The Life of the Great Martyr Saint George

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The unworthy ruler of the Roman Empire, the godless Diocletian, was a passionate follower and patron of idolatry. Of all the gods, he respected most Apollo, who was supposed to be a foreteller of the future. For the devil, inhabiting the soulless idol, used to prophesy about the future, but these predictions never came true.

Once Diocletian asked Apollo about a certain matter. But the devil answered him: "I cannot tell the truth about the future for the righteous are hindering me; that is why the oracles from the tripods in the temples are fallacious. The righteous are destroying our power."

Diocletian then asked the heathen priests who the righteous were who were preventing Apollo from prophesying. The preists replied that on earth the righteous were the Christians. Hearing this, Diocletian was filled with anger and fury against the Christians and renewed the persecutions which had been in abeyance. He unsheathed his sword ordained for the punishment of crime against the righteous and innocent people of God whose life was beyond reproach, and sent throughout all the lands of his empire edicts for their execution, edicts that were traced, so to speak, with a sword's point dipped in blood. And so the prisons were filled with confessors of the true God, instead of adulterers, robbers and other criminals. The usual methods of torture were abolished as unsatisfactory, and the most cruel and terrible torments were invented, which were daily and everywhere practiced on a large number of Christians. From all sides, especially from the East, written complaints against the Christians were sent to the Emperor. In these reports it was said that men who disregarded the Emperor's orders and called themselves Christians were in such great numbers that either they would have to be left in their faith or a war fought against them. Then the Emperor called for his governores and counsuls from all over the Empire for a council in Nicomedia; he gathered the princes, lords and all his senate and, revealing to them his fury towards the Christians, ordered each one to give his own reasoned advice as to what should be done with those who had fallen away from paganism. After several speeches by those present at the council, the tyrant announced that there was nothing more honourable and necessary than the worship of the ancient ancestral gods. When everyone agreed with what the Emperor had said, he continued:

"If you all think the same and really wish to carry it out, and if you value my love, then try by all possible means to destroy throughout our Empire the Christian faith which opposes our gods. That you may do this more successfully, I myself am going to help you with all my powers."

All received the Emperor's announcement enthusiastically. Diolcletian and the senate met again a second and third time to discuss the eradication of Christianity; then they announced thier decision to the people, so that it might become an irrevocable order.

At that time in the Roman army there was a wonderful warrior of Christ, Saint George, born in Cappadocia, the son of Christian parents, brought up by them in piety from childhood. While still a child, he lost his father, who was martyred for confessing Christ. George's mother went with him to Palestine, which was her native country and where she had considerable property.

When he grew up, Saint George was distinguished for his good looks, bravery and bodily strength, and he was made a tribune of a famous military regiment. In this rank he showed such courage in battle that the Emperor Diocletian, not knowing as yet about his Christianity, honoured him with the rank of trophy-bearer. George's mother was by this time dead.

When Diocletain cruelly decided to destroy the Christians, St. George was attached to his suite. From that day, as soon as Saint George was sure that this foul purpose could not be thwarted by any means and as soon as he learned about the cruelty of the pagans against the Christians he decided that the time for the salvation of his soul had come. Saint George at once divided all his riches, gold, silver and costly clothing, among the poor and set at liberty the slaves who were with him, and of those who were in his Palestinian properties to some he gave freedom and the rest he ordered to be given to those who had no slaves. On the third day, which was the day on which the Emperor and his officials had to meet for the last time to make the final decision about the death of the innocent Christians, the brave warrior of Christ, Saint George, abandoning all fear of man and only having within him the fear of God, with a bright face and courageous mind, appeared at that iniquitous and godless gathering and addressed himself to the Emperor in these words:

"O Emperor, and you, lords and counselors! You are appointed to maintain good laws and just tribunals, but you are furiously directing you anger against the Christians, supporting crime and issuing wrong orders concerning the judging of people who have wronged no one. You are persecuting and torturing them and forcing into your senseless impiety those who have learned to be pious. But no, your idols are not gods. Do not be decieved by this lie. Jesus Christ is the only God, the only Lord in the glory of God the Father by Whom everything has been created, and everything exists by His Holy Spirit. Either recognize the truth and learn piety, or else do not confuse with your insanity those who have learnt to know the true religion."

