Story
**St. George of Cappadocia | George the Roman**
**The Time of His Martyrdom**
St. George is most often regarded as the prince of martyrs in the age of Diocletian, for in the region of Cappadocia he led the movement of resistance against the edict of persecution issued against the Christians. Yet the majority of the Coptic manuscripts place him in an age earlier than this emperor, in the reign of an illegitimate king named Dadianus the Persian, a pagan man and no Christian, who denied Christ and held authority over the region of Cappadocia. For this reason the Life of George the Alexandrian declares that the latter was martyred in the reign of Diocletian, although he was born through the intercession of the former, when his father attended the consecration of his church in Lydda. In some Coptic manuscripts his era is not named at all, but it is said to have been "in days of old," perhaps meaning the period before the age of Diocletian.
**His Upbringing**
This saint was born in Cappadocia in Asia Minor, of devout and wealthy parents belonging to a noble family. His father, Anastasius, was governor over Melitene in Cappadocia, and his mother, Theobaste (also called Theognosta), was from Palestine, the daughter of the governor of Lydda.
It is said that his father was a man devout and faithful to God and to the king, so that the king loved him greatly and made him one of the courtiers who accompanied him on his journeys and expeditions. But when the king discovered his faith in the Lord Christ, he ordered that he be beheaded. St. George was then fourteen years of age. In any case, St. George came as the fruit of a holy seed buried in holy ground, offering to the Church, as to the heavenly ones, that which gladdens their hearts.
The martyrdom of the governor Anastasius brought no despair upon the family; rather, it kindled the heart of his blessed son George with the fire of divine love, that he too might become a martyr for the Lord. When Anastasius was martyred, Theobaste took her children, George, Casia, and Madrona, and set out for her birthplace, Diospolis in Palestine.
**George the Roman, the Prince**
After the martyrdom of the prince Anastasius, the prince Justus took his place. He feared God and loved the Lord Christ, and therefore he showed kindness to the family of the martyr Anastasius. He had the young George taught horsemanship so that he might enter into military service. George surpassed all others in riding and in the practice of arms, displaying rare courage, and swiftly he became a renowned hero throughout all Palestine, and was made commander of a great company numbering a thousand soldiers.
The prince sent him to the king bearing a letter of recommendation that set forth the feats George the commander had accomplished, and asking the king to grant him the rank of "prince." The king loved him greatly and consented to the commendation of the prince Justus; thus his name became "George the Roman." He appointed him a prince commanding five thousand soldiers, and presented him with a dapple-grey steed of a rare breed as a token of his favor.
George became beloved of all because of his bearing, which bespoke his courage, especially in war, together with his fine leadership and his prudent management of affairs, as well as his noble qualities. So he was made commander and administrator of the army, and he was twenty years of age. George increased day by day in esteem and honor. And in his twentieth year his mother reposed.
**The Governor's Love for Him**
Justus longed to make George a son to himself by giving him in marriage his only daughter, a young and devout girl who feared God. He disclosed this to the princess Theobaste, George's mother, who rejoiced greatly. Justus appointed George, his daughter's betrothed, as steward over his possessions, and they deferred the betrothal because of the girl's tender age. Yet none of them knew that God was preparing for him a far greater way.
**The Zeal of the Prince George**
George heard that the king had gathered seventy governors and had issued his commands to blot out Christianity utterly and to demolish the churches. George prepared himself to face the persecution, for he must needs confess his faith before the king. He sold all that he had inherited from his parents, even the furnishings of his house and his garments, and gave their price to the poor.
When the edict to this effect was issued, the saint seized the edict and tore it openly in the midst of the crowds in a public place, after he had distributed all his possessions to the poor, freed his slaves, and made himself ready for martyrdom with joy.
**Before the King**
He was brought before the king, who treated him with much gentleness and promised him lavish gifts, but he paid no heed. When the king failed to entice him, he began to torture him for the space of seven years, and the hand of God upheld him to capture many souls for the faith through his sufferings. For he died three times, and the Lord would raise him up that He might be glorified in him, until he was martyred the fourth time; and he was granted heavenly visions amid the torments to uphold and strengthen him.
**Stronger than Sorcery and Poison**
Among the torments to which St. George was subjected was that the king brought to him a famous sorcerer named Athanasius, who prepared for him a deadly poison and gave it to the saint to drink. But the saint, by faith, drank it and suffered no harm; whereupon the sorcerer believed in the Lord Christ. The king was enraged and ordered the saint to be crushed in a press fitted with iron teeth until he gave up his spirit; yet the Lord Christ raised him up, and the crowds saw him, and because of him many believed and accepted martyrdom in the name of the Lord.
