St. George

Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Western and Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His memorial is celebrated on 23 April, and he is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints.

Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the world, including: Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia and Russia, as well as a number of cities and a wide range of professions, organizations and disease sufferers.

As a highly celebrated saint in both the Western and Eastern Christian churches, a large number of Patronages of Saint George exist throughout the world.

The country of Georgia, where devotions to the saint date back to the fourth century, is not named after him, but a large number of towns and cities around the world are. Georgia is the anglicised version of Gurj, derived from the Persian word for the people in that territory. Geographer Vakhushti Bagrationi wrote that there are 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia named after Saint George according to the number of days in a year.

St. George is the patron saint of England; his cross forms the national flag of England, and features within the Union Jack of the United Kingdom. Traces of the cult of Saint George in England predate the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century by the fourteenth century. The saint had been declared both the patron saint and the protector of the royal family.

(Adapted from www.wikipedia.com)

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