Astonished at these word of Saint George and his unexpected boldness, all turned their eyes towards the Emperor, impatiently waiting to see what he would say in reply to the Saint. But the Emperor was so surprised that he could not get over it and, as if deafened by thunder, sat in silence, trying to restrain his anger. At last, by a sign to his friend Magnentius, who was present at the meeting, the Emperor bid him reply to George. Magnentius called the Saint to him and asked him:

"Who has stirred you up to such boldness and talketiveness?"

"Truth," replied the Saint.

"What is truth?" asked Magnentius.

"The truth is Christ Himself, persecuted by you," answered George.

"Then you are a Christian?" asked Magnentius. And Saint George replied:

"I am a slave of Christ, my God, and trusting in Him, of my own will I have appeared among you to bear witness to the truth."

At these words of the Saint the whole assembly was set in an uproar, all began to talk, one said this, another said that and there arose a disorderly shrieking and shouting, just as happens in a big crowd of people. Then Diocletian ordered silence to be restored and, turning to the Saint said:

"Previously I was always astonished at your nobility, George! Considering your appearance and bravery worthy of honour, I conferred on you no mean rank. And today, when you say impertinent words bad for yourself, I, out of love for your intelligence and courage, like a father give you advice and warn you, so that you may not lose the military glory and honour of your rank and may not surrender, by your insubordination, the flower of your youth to the tortures. Offer a sacrifice to the gods and you will receive still greater honour from us."

Saint George replied:

"O, if only you yourself, Caesar, through me would learn to know the true God and would offer Him the sacrifice of praise which He loves, He would make you worthy of a better and immortal kingdom, for this kingdom that you now enjoy is unabiding, vain and soon perishes, and with it will perish its short-lived pleasures. And anyone tempted by these pleasures gets no benefit whatever. No one can weaken my devotion, and not tortures will terrify my soul or shake my mind."

These words of Saint George sent the Emperor into a rage. Without letting the Saint finish his speech, the Emperor ordered his armour-bearers to drive George out of the court with spears and to put him in prison.

When the soldiers started to carry out the Emperor's order and when one spear had already touched the Saint's body, the iron at once became soft like tin, and bent. And the martyr's mouth was filled with the praise of God.

The soldiers escorted the martyr into the prison and stretched him on the ground, face upwards, put his feet in the stocks and placed on his chest a heavy stone. That was the order of the tyrant. But the Saint bore all this with patience, unceasingly giving thanks to God until the following day.

When the day, came the Emperor again summoned the martyr to trial and seeing George crushed by the weight of the stone asked him:

"Have you repented George, or are you still as disobedient as before?"

Saint George, suffering from the pain of the heavy stone that was lying on his chest, could hardly utter:

"O king, do you really think that I have reached such a state of exhaustion that, after so little suffering, I will renounce my faith?" You may be sooner exhausted, torturing me, than I, being tortured by you."

Then Diocletian ordered a great wheel to be brought, under which pieces of wood were placed, full of iron spikes like swords, knives and spears; some of them were straight, while others were bent like fish hooks. To this wheel the king ordered the naked martyr to be tied. By turning the wheel round, his body was cut with the iron spikes attached to the wood. Torn to pieces and smashed like a branch Saint George bravely bore his tortures. First he prayed to God with a loud voice; then quietly to himself, he thanked God without uttering a single groan, but seeming to be either asleep, or unconscious.

Thinking the Saint was dead, the Emperor in joy offered praise to his gods and turned to George with these words:

"Where is your God, George; why did he not deliver you from such torments?" Then he ordered George to be untied from the wheel as a dead man and he himself went to the temple of Apollo.

Sunddenly the atmoshpere darkened and there was a peal of terrible thunder, and many heard a voice from above saying:

"Fear not, George, I am with thee,"

There appeared a brilliant and unusual light and an angel of the Lord, in the form of a beautiful youth with a bright face, radiant with light, appeared standing near the wheel. He laid his hand on the martyr and said:

"Rejoice."

And nobody dared to approach the wheel and the martyr as long as the vision lasted. When the angel disappeared the martyr came away from the wheel by himself, loosed from the wheel and healed from his wounds by the angel. Saint George had become perfectly whole in body, and he called upon the Lord.

