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St. Great Martyr George The Holy Great Martyr George was born in Beirut from Christian, rich and noble parents. Educated, handsome in appearance and strong in body, he was loved and elevated by King Diocletian (284–304) to the honorary rank of military tribune, and then commander of a thousand. But brought up in Christian piety, he could not be happy under the pagan king and persecutor of Christianity. Once in the courtroom and hearing the lawless, inhuman judgment about the extermination of Christians, George was inflamed with St. zeal for the faith of Christ. Having distributed his property to the poor and set his slaves free, George rebelled among the lawless assembly and, denouncing the wickedness and malice of the king, his nobles and advisers, confessed himself to them as a Christian and the truth of the Gospel. Overcome with anger, the king ordered the squires to drive out the saint. the accuser from the congregation with spears and imprisoned. In prison, they threw George to the ground with his back, his legs were driven into blocks, and his chest was crushed with a heavy stone placed on it. In this grave suffering, George, strengthened by prayer to God and trust in Him, remained until another day, but which illuminated him not for joy, but for new, most painful suffering. When, after secondary convictions to renounce Christ, the martyr remained adamant in his faith, he, barely able to speak from the compression of his chest with a heavy stone, was tied naked to a large wheel, invented for execution, under which there were boards, from which iron points protruded, facing upward to the wheel. On this terrible wheel they rotated the martyr around the points, which, piercing the defenseless body of the sufferer, cut him like a cane. God saved George’s life even in the midst of such terrible torment. But the tormentors did not understand the power of God, which was so clearly revealed in his suffering and patience that it turned to Christ and made martyrs for His name - some pagans who saw the suffering of the great martyr; These were the two praetors - Anatolius and Protolio - the praetorians and Queen Alexandra herself, the wife of Diocletian. The tormentors who were fierce against George tied him up and buried him in undissolved lime, thinking that he would burn in it. But God saved the life of St. here too. confessor for His glory. Having been extracted from the lime, they put smogs on the feet of George, inside of which red-hot nails stuck out pointing upward, and in these shoes they drove him to prison with beatings and curses. The next day, after these tortures, beatings and ridicule, George was again brought before the court, and the king, hearing his previous accusatory words from him, angrily ordered him to be beaten on the mouth and whipped with ox sinews until his flesh and blood clung to the ground. Considering George’s greatest patience to be an act of sorcery, the king ordered one sorcerer, Athanasius, to use his art against him in order to either seduce him from the path of truth or kill him. But the sorcerer, seeing the grace of God, so clearly miraculous in George, himself turned to Christ and suffered for Him. The prison in which the great martyr was kept, glorified by his presence, became a school of piety and a blessed medical clinic. Many flocked to George in prison for a saving conversation with him, which sweetened the hearts of the listeners, and to receive healing from him by the power of God’s grace acting in him. Some of those who came to George in prison confessed Jesus Christ and accepted the crown of martyrdom. George's great sufferings ended in the deprivation of his life: suspecting that he was outraged by the people with his conversations in prison, St. the prisoner's head was cut off. Relics of St. The great martyr was laid in Palestine - the city of Lydda, in the homeland of his mother, then in the church built in Lydda in the name of the great martyr. Together with George, Queen Alexandra suffered in 304, whom the Church glorifies together with George. Thus, George “received a red crown of victory,” and is called the great martyr and victorious, for he won a glorious victory over his tormentors during his suffering, which amazed them and converted many of the unbelievers to Christ, and upon his repose he appeared as a glorious victorious for the good of Christians. Tradition says that in the countries of Libya there lived a terrible serpent who kidnapped and devoured people, contaminating the air with his breath and causing illness. The inhabitants of this country, the pagans, considering him a formidable deity, satisfied him with sacrifices from people in turn. When the royal daughter-maiden, thus designated as a sacrifice to this deity, stood shedding bitter tears, prepared for an inevitable, terrible death, suddenly a young rider appears on a white horse. It was St. George and, as soon as the monster crawled out, the Great Martyr rushes at him, thrusts the tip of the spear into his mouth, presses him to the ground, and the horse tramples him underfoot. The serpent is killed. The idolaters thanked the God of Georgiev and accepted the Christian faith. Based on this ancient legend, the Great Martyr George is depicted sitting on a white horse, under whose feet lies a terrible serpent gaping at St. a horseman who courageously strikes the monster in the mouth with a spear. This image of victory belongs to the coat of arms of the victorious Russian Empire and the Russian insignia placed on the chest of soldiers for their service and exploits. The cavalry holiday of the order in the name of the Great Martyr George was established on the 26th day of November 1731, and the cavalier holiday of this order occurs on the day of the consecration of the church in the name of this great martyr in Kyiv, November 26. The Great Martyr George is also revered as the special patron of shepherds and flocks, because during his life and after his death he repeatedly provided help to them, and for the good of his neighbors he appeared on horseback. So, residents of the villages and cities of Russia have a pious custom on St. George’s Day, or, in popular parlance, Yegoryev’s Day, to perform a prayer service to the Great Martyr and, having sprinkled the shepherds and the gathered cattle with St. water, released for the first time after winter to pasture, with God's blessing and hope for the special protection of the great martyr. The Holy Great Martyr is held in great esteem not only by Christians, but even by Mohammedans. In the 5th century, a church was built in Rome in honor of the Great Martyr George, in which part of his relics, a military spear and a banner are kept. In the 5th century, also Anatoly of Constantinople, in the 8th century, Cosmas of Maium, in the 9th century, Theophanes of Nicea, Studite, on the day of the Great Martyr George, wrote many songs of praise, now sung by the Church on this day. In these hymns, St. George is glorified as a steadfast sufferer: “neither beasts, nor wheels, nor any other torment could separate him from Christ. He appeared as a helper to souls and bodies; His memory is worldwide." The proverbs on the day of the Great Martyr George are the same as those pronounced on March 9, the day of the 20 martyrs. This morning's Gospel preaches the duty to fearlessly confess the Son of Man before men: Fear not those who kill the body, and then those who are unable to do anything more (Luke 12:2–12). Through the Apostolic Reading, the Church preaches about Herod’s persecution of the Apostolic Church (Acts 12:1–11). The liturgical gospel preaches the prophetic words of the Lord, with which He predicted persecution from the world against preachers and confessors of the faith of Christ (John 15:17,16:2). † Repose of Blessed George of Shenkursky According to the handwritten calendar, “Holy and blessed George, the Fool for Christ’s sake, the Wonderworker of Shenkur, reposed in April on the 23rd day.” Here he appears to be a contemporary of Rev. Varlaam Shenkursky, and the time of his exploits dates back to the 15th century. Pious Ustyuzhanin of the 16th century. in his praise the blessed one. Procopius, by the way, said: “the Vaga River, on which the city of Shenkursk, pleases St. George the Holy Fool” 297. See July 8 life of the blessed. Procopy.