# St George; Patron saint of Soldiers, Archers and the Cavalry



## McG (23 Apr 2001)

St George was born in Cappadocia of noble, Christian parents and on the death of his father, accompanied his mother to Palestine, her country of origin, where she had land and he was to run the estate.  He held the rank of tribune in the Roman army, during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian was a great persecutor of Christians and when the persecutions began St.George put aside his office and complained personally to the Emperor of the harshness of his decrees and the dreadful purges of Christians.  It is uncertain whether he also tore down the Emperor‘s decrees, which were posted in Nicomedia.  For his trouble, though, he was thrown into prison and tortured. He would not recant his faith however, and on 23 April 303 he was dragged through the streets and beheaded at Lydda in Palestine (Nicomedia).  The Emperor‘s wife, Alexandria was so impressed at the Saint‘s courage that she became a Christian and so too was put to death. 

The legends surrounding Saint George are varied. One of them concerns the famous dragon, with which he is invariably portrayed. According to legend, a pagan town in Libya was being terrorised by a dragon. The locals kept throwing sheep to it to placate it, and when it still remained unsatisfied, they started sacrificing some of the citizenry. Finally the local princess was to be thrown also to the beast, but Good St George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair princess. At this the townsfolk converted to Christianity. 

The reason for his being adopted as the Saint of Battles was partly because he was a soldier, but also because he is said to have appeared to the Christian army before the Battle of Antioch. It is also said that he appeared to our English King Richard I (the Lionheart) during his Crusade against the Saracens. He is also the patron saint of chivalry, soldiers, archers, and cavalry.  Saint George Feast Day is April 23rd, in memory of the day he was killed.


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## ender (24 Apr 2001)

I‘ve decided my personal patorn saint is Joan of Arc, for obvious reasons.

St. George is cool too.


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