At the sight of this miracle the soldiers were seized with horror and bewilderment and they reported to the Emperor what had happened. He was at that time in the temple attending the profane service to the idols. Saint George followed the soldiers and stood before the Emperor in the temple.

The Emperor at first could not believe that Saint George was really standing before him, but thought it was someone like him. Those surrounding the Emperor looked closely at George and were convinced that it was he; and the martyr himself said in a loud voice:

"I am George."

Fear and bewilderment shut the mouths of all for a long time. Two provincial judges, who were present there, Antonly and Protoleon, who were already catechumens in the Christian faith, seeing this wonderful miracle, were completely confirmed in the confession of Christ and cried:

"The one great and true God is the God of the Christians."

The Emperor at once ordered them to be seized and without a trial to be taken outside the city and there to be beheaded with a sword.

The Empress Alexandra, also present in the temple, seeing the miraculous healing of the martyr and hearing about the apparition of the angel, realized the truth. But when she wanted boldly to confess Christ, the eparch held her back and, before the Emperor learnt of this, ordered her to be taken back to the palace.

The malignant Diocletian, not capable of doing good, ordered his men to put George in a pit whose walls were of stone and which was used for quicklime and to cover the martyr with it for three days.

Having been brought to the pit the Saint thus prayed aloud to the Lord:

"Saviour of the distracted, Refuge of the persecuted, Hope of the hopeless, O Lord my God hear the prayer of Thy slave, regard me and have mercy on me. Deliver me from the wiles of the adversary and give me strength to maintain till the end of my life the confession of Thy Holy Name. Forsake me not, O Lord, on account of my sins, that my enemies may not say: "Where is his God?" Manifest Thy power and glorify Thy Name in me, Thy worthless slave. Send me an angel, a guardian for me, unworthy as I am, O Thou who didst transform the Babylonian furnace into dew and didst keep Thy children unharmed, for Thou art blessed for ever. Amen."

Having thus prayed and having protected his whole body with the sign of the Cross, George entered the pit, rejoicing and glorifying God. The Emperor's servants bound the martyr and, according to their orders, filled the pit with quicklime, and went away.

On the third day the Emperor ordered the bones of the martyr to be taken out of the lime-pit, for he thought that George had been burnt there. When the servants came and scraped away the lime they found the Saint exactly the opposite of what they had expected, unharmed, alive, healthy and freed from the bonds. He was standing there with a bright face, his arms ourstretched towards heaven and was thanking God for all His benefits.

The servants and people present were filled with fear and astonishment and, as if with one mouth, praised the God of George, calling Him great. When Diocletian heard of what had happened he at once ordered the martyr to be brought to him and with surprise said:

"Where does this power in you come from, George, and what magic are you using - tell us. I think that you made out that you believe in Christ on purpose in order to show your witchcraft, to astonish everyone by your sorcery and thereby to make yourself great."

"Caesar", answered the Saint, "I thought it would be impossible for you to open your mouth to blaspheme the all-powerful God, for Whom everything is possible and Who delivers from woe all who hope in Him. But being deluded by the devil, you have fallen into such an abyss of error and perdition that you call the miracles of my God seen with your own eyes magic and sorcery. I weep for your blindness I call you damned and consider you unworthy of my answer."

Then Diocletian ordered iron shoes to be brought, long nails to be heated and put in them, and the martyr to be shod in these shoes and so be driven with whips to the prison. When they were driving the martyr shod in this manner, the tyrant mockingly said:

"What a quick walker you are, George, how fast you are going!"

The marytr, inhumanly dragged and subjected to cruel blows, was saying to himself:

"Go, George, so as to attain, because you are going not as though uncertainly" (I Cor. 9:26). Then calling upon God, he said:

"Regard from heaven, Lord, look upon my labour and hear the groaning of Thy chained slave, for my enemies have multiplied and they have hated me with an unjust hatred (cf. psalm 24:19) for Thy Holy Name's sake. But do Thou Thyself heal me, O Lord, for my bones are crushed, and give me patience to the end, so that my enemy may not say: 'I have prevailed against him.'"

