Saint George the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer
Great Martyr, soldier of Diocletian
- Feast day
- April 23
- Lived
- c. 275–303
- Patronage
- Soldiers, England, Georgia, Greece, farmers and shepherds
Saint George is honoured across the whole Orthodox world as the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer, the young officer who tore up the emperor's edict against the Christians and paid for it with a long and public martyrdom.
Life and martyrdom
George was born in Cappadocia of Christian parents, his father a martyr before him, and rose quickly in the Roman army to the rank of tribune in the imperial guard. When Diocletian published his edict of persecution in 303, George distributed his wealth to the poor, freed his slaves, and denounced the edict before the emperor himself.
He endured torture over several days — the wheel, the lime pit, the iron boots — surviving each in a way that converted onlookers, including the Empress Alexandra, who was martyred with him. He was beheaded in Nicomedia on April 23 and buried in Lydda in Palestine, where his shrine still stands.
The dragon
The famous scene of George slaying the dragon and freeing the princess belongs to the later hagiographic tradition and is read in the Church as an icon of the victory of faith over the devil rather than as biography. In icons the small figure of the rescued princess and the tiny mounted saint spearing the serpent express the same conviction that a single believer, armed by Christ, defeats what a whole city cannot.
When Saint George the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer is commemorated
The feast falls on April 23 on the Revised Julian (New) calendar used by most Greek, Antiochian and Romanian parishes. Parishes that keep the Julian (Old) calendar — much of the Russian, Serbian and Georgian Churches, and Mount Athos — celebrate it on the civil date May 6, thirteen days later. You can switch between both reckonings anywhere on this site.
See the full liturgical day for April 23, 2027
That page gives the fasting rule in force, the Epistle and Gospel appointed for the day, and every other saint commemorated alongside Saint George the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer. To keep the feast, look for a parish in the USA, Canada or Australia directory, and read the Akathist hymns appointed for private prayer.