Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St George

On April 23, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of Saint George, “the Great Martyr the Trophy Bearer”, one of the most venerated saints in Orthodox Christianity. St George is believed to have been born in the III century to a Christian family. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the army. George followed his father's example by joining the army soon after coming of age, and later became a general in the army of Roman Emperor Diocletian. In 303 Diocletian issued an edict authorising the systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire. George was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to being a Christian himself and criticised the imperial decision. An enraged Diocletian ordered the torture of this apparent traitor, and his execution. After various tortures, George was executed by decapitation on April 23, 303. Recent researches revealed that St George died as a martyr in Palestine shortly before Constantine’s reign. The Christian iconography portrays St George on horseback spearing a dragon. This depiction retells the story of the city of Cyrene in Libya that was terrorised by a dragon, which was eventually slain by the saint. The legend says that the grateful citizens abandoned their ancestral paganism and converted to Christianity. Saint George is venerated by the Orthodox and the Catholic Church likewise, his image being associated with boundless courage and faith.