With this prayer Saint George went to the prison. Shut up there, he was exhausted bodily, having his feet torn, but he was not exhausted spiritually. All day and night long he never ceased offering thanks and prayer to God. And that night, by divine aid, he was healed of his wounds; his feet and his whole body became perfectly well again.

In the morning, Saint George was brought before the Emperor in the place of shame, where the Emperor was with all his council. Seeing that the martyr walked properly and was not lame, as if he had no wounds, the Emperor asked him in astonishment:

"Well, George, do you like your shoes?"

"Very much," answered the Saint.

"Stop being impudent," said the Emperor, "be meek and submissive; and give up your witchcraft and offer sacrifice to the merciful gods, that you may not deprive yourself of this sweet life with numerous torments."

Saint George replied:

"How foolish you are, calling the power of God magic and shamelessly boasting of what is diabolic delusion!"

Glaring at the Saint with angry eyes, with a savage cry Diocletian interrupted his speech and ordered those standing by him to hit him on the mouth: "Let him learn," said the tyrant, "not to provoke emperors." Then he ordered George to be beaten with ox thongs until his flesh and blood stuck to the ground. Though suffering terribly Saint George did not change the brightness of his face. The Emperor was extremely surprised at this and said to the bystanders:

"Certainly this is not from George's strength and courage, but from witchcraft."

Then Magnentius said to the Emperor:

"There is a certain man here, skilled in magic. If you order him to be brought, George will soon be defeated and will come to you in submission."

At once the magician was brought before the Emperor and Diocletian said to him:

"All that this vile man George has done here, the eyes of everyone present have seen; but how he has done it, only you who are skilled in this craft know. Either defeat and destroy his magic and make him submissive to us, or at once deprive him of his life with your magic herbs so that he may receive a fitting death from the craft that he has learnt. That is why I have left him alive till now."

The magician, whose name was Athanasius, promised to do all that he had been ordered on the following day.

After giving orders that the martyr was to be guarded in prison, the Emperor left the tribunal; and the Saint went into the prison, calling upon God:

"O Lord, show Thy mercy upon me and guide my steps to Thy confession, and keep my way in Thy faith so that everywhere Thy Holy Name may be glorified."

In the morning the king again appeared in the court and sat on a high place where he could be seen by everyone. Athanasius, the magician, also came, proud of his wisdom, bearing the magic potions in various vessels to show the Emperor and everyone present. And Athanasius said:

"Let the condemned man be brought here now and he shall see the power of our gods and my spells."

Then, taking one of the vessels, Athanasius said to the king: "If you want this madman to obey you in everything, let him drink this potion."

Taking another vessel the magician continued:

"If it would please your court to see his bitter death, let him drink this."

At once, by the order of the Emperor, Saint George was brought to the court and Diocletian said to him:

"Now George, your magic will be stopped and destroyed."

And he ordered that the Saint should be made to drink the magic potion. George drank it without hesitation and remained unharmed, joyful and laughing at the devil's delusion. Boiling with rage the Emperor ordered him to be forced to drink the other potion full of deadly poison. The Saint did not wait to be forced but willingly took the vessel and drank the deadly poison and remained unharmed, being kept from death by the help of the grace fo God.

The Emperor and all his council were astonished; Athanasius the magician was also perplexed. After some time the Emperor said to the martyr:

"How long, George, are you going to surprise us with your tricks? When are you going to tell us the truth, by what magic wiles have you attained to despising the pains caused you and remaining unharmed form a deadly potion? Tell us honestly everything, for we are willing to listen to you meekly."

Blessed George answered:

"O Caesar, do not think that I am insensible to the sufferings due to human design. No, I am saved by calling upon Christ and His power. Hoping in Him, according to His mystical teaching, we regard the sufferings as of no account."

And Diocletian said:

"In what does the mystical teaching of your Christ consist?"

George answered:

"He knows that your wrath will come to nothing and He has taught His servants not to be afraid of those who kill the body as they cannot kill the soul. For He said: But not a hair of your head will perish (Lk. 21:18) and if they drink any deadlly thing, it shall not hurt them (Mk. 16:18). Hear, O Caesar, this true promise of His to us: He who believes in Me will also do the works that I do (Jn. 14:12)."