When the governors saw this, they asked him, in the presence of the king, to make their chairs sprout leaves and bear fruit. So he prayed to God, and their request was granted. Astonished, they carried him to the tombs and asked him to raise the dead for them; so he prayed to the Lord, and some of the dead arose, bore witness to the salvation of the Lord Christ, and then fell asleep again.
**In the Temple of Idols**
The king used gentleness with him, saying that his heart was wounded by what had befallen him, that he was very dear to him, and that he would grant him the highest offices of state. At last he asked him to go with him to the temple of idols. George set out with the king to the temple of the idol, where the king supposed that George would offer incense to the idols, and so he would give him his daughter to wife. When the two reached the temple, together with the king's retinue and a great multitude of the people,
George stood before the statue of Apollo and cried out to it: "Are you a god, that I should offer you a sacrifice?" And the idol answered with a dreadful voice: "I am no god."
The saint made the sign of the Cross, and the idols fell and were shattered. So the people cried out, demanding the death of the enemy of their gods.
The king felt deep shame and went off to his palace, bitter in soul.
**Stronger than Every Temptation!**
The secret of the strength of the martyr St. George was his daily practice of the life of martyrdom, for he overcame the lusts of the flesh in battles whose ground was his own inward depths; and as the wise man says: "he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" (Proverbs 16:32).
When George was cast into prison, the emperor took counsel with his men as to what he should do with this brave commander. One of the princes came forward with the suggestion that this handsome young man would not weaken before any threats, and would even rejoice in death; but one thing could destroy him, namely the enticement of a wanton girl who would ensnare him by her allurement, her overpowering femininity, and her arts. By this George would lose his chastity and his faith would collapse.
The emperor summoned the woman in charge of the emperor's concubines and handmaids, that she might choose from among them a girl experienced in this matter.
The girl was sent to the prison to pass a night with the young man, that she might entice him and he might fall with her. But St. George, who had learned to offer each day a sacrifice of love upon the altar of purity in Christ Jesus, turned the prison into a holy temple in which prayers were offered for the salvation of his own soul, the salvation of this girl, and of all around him.
Morning had not yet come before the girl came forward to St. George in tears, asking him to speak to her of the secret of his purity, his chastity, and the lifting up of his heart to the heavenly things. So he began to preach to her the salvation and to set before her the surpassing life of the Gospel.
The emperor's men came in the early morning to take the girl to the emperor, and they found her clothed with modesty and arrayed in chastity and meekness, confessing her faith in the Lord Christ, her King and her Savior.
The emperor and his men were astounded at what had happened, and the order was given to strike off her neck with the sword. She was led to the place of martyrdom, where she knelt, rejoicing, praying to her Savior our Lord Jesus to receive her spirit and to grant her the crown of witness.
The emperor resolved to make George taste the harshest kinds of torments, in revenge for what he had done with the girl.
**In the Royal Palace**
When the miracles which the Lord wrought by his hands grew many, and the king felt his own failure, he took George with him to the palace to entice him with the promise that he would give him his daughter in marriage. There in the palace the queen heard him praying, and she asked him to explain his faith to her; so the Lord opened her heart, and the Spirit of God drew her to the faith. Queen Alexandra began to reproach the king: "Did I not tell you not to oppose the Galileans, for their God is mighty?" And when the king perceived that the saint had inclined her heart to the Lord, he ordered her body to be combed and her head to be struck off, that she might receive the crown of martyrdom.
When the queen saw George being led to the prison, she called to him to ask about her baptism. The saint answered her not to be troubled, for if no opportunity should be found for her baptism, then the shedding of her blood for the sake of faith in the Lord Christ would be a holy baptism that opens for her the gates of Paradise.
Her soul rejoiced, and the queen came forward to martyrdom, saying: "O Lord, I have left the door of my palace open wide; do not, then, shut the door of Your Paradise in my face, O You who accepted the repentance of the thief on the right hand."
The queen's head was struck off, that her soul might depart to Paradise to delight in the vision of her Savior.
**His Martyrdom**
The king feared lest a revolt should arise against him, since the works of God accomplished by the hands of the saint had become widely known; therefore he ordered that George be beheaded. This took place on the 23rd of Baramouda.
**The Icon of the Martyr St. George the Roman**
The icon bears a symbolic meaning:
The bride who appears in the icon points to the Church, who looks upon her martyr children with joy and pride.
The dragon points to Satan, who stirs the wicked world against the faith.
The spear points to the Cross of the Lord of Glory, Jesus, who grants the victory.
And the defeat of the dragon points to the defeat of evil and its source (the devil) by the power of faith.
He is called "al-Khidr" among the Druze brethren