snake and saved the girl. Takmi miraculous phenomenon, the Great Martyr George stopped the sacrificial murders of people, turned to the Christianity of the inhabitants of that region, who were formerly pagans.

Veneration of St. George in Russia

St. George is considered the patron saint of warriors. His image on the horse is a symbol of victory over the devil, which has long been called the "ancient serpent". This image became part of the coat of arms of Moscow, it has been displayed on coins of different countries for many years. Also remember the feast of St. George the Victorious, when he revived the dead single ox from a poor farmer. This and other miracles served as an occasion to remember him as a patron of cattle and a defender of predators.
Before the revolution, on the Orthodox holiday of St. George the Victorious, Russian villagers all went to the churches for the church service. After the procession, a prayer service to the Holy Great Martyr, sprinkling of houses and pets with holy water, cattle were driven out for the first time after a long winter to the pastures. Another day, which celebrate the feast of St. George, in the people has the name "Autumn George", or "Yuryev day." Until Boris Godunov came to power, on this day the serfs had the right to move to another landowner.

St. George Awards

Inseparably connected with the name of the saint is one of the symbols of victory and military glory - the St. George ribbon symbolizing military valor and courage. The combination of three black strips, meaning smoke, and two orange, symbolizing the flame, is already about 250 years old. The appearance of the tape is directly connected with the appearance of the main award of Russia - the Order of St. George, established in 1769. The Order had the appearance of a white, enameled cross. This award could be obtained for combat feat not only an officer, but also a simple soldier. "St. George" was four degrees, the highest of which before the revolution owned only 25 commanders. Of these, only one Mikhail Kutuzov was a knight of all four degrees. In the post-revolutionary era, the order was abolished by the Bolsheviks as a royal award, and the ribbon, as a symbol of valor and courage, was preserved and used in the rewards of the Great Patriotic War. The Order of St. George was restored in all four degrees in 2000 and again is the highest award in Russia. Since 2005, St. George ribbons began to be distributed before the Victory Day on May 9 to all comers around the world as a memory of the bloodiest war in the history of the fatherland. So the symbol has one more meaning - the memory of those who sacrificed for the sake of saving their homeland the most valuable thing that he had - his life.

Feast of St. George the Victorious

A special veneration of the Victorious in Russia began in 1030, when Yaroslav the Wise, after the victory over the Chud, laid the foundation of the Yuryevsky church not far from Novgorod. In 1036, having defeated the Pechenegs, he founded the monastery of St. George. During the consecration of the temple on November 26, a prince's edict throughout Russia is prescribed to annually celebrate the feast of St. George the Victorious. The consecration of St. George's Church is one of the earliest ancient Russian holidays.

So far, the day of the death of St. George is also honored - on May 6. Many see the symbolism that the final rout of Nazi Germany happened on the day of the memory of St. George the Victorious. The surrender on May 8, 1945 was also accepted by Georgii - Marshal Zhukov, who had led many victorious victories during this terrible war.

George the Patron

St. George is especially venerated in many countries, for example in Georgia, where even the name of the country (George) is taken in his honor. According to legend, the Nina, who is revered in Georgia, is a cousin of the described warrior husband. She especially revered George, bequeathed to Christians to love this saint. Since IX century, there was a massive construction of churches in honor of St. George. There are many testimonies of his appearance in various battles. George's cross is depicted on the Georgian flag.

St. George is also an esteemed saint in England (still from the reign of King Edmund III). The English flag itself looks like the St. George cross. Very often the image of St. George is used in classical English literature.

With special joy celebrate the holiday - the Day of St. George the Victorious - in the Arab countries. There are many folk legends about the miracles of George, one of which is about the Saracen, shot from the bow in the icon of the saint. As soon as this happened, the detractor had a swollen hand, and he began to die of pain, but, on the advice of a Christian priest, lit the oil before the icon of George and anointed the swollen hand with oil. Immediately after that he received healing and believed in Christ, for which he was betrayed by a painful death from his colleagues. The story did not preserve the name of this Saracen, but it is depicted on local icons about the snake as a small figure with a lamp on a horse behind George.