"What are these works of His, of which you speak?" asked Diocletian.

The Saint replied:

"To enlighten the blind, cleanse the lepers, heal the lame, give hearing to the deaf, exorcise unclean spirits, raise the dead - these and the like are the works of Christ."

Turning to Athanasius the magician, the Emperor asked him: "What do you say to this?"

"I wonder," replied Athanasius, "how he can mock at your humility, telling lies in the hope of escaping from your powerful hand in that way. We who daily enjoy the many benefits of our immortal gods have never yet seen them raise up a dead man. But this one who hopes in a dead man and believes in a crucified God shamelessly says that He has done great deeds. As George before us all has confessed that his God is the author of such miracles and that those who believe in Him have received from Him a true promise that they will perform similar acts such as He has done, let George raise up a dead man before you, O Caesar, and before us all. Then we too shall submit to his God as all-powerful. There, not far away, can be seen a tomb into which not long ago was put a dead man whom I knew during his life. If George raises him up, then he will truly conquer us."

The Emperor was astonished at the advice of Athanasius. The tomb pointed out by him was about a hundred yards away from the court, for the tribunal was on the site of an old theatre near the gate of the city. The tomb was behind the city becasue it was a Greek custom to bury their dead outside the city. And the Emperor ordered the martyr to raise the dead man in order to show the power of his God. Magnentius, the proconsul, begged the king to release Geroge, Magnentius said to him:

"Show, George, the wonderful works of your God and you will bring all of us to faith in Him."

And the Saint said to him:

"My God, Who created everything out of nothing, has the power to raise this dead man through me; yet you who have darkened your mind cannot understand the truth. But my Lord for the sake of the people present will do what you, tempting me, ask, so that you may not attribute it to magic. The words of the magician brought here by you are true that neither magic nor the power of your gods could ever raise up a man. But I, in the sight of all who are standing round and in the hearing of all, will call upon my God."

So saying, George knelt and prayed to God for a long time with tears; then standing up, with a loud voice he cried to the Lord:

"O eternal God, O merciful God, O God or all powers, Almighty, put not to shame those who hope in Thee, O Lord, Jesus Christ; hearken to me, Thy humble sercant in this hour, Thou Who didst hear Thy holy Aostles in every place, in all miracles and signs. Give to this evil generation the required sign and raise up the dead man lying in the tomb for the disgrace of those who deny Thee, for Thy glory, and for that of Thy Father and Thy Most Holy Spirit. O Lord, show to those standing here that Thou art the one God of the whole earth, that they may know Thee, the all-powerful Lord, Whom everything obeys and Whose power is for ever. Amen."

When he had said "Amen" suddenly there was a clap of thunder and the earth shook so that all were terrified. Then the roof of the grave fell to the ground, the coffin opened and the dead man stood up alive and came out of the coffin. All the onlookers nearly died of fright. At once the report of what had taken place spread among the people and many wept and glorified Christ, as the great God. The Emperor and all who were with him, full of fear and unbelief, at first began saying that George was a great magician who had raised up from the grave not a dead man, but a certain spirit and ghost to delude those who saw it. Then, convinced that it was not a ghost, but a real man risen from the dead who was standing before them, and calling uon the name of Christ, the Emperor and his officials, in amazement and silence, surrounded George and were at a great loss to know what to do. But Athanasius fell at the feet of the Saint confessing that Christ is the all-powerful God and imploring the martyr to forgive him his sins committed in ignorance. After a long time Diocletian at length ordered the people to be silenced and said:

"Do you see the temptation, O men, do you see the wickedness and malice of these magicians? The most disgraceful Athanasius, helping a magician like himself, gave George no poison to drink but some charmed potion which helped him to deceive us. They have given to a living man the apparent form of a dead man and by magic have raised him up before our eyes as if from the dead."

Having said this, the king ordered that, without trial or preliminary tortures, the heads of both Athanasius and of the man raised from the dead should be cut off; and he ordered the holy martyr of Christ, George, to be kept in prison and in chains until he himself could be freed from the affairs of his government and could think out a way of dealing with the martyr.

When he entered the prison, Saint George rejoiced in spirit and thank God:

"Glory to Thee, O Lord, Who dost not put to shame those who hope in Thee. I thank Thee that Thou helpest me everywhere and with every new day Thou showest me still greater benefits and adorns me, unworthy as I am, with Thy grace. Grant me, O God, my God, soon to see Thy glory, having foiled the devil to the end."

When the great martyr, George, was in prison, people who had come to believe in Christ through his miracles used to visit him; they would give gold to the guards and then fall at the feet of the Saint and he would instruct them in the Holy Faith. By invoking the Name of Christ and by the sign of the Cross the Saint healed the sick who came to him in prison in large nmbers. Among those who came to him was a certain man called Glycerius, a simple ploughman whose bull had fallen from a mountain into a forest and had been killed. Hearing about the miraculous deeds of the Saint, Glycerius went to him and told him about the dead bull. The Saint smiled and said to him:

"Go, brother, and do not be sad. Christ, my God, will return your bull to life."

The ploughman went with firm faith in the martyr's words and really saw his bull alive. He at once retunred to George and, as he went through the city, shouted loudly.

"Truly great is the God of the Christians!"

For this he was seized by the soldiers and was reported to the Emperor. Diocletian was furious and refused to see him but ordered his head to be cut off at once outside the city. Glycerius went to death for Christ with joy as to a feast and before the soldiers with a loud voice was calling upon Christ God and asking Him to accept the shedding of his blood as baptism. So died Glycerius.

Then, certain men belonging to the council reported to the Emperor that George, while in prison, was disturbing the people, was turning many from the gods to the Crucified and was working such wonders by magic that all were going to him. Moerover, they advised the Emperor to torture George again, and that if he did not repent and did not turn to the gods he should at once be sentenced to death. Calling Magnentius the procounsul, the Emperor ordered him to prepare the tribunal by the temple of Apollo for the morning so that the martyr might be tried before the eyes of the people. That night, when Saint George was praying in prison he fell asleep and in a dream he beheld the Lord Who raised him up with His hand, embraced and kissed him and put a crown on his head, saying:

"Fear not, but have courage, and you will be granted to reign with Me. Do not give in, for you will soon come to Me and will receive what has been prepared for you."

On awakening from his dream, the Saint joyfully thanked the Lord and, calling the prison guard, said to him:

"I ask you, brother, for one favour: tell my servant to come here. I have something to tell him."

The guard called the servant, who constantly stood by the prison and carefully wrote down all the deeds and words of the Saint. On entering, the servant bowed to the ground to his master who was sitting in chains, and falling at his feet, began to weep. The Saint lifted him from the ground, ordered him to brace himself spiritually and told him about his vision saying:

"Child, the Lord will soon call me to Himself. After my derparture from this life take my humble body and, according to the will which I wrote before my contest, carry it with God's help to our Palestinian house and do everything according to my will, with the fear of God and with firm faith in Christ."

The servant in tears promised to carry out what he was ordered. The Saint embraced him lovingly, gave him the last kiss and left him to depart in peace.

In the morning, as soon as the sun rose, the Emperor sat in the tribunal and, restraining his anger, began to talk humbly with George who had been brought before him:

"Do you not think, George, that I have been full of human love and mercy towards you and have put up with your crimes very generously? My gods are witnesses that I am sparing your youth for the sake of your flourishing beauty, intelligence and courage. And I should like to have you as my co-administrator, second in honour in my kingdom, if you would only turn to the gods. Tell us, what do you think about it?"

Saint George said:

"O Caesar, you should have shown me this mercy before, and should not have tromented me with such cruel tortures."

Pleased at these words of the martyr, the Emperor said:

"If you desire with love to obey me as a father, for all the tortures which you have borne I will reward you with many honours."

George answered:

"If it is pleasing to you, Caesar, let us go inside the temple to see the gods worshiped by you."

The Emperor rose with joy and went with the whole council and people into the temple of Apollo, leading St. George with a shout, praising the might and victory of their gods. In the temple a sacrifice had been prepared. All looked silently at the martyr, not doubting that he would offer a sacrifice to the gods. The Saint approached the idol of Apollo, lifted his hand to it and asked it as if it were alive:

"Is it you who wish to receive from me a sacrifice as god?"

With these words the Saint made the sign of the Cross. The devil inhabiting the idol cried:

"I am not a god, not a god, and no one is who is like me. The one God is He Whom you confess. We are apostates from the angels who are serving Him; we, filled with jealousy, deceive the people."

Then Saint then said to the devil:

"How dare you remain here now that I, the servant of the true God, have come here?"

With these words of the Saint, noises and cries were heard coming out of the idols. Then they fell on the ground and broke into pieces. At once the priests and some of the people, like mad, rushed furiously at the Saint and began to beat him and bind him, and cried to the Emperor:

"Kill the magician, Caesar, kill him before he destroys us!"

The report of the disturbance and pandemonium spread all over the city and reached the ear of the Empress Alexandra. Up till now the Empress had kept her faith in Christ to herself. But now she was unable to hide her confession any longer, and she at once went to the place where Saint George the Great Martyr was.

Seeing the disturbance of the people and beholding from afar the martyr who was being kept bound under arrest, the Empress tried to reach him through the crowd, and loudly cried:

"O God of George, help me, because Thou are the One All-pwerful."

When the cries of the people had ceased, Diocletian ordered the martyr to be brought before him and, raging like one possessed, said to the Saint:

"This is the kind of gratitude with which you repay me, you vile creature, for my mercy, this is the way you are accustomed to offer sacrifice to the gods!"

Saint George answered him:

"Yes, this is how I am accustomed to honour your gods. O, foolish Caesar, be ashaned to attribute your salvation to gods who can neither help themselves nor bear the presence of Christ's slaves."

While the Saint was saying this, the Queen at last got through the crowd into the center, boldly confessing before all that Christ was the true God. She fell at the feet of the martyr and, reproaching the tyrant's foolishness, decried the gods and cursed those who worshiped them. Seeing his wife at the feet of the martyr, glorifying Christ with such boldness and vilifying the idols, the Emperor was very astonished and said to her:

"What has happened to you, Alexandra, that you have sided with this magician and sorcerer and are so shamelessly denying the gods?"

But she turned away and did not answer the Emperor. Diocletian was filled with still greater wrath and no longer tried to turture George and the Queen, but at once pronounced the death sentence on both:

"The most wicked George, who has delcared himself to be a follower of the Galilean and has blasphemed me and the gods, together with Alexandra, the Empress, depraved by his magic and like him degrading the gods, I order to be killed with the sword."

The soldiers seized the martyr, put him in chains, and took him out of the city. They also lead the noble Queen who, without resistance, followed George, praying to herself, and frequently gazing towards heaven. On the way the Empress got faint and asked for permission to sit down. Then she leaned her head against the wall and gave up her spirit to the Lord. Seeing this, Christ's martyr George glorified God and went on praying to the Lord that his way too would end worthily. When George reached the place appointed for his execution, with a loud voice he said this prayer:

"Blessed art Thou, O Lord my God, for Thou has not given me up as a prey to those seeking me, Thou hast not gladdened my enemies, but has delivered my soul, like a bird from the snare. Hearken to me now, O Lord, appear to me, Thy slave, in this last hour and deliver my soul from the wiles of the pirnce of the air and of his unclean spirits. Do not impute the sin to those who have sinned against me from ignorance but grant them forgiveness and love, so that coming to know Thee, they may receive a part in Thy Kingdom with Thy chosen people. Receive my soul too with those who have pleased Thee throughout the ages, disregarding my sins committed knowingly and unknowingly. Remember, O Lord, those who call upon Thy glorious Name, for Thou art blessed and glorified for ever. Amen."

Having prayed, Saint George joyfully bowed his head under the sword, and so died on the twenty-third day of the month of April in the year 304 A.D., worthily making his confession and keeping his faith inviolate. Therefore he is crowned with the glorious crown of truth.

Such is the triumphant outcome of the great exploits of the brave soldier, such is his armour against his enemies and his glorious victory, for by struggling in this way he was granted an incorruptible and eternal crown. By his prayers may we also be worthy of the lot of the righteous and be granted to stand on the right hand in the day of the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ to Whom is due all glory, honour and adoration to the ages of ages. Amen.